It always seemed like a natural fit for mountain biking: the Jeep King of the Mountain series. But until now you had to be involved in snow sports to wear one of those crowns. That could change come this summer’s latest rendition of the KOM, when the fat-tire sect may be battling for a total prize purse of $100,000 during a three-race series, which will receive three hours of television coverage.

And while some of the i’s and t’s still need to be dealt with – mostly regarding scheduling – this is a done deal according to Eclipse TV’s Denise Lavaroni. “It’s definitely happening,” said Lavaroni, VP of events for the television production company that has overseen the winter ski and snowboard series.

As it stands now, the format of the mountain bike races will go something like this. Following in Jeep King of the Mountain tradition, eight teams will be invited to represent their country, competing in an event that is part dual slalom, part dual.

“Instead of a simple fast track, the [course] begins with a side-by-side parallel dual slalom course,” reads the event literature. “Midway through the course the two racers are forced together and must navigate a single set of gates, ending with an all out sprint over a set of rollers and a huge jump to the finish.”

The promo sheet goes on to tout 10 countries under consideration (the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Italy and the U.K.), and says that each team will consist of one male and one female.

The big problem, right now anyway, is that the proposed schedule overlaps with three of the most important mountain bike races of the year: the Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup, the NORBA finals in Durango, and the world championships in Lugano, Switzerland.

In a conversation with Lavaroni this week, though, she seemed to think that it was at least possible that the first two events could be moved to the middle of the week, while the third could be pushed forward so as not to conflict with world’s or the World Cup finals at Kaprun.

“I don’t know for sure how flexible the dates are right now,” she said. “We have a meeting scheduled with Chrysler coming up and we’ll need to look at that then.”

MTB News and Notes: Jeeps, Web sites and Whistler

Part of the inflexibility with the first two dates are their tie-ins with previously scheduled Camp Jeep events. “They’re part of the owner loyalty program,” Lavaroni explained. “The goal was to overlap the two events.”

The two Camp Jeep events in question are the Blue Ridge Mountains stop, June 26-28, near Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Santa Ynez Mountains event, August 14-16, near Santa Barbara, California. The third site has yet to be determined, with the promo sheet saying only that it will be somewhere in the southeastern United States. The promo sheet also touts three hours of television coverage, two via national syndication and the other on a cable outlet, most likely Fox Sports Net or ESPN2.

The big question now is whether the event — if it happens — could attract top-level athletes. Normally, it would be a slam-dunk — big money and television coverage are irresistible hooks for this cash- and publicity-starved sport. But 2003 team travel plans have already been made, and the whole thing seems a little tenuous, especially with such a short time line. Like they say in TV land, stay tuned…

COMING SOON…WE HOPE
If you’ve stopped by USA Cycling’s Web site lately (usacycling.org), you obviously noticed that things have changed. Gone is that static layout that was as exciting as dual mountain bike racing, replaced by fairly modern looking pages. But the prime new addition, the one the federation has been touting for months, still isn’t ready. So when will you be able to buy your license, upgrade or permit an event on-line? Well we called down to Colorado Springs this week, but with everyone out of town for Sea Otter, there was no straight answer to be had. Let’s just hope that — like it says over and over on the new Web site — it really is "coming soon."

WHISTLER SUMMER GRAVITY FESTIVAL
Following the World Cup at Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, July 12-13, racers will have a chance to get in some more racing 75 miles north at the Whistler Summer Gravity Festival, July 14-20. Among the events on the calendar are the Joyride Bikercross, a mountain cross style event; the Air DH, a downhill on Whistler’s popular A-line run, and the Slopestyle Expression Session, a stunts show for the freeride crowd. Also slated for the event is this year’s Canadian national championships, which will run July 18-20 and include cross-country and downhill. For more info check out www.whistlergravity.com.