Not a bummer in sight at Cross Vegas.
Archive for September, 2007
Portland Oregon will play host to the inaugural World Championship event of Single Speed Cyclocross.
The Portland Single Speed Collective (PSSC) dutifully presents the Official UnOfficial World Championship event for single speed cyclocross racers. Held in tandem with a Cyclocross Crusade race , the SSCXWC is a two-day event including a time trial qualifier on Saturday and the Grand Boucle on Sunday. Festivities to follow each day.
Saturday 11 November 2007: Single Speed Cyclocross Time trial. Perhaps the only TT with intermediate time bonuses, creative racers will benefit using their skills in Sketchy Aero Bar descending, Saddle-less riding, saddle-less aero bar riding, silly steep climbing, bunny-hopping a 6-pack barrier or bunny-hopping with a 6-pack, derby and others.
Sunday 12 November 2007: The Big day. The Championships will be a one hour cross race in the notorious Estacada Timber Bowl. Mud guaranteed, rain highly likely, more spectators than a Belgian Cross race and almost as much beer. Laps will roll through the beer garden and crowds will be heckling. Only one man and one woman will leave as the Single Speed Cyclocross World Champion.
Prizes: Vanilla Bicycles has signed on as a major sponsor. Expect a custom built Vanilla for the winner as well as a custom World Champion stripe Speedo and a custom designed tattoo.
The Cross Crusade is the largest cyclocross series in the nation, often drawing over 700 racers. The courses are world class, the organization is superb and the Cross energy of Portland is second to none.
Registration is available online through BikeReg.
Check back often at www.sscxwc.com
It was really hard to choose, but this photo by Matthew Cardinal came out on top:
The second and third place photos were both taken by Oregon crosser Chris Brandt:
Incidentally, all top three photos were taken at the 2006 USGP in Hillsboro, Oregon. It was an epic day for all. A huge thanks to everyone who submitted photos, and to Star Crossed and CX Magazine. We’re going to run the contest again in October with some exciting sponsors and prizes, so stay tuned.
From the flyer:
Take your best shot at Star Crossed and submit it to our photo contest. Limit 2 best photos per person to starcrossedcxphoto@yahoo.com. Winner will be chosen by Star Crossed organizers and Raleigh employees by September 30th. To view entries go to flickr.com/photos/starcrossedcx.com
We’ll announce the winners of our own photo contest, sponsored by Star Crossed and CX Magazine, on Friday morning.
Sometimes you have the best shoes, with the best fit, but they could use a little more traction. For instance, these Shimano shoes are great for MTN biking, but could use a little more tread when used in the cyclocross arena.
Try cutting up an old cross tire and use some left over tubular glue to bond it to the sole of your shoe. You’ll get improved off the bike traction, and have a less slippery cradle for those not-clipped-in race moments.
The beautiful photos keep rolling in. The September photo contest, sponsored by Star Crossed, has picked up a co sponsor: CX Magazine. CX Magazine is a brand new print magazine that celebrates ‘cross culture, bikes, and lifestyle. It’s set to hit stands in early October and the winner of the contest, in addition to getting a free entry to Star Crossed, will get their photo printed in CX Magazine and receive a free four issue mailing!
So far we’ve had 45 photos submitted. Here’s a sampling of the latest:
See all of this month’s submissions here. Remember, we’re looking for photos of riders in that special spot of pain. The winner will be announced on September 20th. Submit photos via email to paincave at race.cx
Holy cow, race.cx is one year old. Thanks for reading, and
September 10, 2007 – Full Speed Ahead Star Crossed presented by Gerk’s Alpine Hut has attracted an international field to kick off the US cyclocross season for 2007-2008 at King County’s Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA on September 22nd. The Star Crossed field will include six current or past national cyclcross champions. The formation of the Western US cyclocross triumvirate of Star Crossed, Rad Racing Grand Prix and Cross Vegas has attracted Swiss National Champion Christian Huele for a US cross tour to start his season. Huele comes into the ‘07-’08 season as the number six ranked cyclocross rider in the world. The attendance of US National Champion Ryan Trebon (Kona/Les Gets) and Danish Champ Joachim Parbo (CCV) will treat the Star Crossed fans to a truly international battle for the $1,000 win.
“We are very excited to have ranked European riders coming to Star Crossed. The scheduling of three excellent events with Star Crossed and Rad Racing GP in the same weekend and Cross Vegas the following Wednesday is a huge asset to bringing international talent together in the US. We wish the Rad Racing GP and Cross Vegas tremendous success” stated Terry Buchanan, Star Crossed Race Director.
NORBA National Champion and 2005 Canadian Cross Champ Geoff Kabush (Maxxis/Litespeed) will also be part of the international field as he tries to improve his three consecutive third place finishes at FSA Star Crossed. Two time Star Crossed Champion (’04 & ‘05) Carl Decker (Giant) can’t be forgotten in a excellent field as he simply seems to understand how to ride under the lights at King County’s Marymoor Park. Barry Wicks (Kona/Les Gets), the 2005 US Grand Prix of Cyclocross winner, brings his from the gun style to Redmond which will certainly electrify the thousands of fans and make the Kona/Les Gets combo of Wicks and Trebon a hard duo to beat.
