Get yourself ready for one of the best Mountain Bike Race events ever. Yes, ever! Is that too bold? These courses are the best yet.
Racing starts at 9:01 pm., Wednesday Night, June 27th 2018, in Palmer Park, Colorado Springs. Official Updates and Registration through Sand Creek Sports. You don't want to miss this one.
Super Venue:
Palmer Park is a mountain bike mecca, right in Colorado Springs with trails that offer new challenges around each corner. This is a mountainous area in the middle of the city and a rare outdoor treasure, and perfect for a Mountain Bike Race!
Google Maps Link To Palmer Park
This race course has fast and flowy - steep and technical (both up and down) -- drops and steps - cliffs and valleys - pavement and dirt and rocks and roots and a little sand. Awesome trails anytime, but at race pace . . . AND this race brings a whole new dimension - Racing under a Full Moon - After Dark.
Come put yourself to the test - it's just you against the trail in a Time Trial format - with no one to slow you down.
This is a Mountain Bikers Mountain Bike Race! And, you will need every arrow in the quiver to succeed. Bring your brightest lights and get ready for a race experience you won't forget. (Headlights and Helmet Required.) Palmer Park has a lot of great trails and some with some great technical features. Come prepared. There will be fast and swoopy, some bits of dirt road, a bunch of techy bits, and possibly some areas for you to walk. Bring it!
Mountain Bike Race Courses:
There are 2 courses:
Map and Elevation profile of the Long Course for Cat 1 & Pro Racers.
Map and Elevation profile of the Shorter Course for All Other Racers.
The Long Course is 14.2 miles with 1570 ft of climbing -- for Cat 1 and Pro riders. And yes, even if you're an excellent rider, this will be challenging. (As always, the course is subject to change.)
The Shorter Course of 11 miles with 1170 ft of climbing -- for All Other Racers. Yes, it's a little shorter, and it cuts out 2 of the more technical sections, but it will still require all your skills. (As always, the course is subject to change.)
We recommend a pre-ride for whichever course you'll be racing. This is not a simple walk in the park kind of ride. Bring all your skills. That's one reason we recommend a pre-ride. A special race for the USA Cycling development juniors starts at 7:00 pm, so the course will close for pre-ride then. The main event starts at 9:01 pm and time slots will fill with registration. Pre-Registration Here is absolutely recommended.
Click the maps to view and to download full size map images, then Download your choice of the Palmer_Long.GPX file, or the Palmer_Short.GPX file.
Get your lights ready and your mind prepped for an awesome Mountain Bike Race! Make sure you have adequate tire pressure because the rocks in Palmer are not very forgiving. Then, get back to the main Facebook page for all the updates, links for registration and more. Bring your best gear and get set to race into the dark!
Good luck. We Will See You at the Park, In the Dark!
Note: This race is put on by Sand Creek Sports of Colorado Springs, CO. Synthesis is not part of Sand Creek Sports, nor are all the volunteers like Front Rangers Juniors Cycling that assist with the mountain bike race. Synthesis does assist with setting the course in conjunction with Palmer Park & Colorado Springs officials. This page is provided as a service to the bicycle race community to distribute maps and GPX files.
Post Note: Awesome Mountain Bike race! A ton of fun. Now I am leaving this map up for those that might want to follow the route just because it is such a good course, and a lot of people get lost in Palmer Park when they ride. Use this map, and have a really great ride! Thank you everyone who came to participate.