CrossVegas and now RenoCross have been mainstays on the U.S. cyclocross calendar for over a decade now.
After Interbike moved to Reno for 2018, Brook Watts sold CrossVegas to the Reno Cyclocross group that put on the 2018 Cyclocross National Championships and renamed it RenoCross.
Last year, the race held its successful first edition under the lights at Rancho San Rafael Park during the Interbike show.
RenoCross held its first edition in 2018. 2018 Reno Cross women’s race. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
The race has been inseparable from Interbike during its history, with lively crowds of bike industry professionals coming out for a fun night of cyclocross racing. When the news broke that Interbike 2019 was canceled, RenoCross’s future was put in immediate doubt.
We spoke with RenoCross race director Coby Rowe back in December, and he told us that even with no Interbike, the show will go on. RenoCross is currently on the 2019-20 UCI Cyclocross calendar as a C1 race on the evening of Friday, October 18, the same weekend as the West Sacramento GP.
New Title Sponsor Needed
CrossVegas and RenoCross have been put on via a partnership with title sponsor Clif. Clif became title sponsor of CrossVegas in 2011 and stayed on as title sponsor for the first edition of RenoCross.
“Clif was fantastic to work with last year. Clif was a great partner and they were upfront that they were winding down the many years of sponsorship,” Rowe told us.
Yesterday, RenoCross organizers posted on Facebook that they are looking for a new title sponsor for RenoCross 2019. Without a title sponsor, the event will likely not be held due to the high cost of putting on a C1.
Since Interbike was canceled, we’ve been working diligently to continue with plans to make RenoCross a reality despite the fact that the two events have worked in tandem for over a decade. It’s of the utmost importance to race directors that we maintain the integrity of this event and understand its importance to the CX community as it’s one of four UCI C1s and the only one on the West Coast.
We feel we owe it to our loyal cyclists and participants to be transparent about the fact that we cannot confirm whether or not the race will move forward unless we can secure a title sponsor.
We are tremendously proud of the event’s success at the inaugural race in Reno last September, and of its amazing 11 year run as CrossVegas. We believe in this race, that most notably was the first ever U.S. race selected for the UCI World Cup series, however cannot make it a reality without the valuable partnerships that can support the event. We are down to the bell lap to keep the race alive. With your support we can make it happen.
“The post was meant to raise awareness because we know a lot of people want a C1 on the West Coast,” Rowe said. “The expense of a C1 is pretty big and we need help to keep it alive.”
Rowe said anyone with sponsorship leads can contact the race team via the renocross.com website.
