Cyclocross... So Hot Right Now

by Robb Hampton, Features Editor

Seriously. It's very hot right now and this GamJams editor is already seeing knobby tires all over the place. Group ride? Check. Commuting? Check. Parked outside of Starbucks? Check. There are skills practices popping up all over the area and we are sure that the Delaware Mafia in Wilmington has been stretching tubular tires since February of 2007 for this season. So what's the hub bub scrub? (get it? hub? bicycling? anyone? whatever, I thought it was clever). 

Cyclists of all abilities, shapes, and sizes are gluing on tread to their mountain bike shoes, finding just the right PSI for hard packed grass, and doing something none of us would ever think to do; go running! gasp! This is all in preparation for the biggest thing to hit cycling since STI levers; Cyclocross. CX. Cross baby!!

For some, the season has already begun. However, the grand kickoff is still about a month away with the Nittany Lion Cross Race in Fogelsville, Pa on Sept. 19th and the 'Jeff Cup of Cross Racing' Charm City Cross on Sept 20th. Then we'll see a major drop in registration soon after and the season will continue through December where some might go to the hippie enclave of Bend, OR to race at the National Championships and stock up on hemp necklaces. You can find a full schedule at http://www.midatlanticcross.info/2009.html

Cyclocross was developed in Europe as an off-season training program for road racers and quickly became a sport of its own. Racers compete on bikes that look, in many ways, like a traditional road bike but with treaded tires and stronger brakes with more clearance. The course is typically 1-3 miles in length with a series of obsticles ranging from barriers to run-ups and sand pits. The promoter often throws in his or her own special blend. The Ed Sanders Memorial Race in Lily Pons, Md course serpintines around a series of ponds. Many have fell victim to an unfortunate crash into one of the swampy ponds. Races usually last between 45min to 1 hour. 

So what is the allure to the masses to participate? This sounds really really hard. For many, that's the allure. For others, the allure is stemmed from the duration of the race. Training doesn't neccasarily include countless hours in the saddle. Focus on intensity and you should be o.k. You can also go to your race, compete, and get home quickly opening up more time in your day. Lastly, it's a great spectator sport. Unlike road racing or time trialing where your friends and family will maybe see you once or twice, you can follow your friend on the course and run around to many different vantage points, yelling and screaming like a hyena - beer in one hand and cowbell in the other. Again, unlike road racing where there is so much etiquette, Cross rewards you for your blue collar behavior. 

Cross is also a great workout. Steve Fife, my teammate from Team Bike Doctor said "Cyclocross starts off like a criterium, then a road race and a time trial combined, all while you are using skills from mountain biking." 

There are a ton of other reasons why Cross has taken off. Too many to go into in this short column. I asked many crossers why they race cross and they all usually just say "it's fun!" So borrow a cross bike from your buddy or shake off the dust on your mountain bike and try a race. 

Cyclocross. Mistress to many and yet prison cellmate named Thumper to others.

Cross gets 5 out of 5 Zoolanders.  

 

(photo courtesy of Les Doerfler. Not the one of Zoolander - the other one.)

--

Besides being the judge of hotness for GamJams, Robb Hampton is a husband, father, avid cyclist with a certifiably average VO2Max. Robb races for the Cat 3 Bike Doctor Racing Team. 

Comments

[JFW]

Just to clarify...dates on those two referenced 'cross races for 2009 are Sept. 19 and 20.

[Sven]

word.

[fatmarc]

Wilmington Mafia is nice, but we prefer the Delaware Cyclocross Coalition of Delaware. (DCCoD) for short. Thanks for the mention, tubular streching and gluing sessions began last week.

respect.
fm