NorCal Cyclocross: CX Nation Cup Raises Money to Send Juniors to Nationals

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the first edition of NorCal’s CX Nation Cup at Sonoma’s Maxwell Park. While the rest of Sonoma County was ravaged by large wildfires, Maxwell Park remained unscathed and offered riders numerous challenges, from sand to ups and downs to fire roads to single track.

The biggest obstacle on the afternoon was the havoc dished out by Mother Nature.  A long-anticipated weather system slammed the park an hour before racing began. Early races got just a small glimpse of what was to come. By the afternoon it was an all-out mudder of epic proportions.

The CX Nation Cup was the brainchild of CX Nation owner, Brian Staby. Staby wanted to find a way to raise money to send San Francisco Bay Area juniors riders to the National Championships in Reno, Nevada. What better way to raise money for cyclocross than to have a race?

Vida Lopez de San Ramon was one of the Juniors who participated in the race. 2017 CX Nation Cup. © B. Stendor

The racers seemed to like the idea, as 170 brave souls showed up on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Some were there to work off the turkey and pies, others were trying to grow the sport through youth participation and still others were there to grab some coveted USAC points for Nationals call-ups.

Northern California has been traditionally non-USAC with many of the races not being overseen by the governing body. This race was an exception. Riders were divided up into heats with large fields to maximize points for Nationals.

Ryan Rinn gets a muddy ride in. 2017 CX Nation Cup. © B. Stendor

Mark Henry rode to victory in the first heat of the day, the Men’s 55+. Meg Skidmore from Razzle Dazzle took the women’s beginners race in that same heat. The Cat 3,4,5 men took off next and the winner was Joshua Vahlberg from Clif/Voler/HRS/Rock Lobster, run by legendary builder Paul Sadoff.

Travis Tucker of CX Nation won the Juniors race. As is always the case for races run by local promoters Bike Monkey and CX Nation, all juniors raced for free.

Marila Alvares from Sacramento’s Dirt Birds took the Women’s Elite race. Justin Morgan of Top Club Cyclocross lead from start to finish and won the Elite Men’s.

Men’s winner Justin Morgan. 2017 CX Nation Cup. © B. Stendor

The race was such a huge success that CX Nation’s Brian Staby says that he will probably be able to pay the registration fees and send ten San Francisco Bay Area Juniors to Nationals in Reno. A huge thanks goes out to all the volunteers and racers who came out for the CX Nation Cup. It was for a very worthy cause, the future of cyclocross, our junior riders.

Follow Up for Bay Area Juniors Going to Nationals

[From CX National owner Brian Staby]

CX Nation Follow Up – Attention Junior Riders in SF Bay Area / NorCal

Thanks again for all that attended the Inaugural CX Nation Cup last weekend in Sonoma. I would like to use the money we made on the event to send juniors racers from the SF Bay Area/NorCal to Nationals.

I will pay for the junior riders’ (18 and under) “early bird” registration for the Cyclocross National Championships in Reno. That is a cost of $55.

What you need to do

1. The parent and child must email me at cxnation [at] gmail.com
2. Please give me your name, where you are from and what team you race for.
3. You must have raced in the CX Nation Cup. If I have more slots, then I might open it up to even those that did not.
4. Tell me why you love cyclocross and why you want to go to Nationals.

I will select at least 4 juniors (maybe more) and pay their entry fee. You must pay the entry fee and show me that you have registered for the race. Then I will reimburse you through Paypal, check or some other means.

Deadline is December 15th because that is the last day to register for Nationals and get the “early bird” discount. Feel free to spread the word.

Women's Results: 2017 CX Nation Cup

Men's Results: 2017 CX Nation Cup