End of Season Wrap-Up

Congratulations to our series champions, and thank you to everyone who raced in the series finale and the series! We here at CU Cycling are excited and proud every year to host this long-standing Boulder tradition, and you racers make the hard work worth the effort.
We'd like to send out a few special thanks to the people who really made this year's series what it was:
First, thank you to Michael Friedberg and the rest of the YellowBelly Chicken staff for providing weekly prizes to category winners; everyone had a chance this year to race for a free dinner or socks, making everyone feel like a pro in their field. If you haven't tried YellowBelly, swing on down to their shop at Folsom and Arapahoe for the best fried chicken you'll find in Boulder.
Next, thank you to Keenan Meitz and his team at EVOL Foods. Keenan was able to swing by a couple times this summer with his tent and about 200 EVOL burritos per race. This really elevated the evening and provided volunteers and racers, alike, with some fuel to keep going strong all evening. Keenan was also able to swing some prize packs for the dual slalom races, though they were unfortunately rained out. We appreciate all the effort and support that the team at EVOL Foods has provided throughout the summer.
Thank you to Skyler Beck, Mike Rossi, and the Valmont staff for letting us host the series at the bike park for the second year. The new format and trail variety that Valmont brings to the short track series truly makes this one of the premier events of its kind in the nation.
Thank you to the members of CU Cycling who admirably donated their time every week to the races, even if they didn't race. We had a lot more team road cyclists involved this year, and we on the mountain side appreciate all your help and enthusiasm that made this race run smoothly every week.
Thanks to Dave Towle, our outstanding commentator, for coming every week and bringing the series to another level with his race banter. Dave has commentated for almost every type of race around Colorado during his years in the cycling scene, including the US Pro Challenge, and he made everyone from the Men's A to the Kids 4-9 feel that they were racing for the rainbow jersey.
Thank you to Jenny Paddock and Dixon Hutchinson for running registration every single week of the series. These two dedicated Boulder police officers set up early every week and made sure that every entrant felt appreciated and ready for their upcoming races. Jenny and Dixon have truly become part of the CU Cycling family, so much that they spent the afternoon and evening of their 20th wedding anniversary running registration before going out to their much-deserved anniversary dinner.
Lastly, thank you to all of you racers who showed up week after week, rain or shine, to race your hearts out and lay it all on the line for glory. We at CU Cycling are proud to be part of such a strong cycling community. It is a pleasure and an honor to host this annual short track series.

Until next summer,

The Short Track Crew at CU Club Cycling

Final Week of Short Track 2014

It's been a great year, and we're sad to see the series end. Come this week to watch and race in the final short track of the summer! Prizes will be awarded in various categories, both race-related and other, so in the grand tradition of the series finale, wear your best race costume. This week's course will bring back an old favorite: up Corkscrew!

July 30 Race CANCELLED

The powers that be seem to believe Wednesday is the best day for weather around here, so this week's race is cancelled. We'll see you next week, and will likely use the course below. Benjamin Sharp (last week's winner of Men's B) and Dakota Cline (winner of Juniors), swing by the announcer's tent next week to grab your YellowBelly gift cards. See you all at next week's showdown!

Short Track ONLY This Week

Due to inclement weather, neither one of the pre-planned dual slalom races got off the ground this summer. Because of this, and the logistics to pull up a DS race in a week, we will NOT be hosting a dual slalom race this summer. We apologize for this, since we know there are many people who were looking forward to the races. If you paid for the first dual slalom race and left your fee with us to roll over to the second, please send an email to the short track email, and we'll figure out a way to get you a refund; you can also choose to roll the fee over to short track. Again, we apologize for this cancellation. Hopefully we'll see some of you at short track in the future!

- The CU Cycling Short Track Crew

Dual Slalom CANCELLED, Short Track ON

The dual slalom this afternoon is cancelled at this point because of potential damage to Valmont's course, but we ARE still planning on holding short track, weather permitting.

Course for July 16

See the map below for this week's course. Remember that this week we'll be holding both dual slalom AND short track. Please refer to the previous post for further information and feel free to email at the short track Gmail account.

Short Track AND Dual Slalom Next Week (July 16)

Just a reminder that we will be hosting both a short track race AND a dual slalom bracket on July 16. Entry is $20/person for DS, or $30/person for both the DS and short track. Just as posted for the first DS race, kids will also have to pay the race entry fee. If you are racing both races, please sign up at both registration spots (short track at the usual place, DS by the podium). We will be running the adult bracket first and the juniors (14 and under) afterwards so adults racing short track can feasibly race both events. Please email the CU short track email with any questions.

Different Start Line for the Week

Instead of going up Corkscrew like last week, racers get to descend it as originally intended by its makers. Make sure to note the altered start line out on the road, coming back towards the normal start line/parking lot. The rule for the week (and possibly more): there will be no lining up at the start line until the current category is called. Racers lined up in the grid too early get in the way of race business and fun! Plus, who wants to sit still on a bike for twenty minutes?

