November 26/98 10:48 am - BTAC Show Dates, Vote!, `Cross Update, National Team Criteria

Posted by Editor on 11/26/98
 

BTAC Show Dates Set

There hasn't been an official announcement yet, but the dates for the 1999 BTAC (Bicycle Trade Association of Canada) trade show will be September 23-26. The show will take place in Toronto, however, there is still some negotiating going on as to whether the location will be downtown or out by the airport. The show begins 10 days after Interbike Las Vegas, however, Interbike has thrown a wrench in the works by announcing an 'Open Air Expo' in New Jersey for the 26th/27th.


Vote!

Get your votes in for the Canadian Cyclist of the Year Awards. Hank Sydor e-mailed us that he has voted (I wonder who for...), so you should too. Go Here to vote.


`Cross Nationals Update

55 entries so far, with lots of vet A's and elite men and the largest junior field to date, but only one category with three provinces represented (elite men). Rumour has it that Brian Walton is coming up fron Baltimore to contest the event. Get your entries in! (Are there any women coming from outside of Québec and Ontario? The organizer needs to know - contact him through the Nationals website)

Note: You can still register through the website, and day-of registrations with cash, cheque or Visa will be accepted.


MTB World's Selection Criteria

Well, we asked for confirmation on these 'unofficial' criteria - so far, no response. For 1999, it appears that the criteria for selection to the National Team for the World's will be as follows:

Funded Positions:

- top 2 riders in the UCI rankings
- Committee's Choice (High Performance Committee)
- National Champion

Unfunded Positions:

- Canada Cup Champion (note: must have won at least one race in the series)
- 2 Committee's Choice

If the National Champion is also one of the top ranked UCI riders, then the position goes to 2nd place at the Nationals, etc. We will try to confirm and get more details as soon as possible.


OCA Treasurer Picked

The OCA Board has announced that Ontario Racing Committee Chair Ralph Neumann has agreed to take on the role of Treasurer.


U.S. Mountain Bike Champions Give the Shirts Off Their Backs

John Tomac (Tomac/Manitou), Ned Overend (Specialized), Susan DeMattei (Diamondback), Juli Furtado (GT), Ruthie Matthes (Powerbar), Tinker Juarez (Cannondale), Missy Giove (Cannondale) and other U.S. mountain bike champions have donated their old race jerseys to support the trail advocacy efforts of the New England Mountain Bike Association. NEMBA has also received a Specialized Team Jersey (courtesy of Mountain Bike Action), signed by the entire Specialized Team! All the jerseys will be auctioned off on the internet during December. To get in on the bidding and ride away with one of these collector's items, cruise to NEMBA's webpage http://www.nemba.org on December 1st.

NEMBA is the largest all-advocacy mountain bike organization in the world, besides IMBA. They have 14 chapters throughout New England.

Philip Keyes
pk@nemba.org
www.nemba.org