Is there a wild card in the ‘07 Star Crossed field? 2005 U-23 US National Cross Champ Troy Wells (Clif Bar) would be a logical choice as he continues to mature. Or how about ProTour hardman Aaron Olson of T-Mobile? Olson’s third place at the Tour of Ireland last month will be returning to his Northwest roots by getting on a cross bike for the first time since being a Junior. T he Northwest fans will do what they can to support an upset by local favorites, Russell Stevenson (Seattle, WA), Dan Neyens (Ballard, WA), and the Vanilla Bicycles duo of Molly Cameron and Shannon Skerritt (Portland, OR).
Beyond the great racing, Star Crossed festivities feature the Deschutes Beer Garden, door prizes for spectators including a Ridley Crossbow cyclocross frame and Raleigh cruiser, expo area, 53×11 Coffee, food vendors and a live DJ. Races for beginning and intermediate riders start the day at 2:00 PM with the headlining Senior Women at 7 p.m. and Senior Men at 8 p.m. Rider entry fee $20, spectators $5.
For Media Inquiries:
Steve Westover Terry Buchanan
Sasquatch Media Lake Washington Velo
steve.westover at gmail.com Terry at buchanangc.com
…or has it?
Can you believe it? The first domestic cyclocross races of the season were underway last week!
Getting started early in a long season of suffering and humility was the Labor day Cyclocross Championships near Seattle followed by the DFL cyclocross series #1 on Wednesday the 5th in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco!
The success of the early season races banks on them being low-key and fun. Training races if you will. And many will. The PRO roadies are tired but still fast and can put in a great early season cx ride. The PRO mountain bikers are on form but, after the brutal punch in the gut the USA took at VTT Worlds are Adam, Barry and Todd going to be out looking for revenge or relaxing with 18 holes and a beer?
The UCI season opener is on the 16th this month in Erpe-Mere, Belgium. But that does not matter to us mortals. A Sven will dominate, setting the stage for a string of race victories this year and into next. We can geek out over the winners and losers of the Steenbergcross or focus on more important matters.
There is hype…
Starcrossed (on September 22nd) has been a cyclocross mainstay since I knew what cyclocross was. The slick corners and grassy off cambers at the Marymoor Velodrome have been the initial throw down for the real renners and with UCI ranking this year the kid gloves are off. A double category 2 UCI weekend is in store with the bastard of all cyclocross run ups at Steliacoom park the next day.
And then there is hype.
CrossVegas is billing itself as the highest quality PRO field in the US! Domestic and International riders oh my! A mere 3 days after the first UCI weekend in the states we will have an idea of who is riding well and who is hurting. Being held on mostly flat and grassy soccer field, I am calling it out as a brutally fast and hot clusterfuck. With jet lagged Euros and anxious domestics gunning for the mere 10 spots of UCI points and glory. First lap crashes will abound and I expect a US victory over a gracious Belgian patron.
Then the season is ON! Or is it?
The weekend of the 30th was set to provide a chance for the East and West coast renners (respectively) to snag some “easy” UCI points with a single C2 race in Vancouver, BC and a double C2 weekend in Vermont/New Hampshire. Tim Johnson took the honors last year in Vermont setting the tone for another dominant season. Vancouver did not hold UCI status last year though Geoff Kabush rolled out of bed and took it handily. (I think I remember that right…)
But not this year.
A city wide strike in Vancouver has paralyzed the city. All city offices (including parks annd rec) are closed up and well, it is hard to put on a UCI event if you cannot get a permit to use the venue. Bad luck for a potentially cool first year UCI race.
A similar yet different story from New England. I’ll let a grizzled dirty old race promoter explain:
“Vermont had no sponsors, and New Hampshire had venue issues. There is nothing but local (non-UCI. ed.) races on week 39 anywhere in the US I think. That’s the bad thing about all these guys trying to go UCI- they fight over dates like mad, then a bunch of em drop out and we’re left with weeks of conflicts and weeks of no racing. USAC needs to tell these new promoters (though VT was 2nd year) that they have to have an established race before they go UCI. It’s the only fair thing to the riders at this point. Shit, those podunk Colorado races could move to week 39 and actually have people from outside of Durango come…”
And there you have it. A hiccup to the season start. He has a point. A few top renners will make the trek to Colorado but, who likes racing cx at altitude? Not this writer. The Colorado promoters put on super excellent races besides not being on either coast. Colorado is home to some of the top cx talent and maybe if all the promoters were better communicators we could have seen a now vacant slot on the UCI calendar filled.
The UCI rankings do not get updated until the day after the first World Cup (October 21st, Kalmthout, Belgium) leaving the US riders plenty of time and a good handful of races to solidify their start positions and UCI world ranking.
Morituri te salutant.
Recent Comments