Universal Sports is teaming up with the International Cycling Union (UCI) to present same-day webcast coverage of the Cyclocross World Championships from Tabor, Czech Republic. The UniversalSports.com website will post coverage of the elite men’s and women’s races on Sunday, Jan. 31st starting at noon (ET). The rest of the races will be offered on-demand. Cyclocross World Championships webcast coverage will be available via this link (at the aforementioned date and time) along with photos, news, and highlights. Webcast coverage only available in the USA.

In celebration of Sidi’s 50th Anniversary, the venerable shoe company wants to hear some amazing stories about riders and their Sidis. Top prize package includes a pair of Sidi shoes, a Look 556 bike with SRAM Rival components and Look Keo pedals.

Tell your story in 350 words or less. Or write a poem. If you’d like, include a photo of yourself and your Sidis. Or just your Sidis. Get creative. Just don’t plagiarize my previously published story of Sidi love.

Hurry, contest ends March 1st, 2010. To submit your entry, and for complete contest rules, visit sidiamerica.com.

The Pennsylvania Scholastic Cycling League (PASCL) Mountain Bike Racing Series is a youth-specific racing series. The series provides a fun, positive environment for youth to try mountain biking. PASCL is designed to stimulate school mountain biking clubs, and provides a place for kids from different schools to compete against each other.

For 2010 PASCL will offer two concurrent race series. On April 17th, April 24th, and May 1st there will be races held in both the central region located in Carlisle, PA and the eastern region, at the Spring Mountain Ski Area in Schwenksville, PA. Each event will offer categories for Varsity Boys/Girls, Junior Varsity Boys/Girls, and Junior High Boys/Girls. Series awards will be presented for each category and for the winning team (based on series points). After that, the state championships will be held in Marysville, PA (centrally located) on May 9th for everyone to compete for state championship titles. More PASCL info is available at this link.

PASCL promoter Zach Adams said: “Consider this your call to action. We need able bodied volunteers to get involved at every level with the Pennsylvania Scholastic Cycling League: from high school teachers to bike shop owners, from race volunteers to ride leaders, and we need you to get involved. We especially need responsible, passionate, and knowledgeable people to help start youth clubs all across the state. If you are involved in a school district, or have a child who goes to school and want to see cycling in their lives, help make it happen with us!”

If you or anyone you know would like to get involved or participate in the series, you can find more information at http://pascl.blogspot.com or email Zach Adams at fastforwardracingproductions@gmail.com

February is right around the corner. That’s the time of year that cabin fever starts to take hold of the folks in the northern latitudes. Fortunately, Dirt Rag has just the elixir to cure what ails you—our Event Schedule has a tidy list of events that will put some pep in your step.

A van-full of Dirt Rag staffers will be road-tripping to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show to kick off our 2010 World Tour (we’ll have more info on the 2010 Tour coming soon). We invite you to visit by Richmond, VA on Feb 26-28th to say hello, and to check out the annual showcase of North America’s finest hand-crafted bicycles. Or plan your own road trip to one of these other fine events:

Check out Karen’s “getting to know you” blog about her first rides on the Killer B.

And here is Karen’s report from the 2009 Singlespeed World Championships, which she raced atop the Killer B.

USA Cycling announced the dates and venues for its 2010 American Mountain Bike Challenge (AMBC). All AMBC events will serve as qualifiers for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, which are slated for July 15-18 in Granby, CO.

The 21-race AMBC series will visit 16 states over a period of seven months. Two events are new to the AMBC for 2010—the 17th Annual Barking Spider Bash in Boise, ID on April 10th and the Bear Creek Challenge in Macungie, PA on August 1st. The complete AMBC calendar is as follows:

• March 14 – Southeastern Regional Championship Series #1 – Gainesville, FL.
• March 28: Chickasaw Trace Classic – Columbia, TN
• April 10: 17th Annual Barking Spider Bash – Boise, ID
• April 11: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #3 – Bryson City, NC
• April 25: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #4 – Winder, GA
• April 25: Greenbrier Challenge – Hagerstown, MD
• May 1-2: The Idyllwild Spring Challenge – Idyllwild, CA
• May 2: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #5 – Huntsville, AL
• May 2: Stump Jump – Spartanburg, SC
• May 16: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #6 – Ducktown, TN
• June 12-13: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #7 – Jackson, GA
• June 20: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #8 – Clemson, SC
• July 3-4: DINO Challenge – North Vernon,IN
• July 11: 15th Annual Bulldog Rump – Andover, NJ
• July 11: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #9 – Chattanooga, TN
• August 1: Bear Creek Challenge – Macungie, PA
• August 7-8: Southeastern Regional Championship Series #10 – Fontana, NC
• September 3-5: Camp Eagle Classic MTB Festival – Rocksprings, TX
• October 2 – Road Apple Rally – Farmington, NM
• October 23-24: Piney Hills Classic – Ruston, LA

Each stop on the AMBC series offers cross country events, and several stops offer short-track cross country, downhill, time trials, or super D competitions. The top ten finishers in each respective age group and ability category at an AMBC event will qualify to compete at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships. Visit the AMBC webpage for more information.