Caroline Mani high fives the crowd. © Cyclocross Magazine
This morning, eight middle and elementary schools in Providence were taken over by cyclocrossers showing off their skills to enraptured kids. Thanks to the efforts of Nick Keough and the Providence Cyclocross Festival, thousands of new juniors will be finding out about cyclocross as the day wears on. We headed to Nathaniel Greene Middle School with Raleigh-Clement’s Caroline Mani and Allen Krughoff, along with manager Don Kellogg and promoter Richard Fries to introduce the kids to cyclocross. Mani and Krughoff weren’t sure what to expect, but as soon as they rode into the circle of a couple hundred students sitting, transfixed as the two rode over curbs and ran up stairs, they were mobbed by autograph-seeking students. “I feel like a rock star!” Mani shouted over the din.
Allen Krughoff signs autographs. © Cyclocross Magazine
While it isn’t quite a race gallery, the cyclocross community could certainly use something uplifting today, and what could be better than seeing young kids get inspired and fired up about cyclocross? Our favorite moment of the day: Overhearing one student say to another, excitedly, “Cyclocross is so fresh!”
