Things get a bit blurry by hour 16 of 24-hour cyclocross. © Kevin White
by Joey Mullan
With the recent news about Boulder, Colorado, playing host to the 2014 nationals, an even more shocking bit of information was leaked from a recent USA Cycling planning committee. The Valmont bike park was quoted as having “… more potential than any national race venue to date,” as well as being, “a prime location to try out a separate race that will not interfere with the elite’s race.”
These officials are referencing a 24 hour cyclocross event that will take place two days prior to the elite races. Mountain and road cyclists alike are preparing for this new venture and are very excited about the direction cyclocross could potentially go. It’s also been rumored that if the shift to the 24 hour format goes well, the 2015 elite title could be determined by a 24 hour cyclocross race, rather than the traditional 60 minute elite race.
This isn’t such an off-the-wall idea. In 2002 at the Shimano USCF National Cyclocross Championships, the Napa promoters were planning on hosting a 24 hour race as well. A committee member who asked to remain nameless was quoted: “We see the same race over and over each weekend. We have promoters set up at a venue, have people come from all over only to race an hour. We feel like we can better the sport by adding an additional element to liven up this sport.”
Rumor has it Tinker Juarez will be making a cameo to set this event off in the right direction. Other endurance riders such as Jason English, Cameron Chambers, and Susan Hayword are expected to attend as well. We are unclear on details such as teams, course, or even a USA Cycling national award for winning. We are anxious to get you more information as details are slowly being released.
