The 2022 Cyclocross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas certainly had its share of challenges and critics. Yet the event largely achieved its mission of crowning worthy champions while putting on an entertaining show.
Cyclocross Magazine photographer David Mable was on the ground for the second time this season to capture the world's best cyclocross racers as they made their way around the man-made course in Centennial Park.
Mable also aimed his lens at all that goes into making such an event more than just another UCI race.
The conditions were unlike the epic mudfest we saw at the World Cup in October, which disappointed mudders, but made for a far more welcoming weekend for fans.
The promoters, during our interview, said they expected 15,000 fans. Judging by the crowds near the stairs, predictions in the thousands seemed accurate, even though parts of the course left racers only hearing screaming legs and lungs.
There are thousands of images on the Internet and social media from the weekend, all which do their own little part in telling the story of the Fayetteville Worlds. Here are our favorites from Mable, in the slideshow below.
(Hit the arrow buttons, use your keyboard's arrow keys, or try swiping to go between images.)