We're All 'Screwed on the Fourth

It's finally that time of the summer: a course up Corkscrew! See the map below for the gory details and get ready for some patriotic racing. Remember to wear your best 4th of July garb for the chance to win a great prize and kudos from all your friends. **Note: the prize has not yet been determined.

Results for June 25th

Thanks to everyone who came out and raced this week! The updated results can be found here.

First Adaptive Race

This week CU Cycling will be fitting the first of two adaptive races into the season. If you've never seen one of these races, you're in for a real treat. The athletes range from wounded veterans to racers who have overcome their disabilities since birth. Nearly all the adaptive racers ride custom bikes made by one of the racers: if you have a chance to get up close and check out the mechanics, it's definitely worth the inspection.

In order to fit in this extra race, the normal race schedule will be altered slightly as shown below:

4:30 p.m. - Registration begins
5:00 p.m. - Kid's Race ages 9 and under (10 minutes)
5:15 p.m. - Women's B and Juniors age 10-14 (20 min)
5:40 p.m. - Men's C's (20 min)
6:05 p.m. - Men's B (20 min)
6:30 p.m. - Adaptive Bikes (20 min)
6:55 p.m. - Women's A and Single Speed (20 min)
7:20 p.m. - Men's A (25 min)

Only the Men's A and B and Women's A should be affected by these changes. The typical race schedule applies again next week. Please see below for the course map; Garrett's been nice, it's gonna be a quick one with lots of passing! (Note: the adaptive racers will likely ride the entire course marked "non-adaptive".)

Dual Slalom Update

Hello all,

As many of you know, we were rained out last night at the last minute before CU Cycling's first dual slalom tournament ever. We appreciate everyone's patience and cooperation as we made what was at first a decision based on safety (lightning) and then on necessity (pouring rain). As it stands, we have a very tentative plan to host another dual slalom race at the same time as the short track on July 2. We will keep everyone updated on this plan by posting on this blog, so hang tight, and we'll see if we can't get the gravity side started again!

Results for June 11th

Updated results are completed and can be found here.

Dual Slalom Next Week

Despite thunder rumbling, we were able to get the second week's races off to a great start. This week, we introduced Dave Towle as series commentator for the rest of the summer: that guy elevates the race to the next level!

Just a reminder, next week will be a dual slalom race on the west end of Valmont. Everyone is welcome, so we'll likely include a kids' race (14 and under), sport (likely anyone not riding a dirtjumper or trail bike), and pro (likely anyone riding a dirtjumper or trail bike). The categories are not concrete and are subject to change as registration fills up and we see who will be racing. Note: because of the limited number of racers we can get through the course in the tournament-style bracket, kids will be charged a race fee this week. Registration will officially begin at 4:15pm on race day, but in order to secure a spot in the bracket, we recommend that you pre-register here. We look forward to the new race style next week!

First Race Results Posted

Thank you to everyone who came out for a great first night of the series! It's already obvious that there are some new contenders for this year's series titles. We appreciate everyone's patience with the slow start to this week's races; after the typical first week hiccups, we expect things to go smoothly from here on out. This week's results are posted here. Unfortunately the kids (4-9) races were not scored this week, but will definitely be given results next week. See everyone at week two!

PreRace is Live!

Hello race fans!

                With less than a week to go before our first races of the year, PreRace preregistration is live! Sign up for individual races ($18 before the race) by midnight the day before the race or sign up for all 11 races of the series ($170). The Short Track Crew is gearing up for an awesome season, and I hope you are too. Stay tuned in the coming days for the first race course map so you can prepare mentally for the battle to come.

                For any last-minute announcements, follow CU Cycling on Facebook.

As always, all ages and abilities are invited to come try their hand at Boulder’s summer MTB Fight Club!

Get Ready for Short Track 2014!

CU Cycling is proud to host another MTB Summer Short Track Series at Valmont Bike Park during the summer of 2014! Races take place every Wednesday from June 4 through August 13, starting at around 5pm with children’s races and continuing until the night finishes at around 7:15pm with the start of the Men’s A field. Riders of any and all abilities and ages are welcome and encouraged to come join in Boulder’s long-standing tradition of great community fun. If you’re not a racer but you’ve ever thought about racing a mountain bike, this is the time to swallow your nerves and give it a go!

This summer, the race organizers will be trying something a little different, oriented to the more gravity-inclined folks: two dual slalom races during the season will take place of normal short track! Stay tuned to this website for updates on the when and how of these two races.

Continue to visit the Short Track page at http://cushorttrack.blogspot.com/ to stay connected and in the know about the series and other announcements race organizers will have during the season. Come feed your competitive side at Valmont Bike Park this summer and get in touch with the outstanding community of cyclists that call Boulder home!

- Chad Hotimsky, CU Summer Short Track Coordinator