If thousands of racers come to the Cyclocross National Championships and big media doesn't cover it, did it really happen?You betcha! It took four solid days of racing for every class to get their turn on the steep and twisty course in Kansas City's Tiffany Springs Park. It was the largest Nationals ever. The only thing missing was mud.
Cyclocross is a type of bike racing that combines the toughest aspects of mountain biking, road racing and BMX. Riders must be agile enough to constantly dismount and get back on their bikes, and strong enough to carry their bikes, which weight between 17 and 22 pounds, over deliberate obstacles such as "stairs" -- steep rocks and cliffs, or "barriers" -- upright boards about 18 inches high. Snow and mud are such an accepted part of cyclocross that this year's nationals were notable for not having wet and muddy course sections.
"This sport is exploding. A good example of that would be that the Utah Cyclocross Series had a 40 percent increase in participation this year over last year," said nationally ranked rider Bart Gillespie, 34.
The top elite men's rider was Ryan Trebon of Bend, Ore., who completed his laps in 1:00:04.00. Katie Compton, from Colorado Springs, Colo. was the elite woman's winner in 37:05.00. Gillespie explained that cyclocross has standard race times and each course is designed to fit those times. "The average course is only seven or eight minutes long. Men do about a one hour race and women do about 40 minutes. When they start the race, organizers determine how fast they are going, and then figure out how many laps everyone has to do," he said.
Trebon earns quite a decent living as a cyclocross racer. But it's only part time for Gillespie. He's a physical therapist in his day job and is mainly a mountain bike racer for Monavie Cannondale Cycling Team.
Gillespie's finish in the elite finals disappointed him. The three earlier days of racing had been almost balmy by cyclocross standards, up in the 40's. On Sunday, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, down into the teens. Gillespie's back acts up painfully in the cold. "I just ran out of steam in the last half hour, but that's racing," he adds. He finished in 25th place out of the 74 elites who completed the race. Over 60 men did not finish. On the women side, 73 elite finished with 25 who did not.
The biggest surprise in the elite field was James Driscoll, who took second place. The 23 year-old had the race of his life. Gillespie said, "No one would have ever picked him to be in the top three."
Though cyclocross is almost ignored by media in this country, it's the equivalent of NASCAR in Europe. Top racers easily earn more than a quarter million dollars worth of Euros a year. Weekly races are watched by more than 20,000 fans and racers are paid start money just to show up.
