Cyclo-cross lets you ride, get dirty like a child again
By Lindsay Nash, Citizen-times.com :: HENDERSONVILLE - Asheville cyclist Cara McCauleyconsiders it a sanctioned way to play in the mud and get a little bike racing in along the way.McCauley, will join about 200 cyclists from across the country and Canada in bringing out their bikes for this weekend's North Carolina Grand Prix at Jackson Park in Hendersonville, the first internationally sanctioned cyclo-cross bicycle race south of Washington, D.C.
"It's 45 minutes of pain," said McCauley, who races for BMW-Bianchi. "But it's fun to challenge yourself with the different obstacles. Every course is different. It's never the same race twice."
Cyclo-cross races consist of multiple laps of a short (2- to 3-kilometer) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to dismount, jump barriers and remount, said Timothy Hopkin, senior athletic program supervisor for Henderson County Parks and Recreation Department and founder and organizer of N.C. Cyclo-Cross.
"It's really fun," Hopkin said of the sport. "It's what you want to do as a kid - ride fast, ride on the road, do some dirt stuff and get muddy."
During the past eight years, the sport of cyclo-cross in North Carolina has grown, Hopkin said. What once started as a small race is now a Union Cycliste Internationale-sanctioned race, which puts the event at an international level.
The N.C. Grand Prix, presented by Cheerwine Soft Drink, will be the highlight of the N.C. Cyclo-Cross Series and the Georgia Cyclo-Cross series. Races on both days will begin at 10 a.m. for the novice riders and end at 2:30 p.m. with the men's elite race.
The race, organized and promoted by the Henderson County Parks and Recreation Department, is very spectator-friendly, Hopkin said, especially since the course is close-looped. There are events for all ages, including a youth fun ride.
McCauley, who considers the sport a hybrid of mountain biking and road biking, rode the race course last weekend.
"The course is awesome," she said. "It will be one of the best I have ridden this year. There is a good mix of everything. It's not too technical and won't favor the mountain bikers or road racers. It's going to be hard."
"It's 45 minutes of pain," said McCauley, who races for BMW-Bianchi. "But it's fun to challenge yourself with the different obstacles. Every course is different. It's never the same race twice."
Cyclo-cross races consist of multiple laps of a short (2- to 3-kilometer) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to dismount, jump barriers and remount, said Timothy Hopkin, senior athletic program supervisor for Henderson County Parks and Recreation Department and founder and organizer of N.C. Cyclo-Cross.
"It's really fun," Hopkin said of the sport. "It's what you want to do as a kid - ride fast, ride on the road, do some dirt stuff and get muddy."
During the past eight years, the sport of cyclo-cross in North Carolina has grown, Hopkin said. What once started as a small race is now a Union Cycliste Internationale-sanctioned race, which puts the event at an international level.
The N.C. Grand Prix, presented by Cheerwine Soft Drink, will be the highlight of the N.C. Cyclo-Cross Series and the Georgia Cyclo-Cross series. Races on both days will begin at 10 a.m. for the novice riders and end at 2:30 p.m. with the men's elite race.
The race, organized and promoted by the Henderson County Parks and Recreation Department, is very spectator-friendly, Hopkin said, especially since the course is close-looped. There are events for all ages, including a youth fun ride.
McCauley, who considers the sport a hybrid of mountain biking and road biking, rode the race course last weekend.
"The course is awesome," she said. "It will be one of the best I have ridden this year. There is a good mix of everything. It's not too technical and won't favor the mountain bikers or road racers. It's going to be hard."
posted by Ryan Amirault at Tuesday, November 29, 2005
