From USAC - MTB events in bold.
Downhill National Champs return to Big Bear at the end of July.
The 2026 National Championship schedule is as follows:
• January 31 – February 1: Esports p/b TrainingPeaks Virtual — TrainingPeaks Virtual
• March 7: Collegiate Gravel — Turkey, Texas
• March 20–22: Collegiate BMX — West Monroe, Louisiana
• March 27–28: BMX Freestyle — South Jordan, Utah
• March 27: Elite BMX — Rock Hill, South Carolina
• April 11–12: Paracycling Road — Bentonville, Arkansas
• May 7–10: Collegiate Road p/b Trek Bicycle — Madison, Wisconsin
• June 6–7: Enduro Mountain Bike — Kellogg, Idaho
• June 17–21: Pro Road (Elite, U23, 17–18) — Charleston, West Virginia
• June 27 – July 1: Masters & Junior Road — Greater Milwaukee Area, Wisconsin
• July 13–19: Endurance Mountain Bike — Roanoke, Virginia
• July 23–27: Junior Track — Breinigsville, Pennsylvania
• July 25–26: Gravity Mountain Bike — Big Bear Lake, California
• August 5–9: Masters & Paracycling Track — Colorado Springs, Colorado
• August 20–23: Elite Track — Carson, California
• September 10–13: Collegiate Track — Indianapolis, Indiana
• September 12: Gravel — La Crescent, Minnesota
• September 20: Gran Fondo — Frederick, Maryland
• October 6–11: Collegiate Mountain Bike — Grand Junction, Colorado
• November 13–14: Madison Track — Detroit, Michigan
• December 9–13: Cyclocross — Fayetteville, Arkansas
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – December 17, 2025 – USA Cycling is excited to announce the schedule for the 2026 USA Cycling National Championships. With events spanning multiple cycling disciplines, the season showcases some of the best races in the United States. They will draw thousands of cyclists and fans from around the country, all vying for the coveted Stars and Stripes jersey.
“The pinnacle experience of a USA Cycling member is competing in a National Championship event. Whether your goal is to win a Stars and Stripes jersey, or simply to finish in the top half of your age group, nothing is as motivating as Nationals,” said USA Cycling's President and CEO, Brendan Quirk. “We’re excited to return to so many proven, high-quality venues. Communities such as Fayetteville, Charleston, Roanoke, and Milwaukee are proving their wholehearted commitment to bike racing. 2026 will be another fabulous season!"
In June, Pro Road Nationals returns to Charleston, showcasing Elite, Under-23, and Junior 17-18 racers. Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals is returning to Roanoke for an exhilarating race week that includes Short Track, Cross-Country, and Marathon Mountain Bike events. Gravity Mountain Bike Nationals will take place in partnership with the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series, while Enduro Mountain Bike Nationals will take place in partnership with the North American Enduro Cup. For the second year, Trek Bicycle will host Collegiate Road Nationals, and Tour of America’s Dairyland will host Masters & Junior Road Nationals, both taking place in Wisconsin. Gravel Nationals returns to La Crescent, Minn. in September, and the season will conclude with Cyclocross Nationals back in Fayetteville, Ark.
Riders will see some exciting new venues and additions in 2026. The first National Championship of the year will be Esports, presented by TrainingPeaks Virtual and in partnership with Echelon Racing Promotions. Collegiate Gravel Nationals will make its debut, taking place in partnership with Valley of Tears. In collaboration with COR-Athlete BMX Park, BMX Freestyle Nationals will take place in March at their facility in South Jordan, Utah. Paracycling Road Nationals will be held as a standalone event, taking place in Bentonville, Ark. The Valley Preferred Cycling Center will host Junior Track Nationals, and the Velo Sports Center will host Elite Track Nationals.
Details including event locations, registration information, and additional event specifics, will be available on the USA Cycling website at https://usacycling.org/national-championships
For more information, contact National Events at nationalevents@usacycling.org.
