AusCycling is accepting expressions of interest from under-19 and under-23 cross-country mountain bikers to participate in a European development camp opportunity this May.
The camp is provisionally planned to be held from May 4-28 and includes race starts at the Czech MTB Cup C1 in Czechia, Heubacher Mountain Bike Festival - Bike the Rock (UCI XCO Junior Series) in Germany and back again to Czechia at Nové Město na Moravě (UCI XCO Junior Series).
AusCycling and National MTB XCO Head Coach Rob Holmgren have identified this development opportunity as one to provide athletes with developmentally appropriate opportunities to compete in larger and highly competitive European fields, to optimise athlete off bike skills central to professional success and to provide athletes the opportunity to improve UCI ranking and optimise start positions in UCI racing.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Performances in the following events will be considered in order of priority (1 - 6):
- Top 20 finish at 2025 U19 or U23 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships or World Cup.
- Top 10 at 2025/2026 European HC or C1 (U23) or UCI Junior Series.
- Top 3 at 2026 U19/U23 NZ Continental Series (CS) and/or AUS CS.
- Top 3 at U19/U23 2026 Oceania Championships (OC).
- Top 5 at 2026 U19/U23 NZ CS and/or AUS CS and/or OC on lead lap and within 105% of winner's time.
- Top 3 at 2026 U19/U23 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships on lead lap and within 105% of winner's time.
COMPETITION PERFORMANCE PERIOD
- January 1, 2026 - March 22, 2026
Expressions of interest will close on March 22 at 5pm AEDT. Athletes will be notified of panel outcomes by March 27.
Feature picture: SWpix.com