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10.07.08
Hard Crossing
If you want the most intense bike racing around,
check out a cyclocross race. But don't forget to bring your cowbell.
by
Karen E. Lynn
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IT'S LATE AUTUMN, AND
THE TREES have been stripped bare by the approaching winter. You can see
your breath in the morning. Heck, you can see your breath at high noon.
It’s that finger-numbing cold that you can’t shake off kind of weather.
Throw in some driving rain —
or better, snow —
and you have perfect weather for a cyclocross race.
If you don't know
what cyclocross is, you've been missing out on perhaps the most
action-packed, spectator-friendly bicycle racing around. A tight circuit
is set up over various terrain, including grass, dirt, mud, hills, and
occasionally some pavement. The course turns and twists through the
crowds of spectators along the edges of the track. In several sections,
barriers are set up that require the rider to dismount from their
bicycle, hoist it upon their shoulder and leap over the obstacle.
Cyclocross bikes look
a lot like road cycles at first glance, but they sport a slightly
different geometry in their frames and knobby, yet skinny tires.
Cyclocross isn’t a new sport; it has been around since the early 20th
century. European bicycle racers invented cyclocross (cross for short)
as a means to stay fit in the off-season. Now, it’s gaining in
popularity by leaps and bounds here in the United States, with top
athletes competing for big prizes. Men’s races last an hour, while the
women’s races run 45 minutes. There is no resting while the cyclists
race —
all riders go as hard and fast as they can
for the full time allotment.
The racing itself is
considered grueling and extreme. Cyclists battle for position and
negotiate through muddy, sloppy sections of the course. Some courses
sport sand pits that competitors grind through. This makes for high
drama out on the cross course, and the energy at a cross race is
contagious. Fans sprint from one course section to another just to stay
on top of the action. An announcer calls the race through a sound system
as if it’s a horserace, calling out the superstar riders as they attack
for the lead. Cowbells clang as the fans scream out and cheer for riders
as they round the punishing course.
Interested? To catch
a local cyclocross race, check out these venues in New England:
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Gran Prix of
Gloucester, Gloucester, MA, October 11 and 12, 2008
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Cross in the
Glen Series, Gorham, NH, October 19-November 16, 2008
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Downeast
Cyclocross, New Gloucester, ME, October 18, 2008
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Mansfield
Hollow ‘Cross Race, Mansfield, CT, October 18, 2008
-
Wicked Creepy
Cyclocross Race, Bennington, VT, October 26, 2008
-
Cycle-Smart
Cyclocross, Northampton, MA, November 1 and 2, 2008
-
Bay State
Cyclocross, Sterling, MA, November 29, 2008
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NBX Gran Prix
#1, Warwick, RI, December 7, 2008
For more race
info, check out
http://www.bikereg.com/events/?et=2&rg=1.
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