Gage Hecht, shown here at Zolder in 2015, took second place in Friday’s U23 Men’s Nationals road race in Louisville. Check out the U.S. Criterium Nationals live stream on Sunday to see Gage and a whole host of other cyclocross riders go for the Stars and Stripes. © Bart Hazen
It has been said that road is dead, but apparently someone forgot to tell a lot of U.S. cyclocross stars this summer. Last weekend alone we saw Emma White shine at Road Nats and Denzel Stephenson, Lane Maher and Ross Ellwood star at ToAD.
This Fourth of July weekend, the road action continues in Louisville, KY with U.S. Criterium Nationals on Sunday. With the obvious exception of cyclocross, criteriums may be the most spectator-friendly form of biking and with the talent heading to Louisville, Crit Nats are guaranteed to provide some early Fourth of July fireworks.
I know crits can get a bad rap from cyclocross folks, but I have been checking out some of the crit live streams this year, and I have to say, they are not only exciting but also incredibly interesting from a tactical standpoint.
Mountain bike fans can also satisfy their viewing urge by tuning in to watch the Vallnord, Andorra stop of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on Sunday morning.
Since multi-disciplinarity is in for 2017, the best of the best can do the mountain-crit viewing double and then get a cyclocross ride in during the day for the trifecta.
U.S. Criterium Nationals – Louisville, KY
Location: Downtown Louisville, KY
Course: 1.5km, eight-corner circuit
Race Times: Men’s U23 – 2pm EDT; Amateur Men’s – 3:30pm EDT; Pro Women’s – 4:45pm EDT; Pro Men’s – 6:15pm EDT
Livestream: VeloNews
Who to Watch For:
U23 Men
Cameron Beard
Eric Brunner
Grant Ellwood
Brannan Fix
Lance Haidet
Gage Hecht
Spencer Petrov
Cooper Willsey
Amateur Men
Mat Stephens
Pro Women
Christina Gokey-Smith
Nicole Mertz
Laurel Rathbun
Emma White
Lily Williams
Pro Men
Curtis White
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – Vallnord, Andorra
Location: La Massana Bike Park
Course: 4km circuit
Race Times: Sunday, July 2; Women’s Elite – 6am EDT; Men’s Elite – 8:30am EDT
Livestream: redbull.tv
Who to Watch For:
Elite Women
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot
Eva Lechner
Catharine Pendrel
Elite Men
Mathieu van der Poel
The U23 races are not broadcast, but Evie Richards is leading the Women’s U23 overall and Hannah Finchamp will be making the start for the Clif Pro Team. If you are unable to watch on Sunday, tune in to Rumors & Rumblings next week for a full rundown of what went down in Louisville.
