For Release: 12:01AM Tuesday November 24^th 2009

Baltimore, MD - As the fall 2009 semester winds down, UMBC Cycling has completed its tentative racing schedule for the spring 2010 semester.

The leadership of the team chose to focus on mountain bike racing in the spring due to a recent spike in interest throughout the entire team.  In keeping with this focus, the main racing ticket contains a mini-series of five (5) of the region’s most popular mountain bike races. 

“I think our core of 6-7 racers should begin to make a splash at these races” said Tom Mackay, VP of UMBC Cycling.

A return to the roots of UMBC Cycling, the mountain mini-series is designed to further ignite the cycling movement at the Catonsville, MD campus.  The list includes the following races:

·       Rockburn Reloaded, Ellicott City, MD

·       AFC Sugar Hill, Ellicott City, MD

·       The Leesburg Bakers Dozen, Leesburg, VA

·       The Greenbrier Challenge MD State Championships, Boonsboro, MD

·       The Escape from Granogue, Granogue Estates, DE

Representing UMBC will be experienced veterans of the sport and enthusiastic new riders.  Daniel Atkins, reigning state champion in the sport 19-29 class, will be racing CAT 1 (formerly expert) this year. Marshall Troutner of Light Street Cycles and Ben D'Alessio from Antietam Velo Club (AVC) are also expected to have big seasons.

“I don't know a single thing about mountain bike riding,” admits Ray Klug, President of UMBC Cycling, “But we can begin to get the plan together.”

UMBC Cycling also intends to send riders to “secondary” races not on this mini-list making sure they come to a race near you.

Our road team will be providing support at all five events of the series while also preparing for their own appearances at local ACCC races (acccycling.org).

For more information including coverage of all UMBC Cycling events, visit mdcycling.com or search UMBC Cycling on Facebook.

Questions can be sent to umbc [at] mdcycling [dot] com.

Update 1:  Added links to event homepages.