Topline:

Volunteering:

Sign UP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/volunteer-fox-us-open-of-mountain-biking-2024-registration-949093282557

Volunteers  get a bunch of perks for signing up & helping out, which include lunch for the day, discount codes for Fox Racing & Thule, event t-shirts (while supplies last), & one free lift ticket voucher per completed shift. Help put on the biggest downhill event of the year!

Lodging: 

Killington Group: 10% Off your rental. 2% of the rental fee will go to support VMBA. Use LINK & Code: VMBA

Mountain Meadows: 15% Off your reservation. Blackout periods apply. Call for reservation

Mtn Inn:

Welcome to the 2024 

Fox US OPEN of Mountain Biking

Sept 26-29 at Killington Resort, VT

Get ready for some great racing & good times! 

PLEASE READ ALL EVENT NOTES 

The Killington Group is the Official Lodging Partner of the 2024 Fox US OPEN of Mountain Biking. Visit www.killingtongroup.com or call direct at 802.422.2300 to book your lodging today.

As the #1 Vacation Rental Company in the area, The Killington Group offers the largest selection of lodging and vacation rentals, from conveniently located condos, mountain townhomes and entire rental houses.
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• Killington Resort has made significant investments in their bike park and the town of Killington boasts extensive après, dining and lodging options. The town of Killington has also built new trails (off resort) since our last event here. Check out https://killingtonmountainbikeclub.org/ for more information.
• This year the US OPEN festival area will once again be located in the Ramshead Base Area.
• Downhill – Open Class racers will be competing for a $15,000 first place check on both the Men’s and Women’s side.  And as always – open class means anyone can enter, anyone could win!
• Dual Slalom – Friday night sprints on a shorter dual slalom track, featuring a mix of groomed and natural, located right in the main venue area (alongside the DH finish and Best Whip jumps). This event will be great for all levels of athletes and fans alike. Can be raced on your enduro bike too!
• Next Gen Youth Downhill – The kids want to shred…so let them! For 2024 we will have advanced U15 categories on the main downhill track and novice categories on the separate Next Gen specific track.
• US OPEN Best Whip – the crowd favorite will be more spectator friendly than ever, taking place right in the main Ramshead venue on an all-new set of jumps built specifically for the USO.
• Pit & Vendor space available for teams, privateers, & brands. Please email info@usopen.bike for more details.

 

Event Schedule Overview: 

• Thursday 9/26
  • Downhill Track Walk
  • Downhill Practice 
• Friday 9/27
  • Downhill Practice
  • Dual Slalom practice, qualifying and finals
• Saturday 9/28
  • Downhill Practice and Seeding/Qualifying
  • USO Best Whip Comp
• Sunday 9/29
  • Downhill Race
  • Next Gen Downhill Race
  • Adaptive Downhill Race

 *DETAILED EVENT SCHEDULE TO BE RELEASED EARLY SEPTEMBER*

 

USA Cycling Partnership – In the interest of building US gravity racing overall, the Fox US Open has partnered with USA Cycling. We’ve worked hard to create opportunities for amateur racers to compete alongside professionals. New talent needs a conduit to move up and we are onboard to elevate our sport! In partnering with USAC we can play a larger role in the development of gravity racing in the United States.

What it means for athletes…

+ ALWAYS – We are still an open class race, giving top amateurs the chance to race directly against the pros.

+ ONE-DAY LICENSES: We encourage athletes to maintain annual USA Cycling licenses, BUT One-Day USA Cycling licenses can be used in every category – including Open Class Downhill & Slalom. 

US OPEN DOWNHILL

The 2024 US OPEN Downhill Track will start off the top of Ramshead Peak and will include sections of the existing trail “Goat Skull” combined with new sections specially built for the 2024 US OPEN. Track map coming soon, course preview will be available during USO week.

• Entry fee includes lift access for practice & competition days
• Please see above for USA Cycling details
• Anyone can enter the Open class (see below for more)
• Racing Age is your age as of 12/31/2024
• Entry fees are nonrefundable. Entries can be transferred one time to another person / $20 fee.
• Valid lift ticket and number plate required to gain access to race course.
• Competitors may only practice during class-specific practice sessions.
• Athletes missing their posted start time will be disqualified.
• Winning athletes must be present to receive their prizes.
• IMPORTANT – Downhill seeding/qualifying will run as follows:
  • OPEN CLASS racers will take seeding runs on Saturday OR must qualify if there are more than 80 entrants in the class. *TOP 60 IN QUALIFYING WILL MAKE THE CUT FOR FINALS ON SUNDAY. (Athletes that do not make the cut will not race in finals, but will still have lift access for freeriding on Sunday)  
    • *Note – exceptions do apply for former USO podium holders and Top 60 Elite UCI athletes
  • All Cat 1 Categories will take seeding runs on Saturday. If an athlete is not present, they will be seeded at the back of the category.
• Fields may be combined if there are not enough racers entered in a specific class. Additionally, large fields may be broken into smaller categories if deemed necessary by race organizers.
• Practice will be broken into three groups tentatively (subject to change based on final registration numbers):
  • Group A – Mens & Womens Open Classes, Cat 1 Men 17-18
  • Group B – Cat 1 Categories (except Cat 1 Mens 17-18)
  • Group C – Cat 2/3 Categories
• Athletes under 18yrs-old will need parental signature on all waivers. 

