Bloomingcross presented by DRT Consulting and Revolution Bike and Bean
In or near Indiana? Stuck around the Midwest after the UCI3 Festival? Always wanted to buddy up next to Barry Wicks and have a fireside chat? Check out some of the details of the Bloomingcross race, happening this Sunday.
The Zipp OVCX Tour, presented by Papa John’s, makes this year’s first trip to Indiana this Sunday, October 17th, for the Bloomingcross presented by DRT Consulting and Revolution Bike and Bean. And Barry Wicks is staying in the Midwest following this past weekend’s UCI3 Festival to gain a few more series points and dollars.
This year’s race, which gets its name from its host city of Bloomington, has moved to a new venue in Karst Farm Park that provides promoter Andy Messer with more space to work with and more amenities. “It’s a frisbee golf course with all the amenities and nice restrooms,” said Messer when we sat down to talk with him at this past weekend’s UCI3 Festival. “So we’ll have more room to design a traditional cyclocross course that will be almost entirely viewable from a single location. The race at last year’s venue was about 30% single track, which we had to use in order to connect the sections of the park. We won’t have to do that here, and there are real restrooms too.”
Coming just one week after the Zipp OVCX Tour’s UCI3 Festival, Messer knew he had to add some spark to his event to convince leg-weary racers to compete at their fifth race in a little more than two weeks. His flash of inspiration was to have a traditional autumn bonfire and a chance to hang with none other than Team Kona/FSA’s Barry Wicks on Saturday night before the race on Sunday.
Prior to the bonfire on Saturday night, Wicks will take care of some cyclocross business with a free 90-minute “Kona Clinic” starting at 4:00 pm. The skills clinic is open to all and there is no need to register. Then, at dusk, the blaze will be lit, promoter Andy Messer will break out the free hot dogs and marshmallows and those attending will start telling stories, some of which may actually be true.
In addition to a unique dinner experience on Saturday night around the bonfire, racers and spectators will also be able to enjoy a unique lunch during Sunday’s races, as local brew pub Big Woods Brewing Company will be on-site selling selections from their creative menu. The race itself is round 6 of the increasingly high-profile Zipp OVCX Tour presented by Papa John’s, and the addition of Wicks to the lineup raises the race’s profile significantly. All of OVCX’s regular classes will be in action with the addition of Single Speeds. For more information on Bloomingcross, see BikeReg.com.
