2011 Provincial MTB XC Team

Overview

The focus for the 2011 Alberta Provincial Cross-Country Mountain Bike team will be on U17 and Junior riders. Espoir and Elite riders will also be offered support at the National Cross-Country Championships.

Hardwood Hills XC Canada Cup – Barrie, ON, June 5
The Hardwood Hills Canada Cup will feature an 8 rider roster (4 men, 4 women). Junior, U23 and Elite riders are invited to submit race résumés to the Racing Committee via Cameron McKnight; cam@albertabicycle.ab.ca  Deadline for submission is May 2^nd. Athletes selected for this self funded project will have demonstrated they are able to perform at a competitive level suitable for these races. 

The team will be announced by May 4^th.

National Cross-Country Championships, July 16, Canmore

Four positions will be offered to the top 2 U17 men and the top 2 U17 women. Selection points will be earned in the Alberta MTB XC #1 and the Iron Maiden XC #4 according to the Alberta Cup schedule below.

U17 Men will earn points in the Sport Men category, while U17 Women will earn points in the Sport Youth Women category. The team will be selected as follows:

U17 Men                             U17 Women
1. 1st on points                  1. 1st on points
2. 2nd on points                 2. 2nd on points

Junior riders will be selected using common selection criteria for the National Cross-Country Championships. A points schedule (below), incorporating both Canada Cup and Alberta Cup events will be used to select riders. Riders will be selected, in order of priority, as follows:

Junior Men                                         Junior Women                                                
1. 1st on points                                  1. 1st on points                                                
2. 2nd on points                                 2. Racing Committee selection                 
3. Racing Committee selection
4. Racing Committee selection

U19 Women, Espoir and Elite riders will be selected using common selection criteria for the National Cross-Country Championships. The points schedule (page 7), incorporating both Canada Cup and Alberta Cup events, will be used to select riders. Riders will be selected as follows:

U21 Women (WCSG eligible)           Espoir Riders                         
1. 1st on points                                    1. 1st on points, Women       
2. Racing Committee selection        2. 1st on points, Men             

Elite Riders  
1. 1st on points,Women
2. 1st on points, Men

All categories (except U17) – Selection Races and category details
May 22 Alberta MTB XC #1, or Mont Tremblant Canada Cup (May 21)
May 29 Baie-Saint-Paul Canada Cup
June 5 Hardwood Hills Canada Cup
June 11 Iron Maiden XC

 Two results from the above races to count (Junior, Espoir, Elite)

 Points awarded as per the Alberta Provincial MTB Team points schedule (top right).

 Junior Men earn points in the Men’s Expert category at the Alberta races listed above, and in the Junior Expert category at the Canada Cup races.

 Junior women earn points in Women’s sport category in the Alberta races, and junior women in the Canada Cup races.

 The Elite and Espoir Women earn points in the Women’s Elite Category; Espoir and Elite Men earn points in the Men’s Elite category

 Points will be awarded for the overall finishing rank in the selection category.

Riders wishing to compete for selection, but not currently in one of the prescribed categories, may apply to the Racing Committee for a temporary upgrade. Such upgrades will be awarded at the sole discretion of the Racing Committee.

 Ties will be broken according to: number of 1st place finishes; number of 2nd place finishes; number of 3rd place finishes ….

2011 Western Canada Games – August 10 - 14, Kamloops, BC

In August of this year a team of young Alberta cyclists will compete at the Western Canada Games, a major multi-sport event for developing athletes held every four years. The Games are contested by western Provincial and Territorial teams.

Eligibility: Team Alberta will consist of 5 male (U19) and 5 female (U21) athletes. Some high-performance athletes aged 18 or older may not be eligible for the Games; other eligibility rules also apply. Please contact Cameron McKnight for more information:

cam@albertabicycle.ab.ca                                phone: 780.427.6352

Events: Events at the Western Canada Games include Road (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) and Mountain Bike (Cross-country). Athletes must compete in all races.

WCSG Team Alberta Selection Procedure

Athletes will be selected no later than June 22^nd. Positions on the team, for both men and women, will be awarded as follows:

1.             1^st place – Road points
2.             2^nd place – Road points
3.             1^st place – Mountain Bike points
4.             Racing Committee Selection
5.             Racing Committee Selection

Selection Events                                                                Selection Categories

May 14                   Velocity ITT                                           Category 3, Women A/B
May 15                   Velocity RR                                           Category 3, Women A/B
June 22                 Alberta MTB XC #1    Senior Expert Men, Senior Expert Women

In the Cross-country and Road Race events, points will be awarded to 10^th position to finishers in the categories listed, regardless of a rider’s eligibility for the Western Canada Games; candidates must finish in the top-10 of the category to gain points. In the Individual Time Trial selection event, Western Canada Games candidates will be awarded points exclusively to 8^th position. Points will be awarded as follows:

Road Race, Cross-country, Individual Time Trial

1.             25                                         
2.             20                         
3.             15         
4.             12                         
5.             10         
6.             8                            
7.             6                            
8.             4            
9.             2            
10.           1

·         Ties will be broken by performance in the Individual Time Trial.

·          If a rider qualifies first in road and mountain bike, the category in which the rider earned the highest number of points takes precedence.  In this case, the open position based on selection points will be awarded to the rider with the next highest points total. 

·         If a rider refuses a points selection, the selection will again shift to the rider with the next highest points total.

·         Riders wishing to compete for team positions, but not currently placed in the listed categories, will be granted temporary upgrades or downgrades.