High school mountain bike championships being staged at new venue near St. George airport

ST. GEORGE — Hundreds of high school mountain bike athletes are gathering in St. George this weekend for the annual state championship races.

Dozens of high school mountain bike teams from around the state arrive at the venue for the 2020 Utah High School Cycling League state championships Oct. 23-24, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

This year’s races are at a newly created venue: the Desert Canyons Course, located on private property near the St. George Regional Airport. It is billed as the Utah High School Cycling League’s longest and most ambitious course yet.

Developed in conjunction with a private landowner, the course features 7.28-mile laps with an elevation difference of 550 feet. One of the more challenging sections, which includes a technical climb up rocky terrain, is called the “Pushing Tin” loop, a nod to the nearby airport.

Approximately 66 high school teams representing each of the four regions of the state are scheduled to participate. Many of the teams arrived Thursday to begin setting up and start practice rides along the course.

Several Southern Utah schools will be represented, including two-time defending state champion Snow Canyon, which won the Division 2 title in each of the past two years.

During the four races this season, the Warriors have faced a tough challenge from the Lehi Pioneers, who edged Snow Canyon by just a few points at the competitions held in Soldier Hollow, Cedar City and Richfield. The Warriors placed slightly ahead of Lehi during the season’s second race, staged in Price.

Dozens of high school mountain bike teams from around the state arrive at the venue for the 2020 Utah High School Cycling League state championships Oct. 23-24, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Other Southern Utah schools competing within Division 2 include Desert Hills, Dixie, Crimson Cliff, and Hurricane. Meanwhile, in Division 3, local schools with teams include Cedar, Pine View, Enterprise and Panguitch High Schools, along with an Iron County composite team comprised of students other than those who attend Cedar High.

Friday’s races start at 9 a.m. with the freshmen boys and will run until mid-afternoon, with the day’s medals and awards to be presented at the venue at approximately 5 p.m., or one hour after the last race has been completed. Saturday will follow a similar schedule, wrapping up with the varsity riders in the afternoon: girls varsity at 1:05 p.m. and boys varsity at 2:30 p.m. The final awards will be presented at 5:30 or later.

To see the multipage packet containing detailed race information, click here.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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