Colorado Springs, Colo. (February 3, 2009) -- The 2010 USA Cycling Collegiate Road season kicked off last weekend in Tucson with the University of Arizona Criterium, the year’s first collegiate cycling race. The season will begin in earnest across the country in the weeks that follow, but this early season start was a great preview of the excitement to come.

Chloe Forsman (University of Arizona) the 2009 Women’s D1 Mountain Bike Cross Country and Short Track National Champion, and promoter of the Arizona race, reflected on the preparation for the start of the season, saying, “The event is entirely organized and run by students. This year, a six-person committee has handled the bulk of the groundwork, while about 30 club members volunteered at the event day-of. It's stressful but always a highlight of the year.” Things worked out well for the home team, as they won all but one category of racing.

As the weather warms across the country, the regular season of racing will begin in each of the 11 Collegiate Cycling Conferences across the country. Based on size, each conference is allocated a specific number of start spots at the USA Cycling Collegiate National Road Championships, which take place this year in Madison, Wisconsin, May 7-9. This narrows the competition to the best and fastest in collegiate cycling, which means that competition will be fierce throughout the regular spring season as teams compete for points. With over 70 events around the country leading right up to the rest week that precedes Collegiate Road National Championships, racers will have plenty of time to move up in the collegiate rankings and secure a start spot at Nationals.

Three of the four USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships, Track, Mountain Bike, and Cyclo-cross, were contested during the first half of this academic year. The only remaining championship is traditionally the largest and most contested: the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships. Up to 20 National Collegiate Ranking Points are available to each team at the final USA Cycling Collegiate National Championship of the academic year. Headed into the finale the standings remain tight, leaving the nation’s collegiate cycling powerhouses to fight tooth and nail for every point.

Division I National Collegiate Team Rankings
1 Fort Lewis College 58
2 Lees-McRae College 53
3 Lindsey Wilson College 49
4 Colorado State University 43
5 Marian University 36
See Full Rankings Here

Division II National Collegiate Team Rankings
1 Mesa State College 51
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 38
3 Appalachian State University 32
4 Western Washington University 30
5 Colby College 21
See Full Rankings Here

Check out the complete schedule of this season's collegiate road racing on the USA Cycling Collegiate webpage.

Stay tuned for more updates on collegiate cycling as the season progresses.