Seattle, Washington – After putting on one of the biggest bicycle races in the state of Washington for 2011 this past Sunday at Big Finn Hill Park in Kirkland, WA , Low Pressure Promotions with Title Sponsor STANLEY, a brand of PMI, are ready to produce StarCrossed this Saturday, September 17th, at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, WA.
“Over the last ten years, StarCrossed has transitioned from a regional nighttime ‘cross race to a prominent international-UCI cyclocross event, with riders coming to Seattle from all over the world,” said Low Pressure Promotions co-founder Terry Buchanan. We are extremely thankful for our Title Sponsor, STANLEY, a brand of PMI, for all the care and thoughtfulness they have put into our event over the last two years.”
In addition to StarCrossed’s Title Sponsorship, STANLEY, will also be adding value for racers and spectators throughout the days leading up to Saturday’s event with a free cyclocross clinic on Friday, September 16th with Jonathan Page, at Lake Sammamish State Park. Riders will be able to preview the StarCrossed course, receive instruction, and dial in racing lines with the 2007 Cyclocross World silver medalist. The clinic begins promptly at 5:30 pm at the start/finish line at Lake Sammamish State Park.
Returning to StarCrossed for 2011 after a short hiatus, is the new and improved “Fly-Over” course structure presented by STANLEY which allow spectators to roam the course under the STANLEY Fly-Over structure, while racers ride on the top section. “People really love the Fly-Over course feature,” said Low Pressure Promotions co-founder Zac Daab. We’ve worked with a professional structural engineer, Western Waterproofing and STANLEY to produce one of the cleanest Fly-Over’s to date.”
Similar to 2010, StarCrossed has partnered with Shimano to present the Elite Men and Elite Women’s races, featuring a depth of international cyclocross talent. Two-time World Champion, Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) will highlight the men’s field which also includes US National Cyclocross Champion, Todd Wells (Specialized) and multi-year CX and MTB US Champion, Ryan Trebon (LTS-Felt). Joining Wellens on the start line will be teammate Rob Peeters, a regular top ten finisher on the international World Cup circuit and Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), the 2007 World Cyclocross Silver Medalist.
The Shimano Women’s Elite race will feature French CX National Champion Caroline Mani (SRAM), Czech CX National Champion Katarina Nash (Luna Pro Team) , and US ATB National Champion Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team).
New to StarCrossed this year is Rapha-Focus and Lazer Helmets, two sponsors who will have their own course features around the 2.8km course. Rapha-Focus team colors will be cleanly displayed on the barriers, and Lazer Helmets will have a “day at the beach” running section along the shores of Lake Sammamish.
The Raleigh Bicycles singlespeed race will be one of the most contested races of the day, with brothers JT and Louie Fountain scheduled to race as well as Raleigh Bicycle’s Craig Etheridge. The winner of the singlespeed will take home a brand new Raleigh singlespeed.
Finally, the last race of the night is the Meta Filter presented by Bike Hugger’s Suffer Faces Singlespeed shoot-out, where riders will race a shortened course around the beer garden, in waives of 8-riders at a time. Meta Filter has put up a $1000 cash purse for this final race.
Saturday’s racing kicks off at 11:45 am, with the Deschutes Beer Garden opening promptly at noon. Limited Edition STANLEY-branded products will be available for sale in an exclusive STANLEY beer garden line, featuring special pricing for filled containers in 16 and 32 oz. servings.
StarCrossed presented by STANLEY, a brand of PMI is part of the international cyclocross series, Cross After Dark. (CxAD). Cross After Dark comes to StarCrossed on September 17th after kicking off in Las Vegas at CrossVegas on September 14th. International level cyclocross will continue in Seattle on Sunday, the day after StarCrossed, at the newly formed Rapha-Focus Gran Prix, also at Lake Sammamish State Park.
The tentative race day schedule for StarCrossed includes:
11:45 am: Master’s Women 35+; Women’s Category 3 and 4
Noon: Deschutes Beer Garden Opens
12:30 pm: Men’s Category 4; Men’s Master’s 35+ Cat 4
1:30 pm: Raleigh Bicycles Singlespeed race; Master’s Men 35+ Category 3
2:30 pm: Master’s Men 30+ Category 1 and 2
3:30 pm: Cascade Bicycle Studio Category 3
4:30 pm: SHIMANO UCI Elite Women
5:30 pm: SHIMANO UCI Elite Men
7:00 pm: Meta Filter and Bike Hugger’s Suffer Face Singlespeed Eliminator Shootout