Open Class Downhill Prize Purse – Men and Women (Equal):

• 1st – $15,000 
• 2nd – $7500 
• 3rd – $3750  
• 4th – $1875  
• 5th – $937.50

Downhill Entry Fees:

• Before 9/3/24 – Amateur $159 / Open $179
• After 9/3/24 – Amateur $179 / Open $199
• Onsite Registration Fee is +$10
• Includes lift access Thu-Sun
• Downhill amateur race entries will be capped at 350

Read me…How to decide what class to race? If you are a Cat 1 racer, this is your chance to race heads up against the pros and try to make the cut into Sunday’s finals. Compete against your peers in the Amateur Class or go for the glory in our Open class? While our Open class is open to everyone – race officials reserve the right to move racers to their appropriate class if deemed necessary.

“NEXT GEN” applies to US OPEN categories for athletes 14yrs-old and younger. This program starts on a separate, youth specific downhill track with Novice categories beginning at 5yrs old and advances all the way to Expert/Cat 1 classes on the main USO Downhill Track (see details above).

NEXT GEN NOVICE DOWNHILL:

These categories will race on our youth specific track, located on “Rabbit Hole” on Killington’s Snowshed peak. Rabbit Hole will be open for freeriding everyday leading up to the Next Gen race and we strongly encourage everyone entering the Next Gen Novice Categories to spend time riding the trails. The trails will be closed to the public on Sunday morning for a mandatory practice session for all Next Gen Novice racers.

Please note that USO Next Gen racing is not a beginner or first-timer event – racers should have experience riding downhill and be capable of riding technical trails with rocks, roots, switchbacks, etc.

NEXT GEN Novice Entry Fee: $60 (Includes lift ticket for race day only)

PLEASE READ – Next Gen Requirements to Race:

• Next Gen is designed for kids that have real off-road mountain bike experience (i.e. they have ridden at a bike park).  Off-road riding ability is required.
• Racers should be comfortable with fall line turns, rocks and small jumps and drops.
• All Next Gen racers must be riding on mechanically sound mountain bikes (Race organizer reserves right to not allow unfit bikes on the course – entry will be refunded)
• An adult must accompany all racers under 13 years old to the top of the course
• Parents are permitted to follow their child down the race course for training and can request to follow during the race. (highly recommended for younger kids) (Lift tickets required)
• Practice is mandatory
• Racing age based on standard USA Cycling Racing Age (aka – racer’s age as of 12/31/24)
• Mandatory protective equipment: Full-face helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and gloves  
• Entry fee includes lift access for race day (Sunday)
• See above for USA Cycling related details
• Parents must be present to sign waivers

Please note, Next Gen athletes can not compete in both the New Gen novice event and intermediate/expert event on the main track. (Please select one track or the other)

DUAL SLALOM

The track is on the shorter side and will feature a mix of grass turns, smaller berm turns and jump features – designed to suit athletes competing on their normal trail bikes as well as slalom specialists.

Same as our Downhill, anyone can enter the Open class and race for the cash! Qualifications required to get into the finals. Practice/Qualifying will be broken into two sessions, both open to all athlete categories.

Brackets for head-to-head racing on Friday (aka Finals) will be as follows:

• Top 8 qualifiers only 
• Open Men & Open Women – Top 16 qualifiers only (if more than 32 registered racers) 

The Dual Slalom track will be located right in the main venue, alongside the Best Whip jumps. Sign up to race or come drink a beer and heckle! We’ll have music & the Sierra Nevada Bar will be open!

Open Class Dual Slalom Prizing – Men and Women (Equal):    

• 1st – $2,000
• 2nd – $1,000
• 3rd – $500
• 4th – $250

Dual Slalom Entry Fees:

• Amateur $45 / Open $55
• Onsite Registration Fee is +$10
• Does not include lift access
• Dual Slalom race entries will be capped at 160

ENDURO 

Please note that we are NOT hosting an enduro race at the US Open festival this year.

US OPEN ADAPTIVE DOWNHILL Presented by VERMONT ADAPTIVE

We will once again be partnering with Vermont Adaptive to bring the US OPEN Adaptive Downhill Race to Killington Resort.

Adaptive race course details TBA. The trails will be opened to the public and available to pre-ride throughout the week. We will have a closed practice session on Sunday morning prior to timed race runs.

Exact competition categories will be announced based on overall registration numbers and types of adaptive bikes entered.

Registration fee: $60 (includes Sunday lift ticket)

PIT SPACE – RACERS/TEAMS

Please email info@usopen.bike for full details and pricing.

VENDOR OPPORTUNITIES

To represent your brand with space in the vendor village, please email info@usopen.bike for full details and pricing

Additional Information:

The Killington Group is the Official Lodging Partner of the Fox US OPEN – www.killingtongroup.com/

Killington Resort (Lodging, Hours of Operations, Lift tickets, etc): www.killington.com

Free camping will be available on site in designated areas. More details coming soon.

USA Cycling official website: https://usacycling.org/

Follow along and stay up to date with all that’s happening:

• Instagram:  @usopenmtb
• Facebook: Fox US Open MTB