“The Tour de Louisville is uniquely Kentucky,” says Race Director Steven Webster of the second round of the Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour presented by Papa John’s on October 3rd. “Kentucky’s a pretty place, and it doesn’t take a bad picture. But the state is more hills and hollers than anything else, and our course at Fisherman’s Park reflects that. It’s a stoopid, sick, off-camber course that isn’t flat anywhere. It’s completely different than anything else on the Zipp Tour.”
The course at Fisherman’s Park park has been called “off-camber madness” and “high-speed technical.” OVCX Director Mitch Graham called it “that bitchin’ course.” It also features a lot of climbing, making it one of the hardest courses in the Midwest and a favorite of the Elite racers. “It all comes down to how hard you can go for how long,” says Webster.
Mitigating the extreme effort of the race somewhat is the beauty of the venue: Louisville’s gorgeous Fisherman’s Park. The park is built around no fewer than eight stocked public fishing lakes (license required) in the naturally hilly area of eastern Jefferson County. “We don’t need to do much course preparation for this race,” says Webster. “We just leverage the existing natural terrain, and that gives us the opportunity to have numerous fall-away sweepers bordered by the lakes.” Then, with a smile, he adds, “If the weather is warm enough, we’ll probably run one of the off-camber descents close to the edge of the lake, so if you screw up you get wet. It should be a popular place for people to watch the races.”
More details about the Tour de Louisville can be found at BikeReg.com. For additional information about the Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour presented by Papa John’s, see www.OVCX.com.
