The 2006 National Mountain Bike Series holds its fifth event of the year this weekend, as the series returns for a second-consecutive year to remote Brian Head, Utah. The venue hosts the full spectrum of NMBS events: cross-country, short track, downhill, dual slalom, Super D and marathon cross-country.

Located 200 miles east of Las Vegas, about an hour’s drive from St.George, the Brian Head ski resort rises above 11,000 feet elevation, and towers above the Western Utah town of Parowan. The area is best known for Cedar Breaks, a picturesque system of sedimentary rock canyons whose stratified walls resemble that of Bryce Canyon, located a short drive to the East. Despite it's stunning scenery, the area has its darker side as it is also the site of the infamous 1857 Mountain Meadow Massacre.

The Brian Head NMBS is the penultimate race weekend of 2006 — the August 11-13 NMBS finals are in Snowmass, Colorado. Athletes hoping to snag some last-minute points and climb the NMBS series standings will look to shine at Brian Head.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen) are two athletes looking to do just that in Saturday’s men’s professional cross-country race. The Canadian Kabush is current ranked No. 2 in the series standings, forty points behind leader Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher).

Bishop is a distant 80 points behind JHK, however the Virginia native scored big at Brian Head in 2005, winning the marathon cross-country event and finishing No. 2 in the cross country.

Both athletes will struggle to stay with JHK on Brian Head’s 27-mile epic, single-lap course. JHK put on a clinic at last year’s Brian HeadNMBS, winning the cross-country by close to three minutes. The climbing specialist thrives at Brian Head’s 10,000 ft. altitude, and dropped the field on the course’s first long fire-road climb.

Taking the win in last year’s women’s professional cross-country race was JHK’s then-fiancée Heather Irmiger. The win proved to be a stepping stone for the 26-year old from Boulder, Colorado, who now rides for the Subaru-Gary Fisher squad. Now married, the couple will again look to pull the double win this year.

Irmiger is a rider to watch at this year’s race — she narrowly lost the national championships to Georgia Gould in Sonoma on July 15. A win at Brian Head would inch Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher), currently ranked second in the NMBS standings, closer to Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna).

Brian Head’s thin air is the X-factor to watch for this weekend. Newly crowned national cross-country and short track champions Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks (Kona-Les Gets) are not known for their performances at high altitude, however riding with the national champion’s jersey could provide an added incentive to win for the two. Durango, Colorado Todd Wells (GT) will be an athlete to watch, along with Gould (Luna) and Dara Marks-Marino (Titus-Kenda).

So far, this year’s NMBS gravity competitions have been ruled by the blue of Giant Bicycle’s Aussie duo of Amiel Cavalier and Jared Rando. Cavalier, the reigning junior world champ, is hot off winning the NMBS No. 5 downhill in Sonoma on July 16, where he beat World Cup champ Greg Minnaar (G-Cross/Honda), among others. Rando currently leads the series with 743 points, 79 points ahead of his Australian teammate.

But Brian Head’s rocky, wooded hill may prove too technical for the Aussies, who prefer the loose, fast sandy conditions of Northern California. Minnaar is the athlete to watch in the men’s downhill this weekend. The 2005 World Cup champ is out of contention for the 2006 World Cup title, and is looking for some morale-boosting wins before the August 22-27 world championships in Rotorua, New Zealand. Looking to challenge Minnaar will be World Cup heavy hitter Sam Hill (Monster-Ironhorse).

South Africa’s Joann Petterson clings to a slight lead in both the mountain-cross and downhill standings. But 17-year old Tracey Hannah, winner of two NMBS downhill events this year, is the hands-down favorite to take the women’s downhill race. Despite her small size, the reigning Australian national champ beat World Cup winner Sabrina Jonnier at the July 9 NMBS at Brian Head.

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2006 NMBS NO. 5 - BRIAN HEAD, UTAH - AUGUST 4-6 2006FRIDAY, AUGUST 4SUPER D FINALS: 6:30 p.m.SATURDAY, AUGUST 5PRO MEN XC: 12:00 p.m.PRO WOMEN XC: 12:15 p.m.PRO DUAL SLALOM FINALS: 6 p.m.SUNDAY, AUGUST 6MARATHON XC: 7 a.m.PRO DOWNHILL FINALS: 12:00 p.m.PRO WOMEN STXC: 2:30 p.m.PRO MEN STXC: 3:00 p.m.