USA Cycling is offering a FREE webinar to explain the rule changes in effect for the 2010 racing season. The webinar will take place March 18 at 6:00 p.m. EDT. Led by USA Cycling Technical Director Shawn Farrell, the event will be open to anyone who is interested in attending. To register, visit USA Cyclingandrsquo;s webinar webpage. Once you register, youandrsquo;ll receive an email confirming your registration with instructions on how to join the webinar.

USA Cycling announced today the 21 riders named to the U.S. squad for the upcoming Pan American Continental Mountain Bike Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, April 9-11. The U.S. contingent will compete in the men's and women's cross country, downhill, and four-cross competitions in Guatemala.

USA Cycling is pleased to announce Reynolds Cycling as an official sponsor and supplier for the national governing body's domestic and internationally-based development programs. Per the agreement, which extends through the end of 2012, Reynolds will provide road, time trial and track wheels to USA Cycling's junior, women's and U23 road development programs and endurance track programs.

USA Cycling announced today a change in the dates and venue for the 2010 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships. The event will now return to Moab, Utah for 2010, to be held in conjunction with the 24-Hours of Moab event, October 9-10. The USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships were originally scheduled to take place alongside the 24-Hours of Big Bear in West Virginia, June 12-13. However, due to financial concerns, the West Virginia event has been cancelled.

Bill Peterson was elected President of the USA Cycling Board of Directors at its semi-annual meeting today. Peterson replaces previous board president Mark Abramson. Abramson was elected as one of two Vice Presidents on the board. Wayne Stetina was re-elected as Vice President. Jim Patton was re-elected as Secretary.

Attention potential 2010-11 UCI registered track teams: The deadline to file all necessary paperwork to USA Cycling is Friday, March 12. This year, USA Cycling will oversee more aspects of the UCI registration process, similar to the registration of UCI continental road teams. The official deadline for USA Cycling to submit registration materials to the UCI is March 14. Therefore, USA Cycling needs to receive all of the necessary documentation by March 12.

USA Cycling announced today the eight-person U.S. roster for the upcoming UCI Track World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 24-28. As the defending world champion in the individual pursuit, 19-year-old Taylor Phinney earned an automatic nomination to the men's squad. The 2009 world championships in Poland saw Phinney become the first American male to win an elite world title on the track in 13 years.

USA Cycling announced today the eight athletes it will send to round one of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Madrid, Spain, March 26-27. The Madrid Supercross is the fifth event that factors into the 2010 USA Cycling BMX Power Rankings. The final race that will factor into these rankings will be the UCI BMX World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on July 31.

Check out USA Cycling's March Communiquandeacute; and learn about upcoming races in your area! You'll also discover how to watch cycling on TV and online this season, view or download free archived webinars, and petition for a spot at USA Cycling's European Mountain Bike Development Race Camps. Read advice from Coach Matt McNamara or get more information on upcoming webinars that could benefit you.

USA Cycling will be strictly enforcing all UCI rules regarding bicycles for all UCI races, Elite and Junior 17-18 National Championships, National Racing Calendar events and any selection event for an elite or junior international competition. At USA Cycling Masters National Championships, the eight centimeter height rule and the 3/1 aspect ratio will not be applied to components. All other UCI bicycle rules (weight, wheel type, rider position) will remain in effect as they were in 2009.

The USA Cycling Women's National Team opened up the season in style with five out of six stage wins, the general classification, and the team classification at the NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand. Additionally, USA Cycling unveiled a new BMX Women's Development Program.

USA Cycling is pleased to announce a new BMX Women's Development Program, as well as the hiring of Dwight Training, Pty Ltd., which is led by Sean Dwight, to oversee the new program's coaching acitvities. The United States has a large, undeveloped pool of 14 to 18-year-old female riders who are internationally capable. The objective of the BMX Women's Development Program is to move athletes from grassroots racing onto international podiums.

USA Cycling has awarded the 2011 and 2012 Masters Road National Championships to Bend, Ore. Following the cityandrsquo;s successful hosting of the Elite/U23/Juniors Road and the Cyclo-cross National Championships, the cycling hotbed is now poised to host another round of the nationandrsquo;s best. Held in Louisville, Kentucky 2008 through 2010, the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships are scheduled to go off in Bend, Aug. 30 andndash; Sept. 4, 2011 and August 27 andndash; Sept. 2, 2012.

USA Cycling announced today the 2010 USA Cycling Professional Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (ProGRT). In its second year, the five-race series will continue to raise the level of competitive gravity racing across the Unied States by providing a consistent stage of international-caliber events for elite gravity racers to showcase their downhill skills. The leader of the Pro GRT overall rankings as of July 14, 2010 will also be an automatic selection to the United States World Championship team.

There's a lot going on domestically and abroad as race season gears up. USA Cycling Women's National Development Team is looking strong headed into the Women's Tour of New Zealand this week. USA Cycling's women's development efforts are also in full force this on the BMX track with a Women's Olympic Development Squad (WODS) Camp taking place in Chula Vista. Last week, USA Cycling National Development Program alum Tejay Van Garderen made quite the Pro Tour debut in Portugal.

The 2010 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship will be held in the northern Chicago suburb of Glencoe, Ill. on Saturday, August 14, the national governing body announced today. The event, which attracts many of the nationandrsquo;s top professionals, has historically been held in Downers Grove, Ill. but will move to a new location for the first time in the eventandrsquo;s 24-year history.

In case you missed the live version of USA Cycling's andquot;My First Bike Raceandquot; webinar on February 16, you can still have the opportunity to check it out for FREE. You can either watch the archived webinar streaming, or download it for your ipod. Whether you're a young rider or a more mature first-timer, you'll benefit from Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach's discussion of the logistical matters and some of the other issues you might encounter at your very first bike race.

Registration for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships will open Wednesday, February 17. The Fourth of July event returns to Breckenridge, Colo. for 2010 where it will once again be held in conjunction with the andquot;Firecracker 50.andquot; Riders wishing to compete in the USA Cycling national championship classes will have a two-week exclusive online registration period from Wednesday, February 17 until Wednesday, March 3.

It was a successful week for USA Cycling's National Development Program riders. Kit Karzen and Ian Moir concluded a successful trip to Europe where they competed in the last three legs of the UIV Talent Cup Series on the track. Additionally, former USA Cycling National Development Program rider Tejay Van Garderen won a sportsmanship award from a town in the Netherlands. Coming up, USA Cycling gets ready to field a women's team for the Tour of New Zealand.

USA Cycling announced today that based on last year's license sales, it will distribute over $404,885 to its 34 Local Associations as part of an ongoing effort to grow competitive cycling at the grassroots level. With the 2009 payout, which is the largest ever and in direct correlation with last year's 5.6% increase in licensed cyclists, USA Cycling has now delivered more than $2.1 million in direct funding to its Local Associations since the program's 2003 inception.