Scott Tedro president of Sho-Air International, a freight company located in Huntington Beach, California agreed to come on board and help jump-start the NMBS at the end of 2008. The long standing National Mountain Bike Series was struggling financially and it appeared the former version of the iconic NORBA series would not be returning 2009 due to lack of industry interest and support.

During the months-long discussions there were times when it appeared no top-tier racing would exist in the US in 2009. But the parties involved eventually rallied around Tedro’s US Cup model and with that the US Cup was born. 2009 would kick off at Bonelli Park for newly formed t Pro XCT series presented by Sho-Air.

Tedro leaned heavily on Ty Kady, a former A.M.A. SX/MX racer and a member of his Sho-Air amateur cross-country team to help him navigate the murky waters that were elite national racing and event promotion.  Ty would take over as the new US Cup series manager.

Tedro worked along side USA Cycling to develop the Pro XCT presented by Sho-Air. The Pro XCT would act as a calendar of events awarding UCI points. The series would be a seven-race collection of UCI-sanctioned events replacing the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) as the premier cross-country series in North America.

The new organization of cross-country racing would mark a union between the movers and shakers of elite racing: USA Cycling, the elite racing teams and Scott Tedro, owner of Sho Air International, a SoCal-based shipping company. Throughout late 2008 and early ‘09, all three would engage in discussion on how top-tier mountain bike racing should progress following the demise of the NMBS and what mountain bike racing would look like moving forward.