| 03/06/2006 | USA Cycling announced today that it has earmarked more than $50,000 for the 2006 Elite Mountain Bike Performance Stipend program. The initiative is aimed at rewarding off-road athletes with incentives and support to compete at the highest level of international mountain bike competition.
The 2006 mountain bike season marks the beginning of the two-year Olympic qualification period in which countries accumulate points towards its nation's overall ranking the deciding factor in how many start spots a country receives at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. USA Cycling created the stipend program as one of several efforts maximize America's international ranking.
"The international performances of our top athletes over the next two years will determine the number of Olympic start positions we are awarded as a nation," said Steve Johnson, chief operating officer and director of athletics for USA Cycling. "The participation of our top athletes in the UCI World Cup calendar is critical in this process and we are committed to supporting their efforts."
The program is specific to elite men’s and women’s cross country disciplines and begins with the first UCI World Cup event April 1 in Curacao.
Following each World Cup event, USA Cycling will pay cash incentives to the top-four men and the top-four women in the following day's UCI rankings. To be considered for the cash incentives, athletes must participate in the World Cup in question. If an athlete fails to compete in a World Cup but is still ranked as one of the top-four American riders in the following edition of the UCI rankings, no stipend will be provided. www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2115
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