Gun Club Cross Delivers Even Bigger Blast

Gun Club cyclocross t-shirt. Photo courtesy

by Warren Church

Miamiville, OH – In a season of venues featuring lots of one-upmanship and hyperbole, filled with hot-air balloon rides and even an M16, Sunday’s Gun Glub Cyclocross managed to deliver an even bigger blast than last year’s race. And while you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s about stunts and gimmicks – the shotgun starts, a local tenor singing the national anthem live, a 13-person drum line, Earl of My name is Earl on the wood-fired grill, a British announcer and well, the lederhosen worn by organizer John Gatch – you would be mistaken. Deep down, this is a venue created and managed by people who care deeply about the sport and the people who love cyclocross as much as they do.

This is a venue that felt more like a family reunion, one that has become synonymous with fun, family, a festival atmosphere and the best food of the Zipp OVCX Tour. The drum line was new for this year, featuring 13 members of the Cincinnati Traditions Drum & Bugle Corps, as were the real wood podium stands, chip timing and even a porta-potty in the well-run parking lot. And yes, there’s still all the other great things – the roaring fire, hot showers, real bathrooms, a movie playing in the cozy lodge (Breaking Away this year) – and a decent bike wash area. It’s just that it keeps getting better.

With a temperature of 36 degrees at the start, those in the first couple of races found the course very slippery after a few laps as the ground warmed up. But by mid-day the course was beautiful as the light breeze and full sun brought racing temperatures up to a balmy 55.

This year saw a 35 percent increase in racers and a newly designed course with a balance of both power and technical demands. Also new was the redesigned flow of the races, which featured Category 4 racers at the end of the program similar to Cincinnati’s UCI3 Festival. This kept the crowd’s interest going throughout the day and also made for a complete lack of traffic problems in the parking area.

With the venue getting more popular every year, the biggest question is what will the organizers do to top this year’s effort?

Elite Men’s Results:

Elite Women’s results: