The top collegiate athletes from around the USA will head to Durango, Colorado, for the 2021 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships on October 14-17.
Student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete on the 1990 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships course at the Purgatory Resort.
“Purgatory is excited to welcome the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships,” said Dave Rathbun, General Manager for Purgatory Resort. “We are fortunate to have some of the best riding in North America to attract one of America’s premier cycling events to Purgatory. We look forward to bringing more events like this to the Durango area.”
Dave Hagen, Director of Cycling Operations at Fort Lewis College and the Technical Director for the event, Hagen said, “Racers will be riding on spruced-up versions of legendary courses up at Purgatory.
“The Cross-Country course is almost identical to the one from the 1990 UCI MTB World Championships and the World Cup Downhill from 2001 has been modernized – both the courses will be very challenging as the National Championship course should be. The entire Short Track, Cross-Country, and Dual Slalom courses will be visible from the base area and will make for some great action.”
Racing begins on Thursday, October 14 starting with the Dual Slalom qualifiers. Friday will be a full day of action with early Cross-Country racing followed by Dual Slalom finals. Downhill seedings and Short Track will take place on Saturday, and the weekend will conclude with Sunday’s Downhill finals and the ultimate collegiate omnium decider, the Team Relay.
“We are excited to bring collegiate athletes from all over the country to see what is so special about Durango, Purgatory, and the community we have,” added Dave Hagen. “They are going to be blown away with how many fans will be there cheering them on.”
Justin Evans, USA Cycling’s Collegiate and Youth Programs Manager, said “USA Cycling is excited to host Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in historic Durango, Colorado.
“After two previous attempts were cancelled, 2019 due to forest fires and 2020 because of COVID, we are excited that the third time will be the charm! Durango will host the best collegiate mountain bike athletes and we are set for a fantastic few days of racing.”