ABOUT USA CYCLING (usacycling.org)
USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, gravel, BMX, esports, and paracycling. USA Cycling’s mission is to grow participation and engagement in the sport of bicycle racing and to achieve sustained international success across all cycling disciplines. USA Cycling supports cyclists of all levels and abilities, from those just beginning in the sport to international-caliber athletes. The organization identifies, develops, and selects cyclists to represent the United States in international competition through support of youth and interscholastic programs, amateur and grassroots racing events, athlete development initiatives, and operational support for cycling clubs, racing teams, and event organizers. USA Cycling has a membership of 60,000, sanctions over 1,500 events annually, and is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USA Cycling’s national headquarters is located in Olympic City USA, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with a regional office in Bentonville, Arkansas, home to the U.S. Mountain Bike National Team.
Collegiate Gravel National Champs?
Whaaaat?
The XCO track in Roanoke is such an embarrassment.
We have the best crop of xc racers in 30 years, but we are making them race on a track that wasn’t good enough for local racing in the 90’s.
If you have a junior that is interested in racing, they better have a front row call-up because the track has zero passing opportunities, no selective features and a paved start into the first singletrack that is about 25 seconds long.
With less than 30 elite men and women, a horrificly unsuitable track is less of a problem, but it sucks seeing Blevins skipping National Championships because the course is so unlike World Cup racing…
Nothing to hate on with the Gravity venues though- those events are great!
I heard about this at CX Nats last week! It’s sort of a test event from what I understand.
Interesting, I wonder how many schools will show up.
How was CX National Champs (apart from dusty)? I saw a few highlight videos from the Pro classes and it look like turnout was pretty low. Both in racers and spectators.
It did seem like a pretty low turnout in comparison to past National and World events at Centennial that I've attended. It also didn't feel like CX weather, as it was extremely nice every day except on Sunday, when it got cold. We mainly went up to touch base with the coaches of a couple of programs my son is looking at for college next year (gravity disciplines), and spent most of our time in their pits (we had a bunch of other stuff going on)... so I didn't really go down toward the start/finish corral which is where I've been in previous events to gauge crowd size.
Turnout was very low this year. The videos from the pro races were really sad to watch. Couldn't have been more than a couple hundred spectators there. When you consider most of the elite racers have friends and family there for them, the actual non-related spectators might have been <100. Really sad for the sport. It was insanely cold, but so was 2012 Nationals in Madison, WI and there were thousands of spectators. there.
NAEC in Idaho looks sweet. First hand reports from this years event were positive and the tracks were proper enduro tracks. I think it was originally scheduled for late July when it would be more likely to be a blown out dust bowl. Early June, however, has a better chance of being less dusty.
Having experience past CX events at Centennial (both more regional as well as Worlds), it's a great venue for spectating. I think part of the low turnout is that the CX scene has really fallen off in NWA. There was a really lively scene here for years that's kind of dwindled away as many of the dedicated riders and organizers have had kids and moved on with their lives. It used to be a great party atmosphere at the races with locals turning out to bring good vibes. I'm not sure what exactly caused the scene to fall off here, but the popularity of MTB and the proliferation of trails probably has something to do with it.
Anyway, it was a shame, and I hope it's a better turnout next year. There was a LOT happening this last weekend, though, with the local IMBA chapter hosting their winter challenge ride on Saturday and a ton of different running events as well. Overall, though, the area just doesn't have the CX scene to really draw a lot of fans right now.
an email from USAC just came through - High School racing added to 3 collegiate national champs. deets below
USA Cycling to Add High School Racing to Three Collegiate National Championships Starting in 2026
New high school categories debut at Collegiate Nationals in 2026, giving young riders exposure to collegiate programs.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – December 18, 2025 – USA Cycling announced on Thursday that starting in 2026, it will add men’s and women’s high school racing categories to three Collegiate National Championship events: Track, Mountain Bike, and Cyclocross. This move creates a clearer and more welcoming pathway for young athletes moving from high school races into collegiate cycling.
By inviting high school athletes to compete alongside collegiate clubs and varsity programs at select championship venues, USA Cycling aims to boost exposure, expand opportunity, and strengthen the development pipeline that carries riders from youth racing into higher education and beyond.
“Providing high school riders a meaningful introduction to collegiate cycling has been a priority for us,” said Eric Bennett, USA Cycling’s Director of Membership. “By integrating high school categories into our Collegiate National Championships, we’re creating an environment where young athletes can see what’s possible, meet collegiate riders and coaches, and take their first real step toward racing in college. It’s a huge opportunity for exposure, for the students and for the programs, and it strengthens the long-term pathway for the entire sport.”
