The Lone Star Cyclocross Festival will feature two days of championship racing in Austin, Texas, on January 16 and 17, 2010. Cyclists from across Texas and around the nation will descend on the city for the MLK holiday weekend and the chance to race against the best. Furthermore, the University of Texas Cycling Team will be co-hosting their conference championship at the event. All races will be held at Travis County’s East Metro Park, a beautiful facility featuring an enclosed pavilion with a pier that provides unfettered views of the entire course.
Cyclocross is the fastest growing and most impressive spectacle in the cycling world. Racers spend up to an hour doing laps of a short course over a mix of road, grass, sand, dirt, and mud. Each lap, racers have to jump off their bikes and carry them over small hurdles or impassable terrain. Spectacular crashes are common, and the course will feature Athletic Volition Splash Down – a high-speed turn at the edge of pond. “As cycling coaches who also work closely with swimmers and runners,†says AV‘s Chris Gescheidle, â€Âwe look forward to seeing a couple folks accidently turn this race into a triathlon.†Spectators can spend the entire race in the pavilion or out on its pier and have a front row seat for all the action.
Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop is presenting the Texas Age-Based Championships and South Central Collegiate Conference Championships on Saturday. No word yet if shop owner Lance Armstrong will line up for his age bracket race. Sunday will be the Texas Skill-Based Championships, with races for beginners to pros, as well as the notorious Single Speed class, where the truly die-hard race bikes with no gears.
Registration for the races is now open at BikeReg.com. All racers who register for the event by December 1 will be entered into a drawing for a free stay at the Courtyard by Marriott, the Host Hotel for the event. Special rates are available at the Airport and Downtown locations, both of which are pulling out the red carpet for the participants, offering a bike wash and secure storage.
“Pirate Race Productions is excited to be partnering with Capo Cycling Apparel, Mellow Johnny’s, Athletic Volition, Courtyard by Marriott, and Texas Cycling to return championship bike racing to
Austin,†says PRP founder Andrew Stackhouse, “further solidifying its reputation as the greatest cycling destination in America.â€Â
