By Lisa Schilling
The cyclocross season is in full force in Louisville, KY. There is plenty of action in this cycling sport with loads of slinging mud, flying sand, and jaw-dropping wipeouts. The great thing about cyclocross is unlike mountain or road bike races, spectators get a front row view of every hairpin turn, every steep hill, and every barrier along the race.
Cyclocross, (also known as cross racing, or CX), is a shortened version of mountain biking. A cyclocross course consists of a closed circuit trail 3.5K or less. The sport is relatively new in the U.S. but has grown rapidly in recent years, and particularly in cyclist friendly Louisville.
The city, sponsors, and supporters of the sport are proud to say that the Elite and Masters World competitions will be the first international cyclocross races ever to occur in the United States at Louisville’s Eva Bandman Park on River Rd.
“To be on the leading edge of a sport. That’s when you have something,” said Marty Storch, Assistant Director of Louisville Metro Parks. “That’s the excitement we felt with this. The whole idea is that you could be one of the first cities in the United States to have a permanent cyclocross course.”
Twenty-six year old Chris Nevitt, a University of Louisville Chemistry major, says about cyclocross, “It’s definitely a hobby, but it goes farther than that as far as time commitment.” Nevitt spends six to seven days per week training.
Nevitt started cycling at the age of 22 when he was looking for something to do during the summer. He started out road racing and he soon learned about cyclocross. Within a year, he borrowed a friend’s cross bike and entered his first CX race. Nevitt now races for title sponsor Bob’s Red Mill team in category 2. A racer starts out in cat 4 and earns points from races to move up in rank.
Nevitt recalls his most challenging race was the Dark Horse Stampede in Cincinnati where it rained for days and “the course was absolute slop,” he says, with mud six to eight inches deep. He could get no traction, kept spinning out, and ended up running the entire race.
At U of L, a group of student cyclists started a cycling club this year called Louisville SCC (Student Cycling Coalition) and RSO status is in the works. A formally recognized campus organization will enable the club cyclists to compete against other universities that already have club teams, like UK, Murray State, EKU, and other out of state universities. Other club goals are to increase awareness and education for cycling on campus and around Louisville.
Ben King, graduate student majoring in Bio-Engineering, Zach Roberts, Geography major, Quentin Young, Electrical Engineering major, and Marcus Siu, studying Biology and Fine Arts, have joined together to lead this campus cycling club effort. They meet most Wednesdays to discuss club business and to ride.
The campus cycling group also regularly plays an even lesser known cycling sport called Bike Polo, usually held at the Cardinal stadium parking lot.
The Louisville SCC will be holding “Bike Day” on December 1,11:30-1:00pm at the SAC ramp on the west lawn. Members will be on hand to promote the club activities, and a bicycle mechanic will be available to conduct minor bike repairs.
Interested students can contact key members and follow club activities by joining the “Louisville SCC” group on Facebook, or by following the blog at http://uoflcycling.blogspot.com/.
Louisville’s cycling community is pumped about their permanent new cycling park. Marty Storch says the world races will bring about $5 million dollars to the local economy. “How often do you get to invest $125,000 into a venue that hosts the world championship for a sport? That is true economic development,” says Scorch.