To support families and students, each collegiate championship weekend will also include a Collegiate Cycling Fair, designed to connect high school athletes with collegiate programs.
At these fairs, parents and students will be able to:
- Meet directly with club and varsity cycling programs
- Explore scholarship offerings and academic partnerships
- Understand the differences between club and varsity structures
- Ask coaches about recruitment, training expectations, and team culture
This engagement layer goes beyond racing, giving families a comprehensive view of collegiate cycling at the national level.
“Our collegiate programs have been asking for more ways to connect with young riders, and this initiative delivers exactly that,” said Vanessa Drummond, USA Cycling’s Manager of Collegiate Programs. “Hosting high school racing at Collegiate Nationals brings coaches, teams, and future student-athletes together in one environment. It’s a win for riders, a win for colleges, and a win for the long-term growth of the sport.”
High school categories will be featured at the following Collegiate National Championship events:
Collegiate Track Nationals - Indianapolis, Ind. (September 10-13)
- High school racing tentatively scheduled for September 12-13
Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals - Grand Junction, Colorado. (October 6-11)
- High school racing tentatively scheduled for October 10-11
Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals - Fayetteville, Ark. (December 9-13)
- High school racing tentatively scheduled for December 11-12
More details will be shared soon, and exact race dates and times will be posted on each national championship schedule.
Visit USACycling.org for more information on the athletes, events, and membership programs, and follow @USACycling across all channels for the latest on Team USA.
For more information, contact Eric Bennett at ebennett@usacycling.org.
ABOUT USA CYCLING (usacycling.org)
USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, gravel, BMX, esports, and paracycling. USA Cycling’s mission is to grow participation and engagement in the sport of bicycle racing and to achieve sustained international success across all cycling disciplines. USA Cycling supports cyclists of all levels and abilities, from those just beginning in the sport to international-caliber athletes. The organization identifies, develops, and selects cyclists to represent the United States in international competition through support of youth and interscholastic programs, amateur and grassroots racing events, athlete development initiatives, and operational support for cycling clubs, racing teams, and event organizers. USA Cycling has a membership of 80,000, sanctions over 2,500 events annually, and is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USA Cycling’s national headquarters is located in Olympic City USA, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with a regional office in Bentonville, Arkansas, home to the U.S. Mountain Bike National Team.
UM… highschool classes? Why?
Lol, besides Hoverair (the drone that must follow you because your sport has no spectators) and a financial planning company, USAC’s only other sponsor is a homeschooling company…
For Collegiate mtb nationals- they are within a few weeks of the NICA regional championships… all of which happen during domestic CX season.
Hard to find anything good to say about any of that… I’m sure the varsity collegiate programs are facing a demographic cliff…. But Varsity collegiate programs are with 3 or 4 exceptions, not a place talent is developed- it’s just warehousing.
I’ve served on collegiate confrence boards for more than 20 years at this point- it’s the student-run “club” programs at public land grant universities and a few small liberal arts schools that make the biggest difference bringing new people into the sport and creating new officals and race promoters… USAC is actively taking local control away from the conferences and centralizing it in Bentonville, and this will have serious long-term implications for the culture of collegiate cycling.
The culture of Bentonville is not the culture of higher-education, nor is it the culture of grassroots development. Civil rights laws in Arkansas are not the laws of Colorado, California or New England where club collegiate cycling lives and thrives and has existed twice as long as USAC.
I get what you’re saying Mickey, but I think it’s actually a positive. There are a ton of kids who aren’t going to go professional who just kind of drop out of mountain biking when they graduate high school because there’s no real organized path forward for them that doesn’t involve forgoing college and dedicating themselves 100% to training and racing. They might continue to ride and race competitively if there were some better transition into college programs, which then might start to grow college programs. You might get some occasional outliers like Dak as well as a result, too.
Don’t see dual slalom listed
It’s part of the Gravity champs at Big Bear. DS and DH usually run on same weekend. They did Enduro along with them for quite a few years (Winter Park and Ride Rock Creek at least) then separated Enduro into its own event, I believe, last year for the first time.
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