The red carpet was rolled out in Boulder for officials from USA Cycling yesterday. The group was in town to investigate the possibility for Boulder to host the 2014 – 2015 National Cyclocross championships. Two other communities are competing for the race; Austin, Texas and Ashville, North Carolina. Each community is being evaluated on their ability to accommodate up to 1,500 racers, 15,000 spectators, support teams and cycling vendors.
With transportation provided by Banjo Billy’s bus tour, the group toured Boulder, checking hotel accommodations, restaurants, cycle shops and Valmont Bike Park. The Park is ultimately one of the highlights Boulder offers, providing a ready-made facility to hold the race. The inaugural race held at the Park last fall, the Boulder Cup, demonstrated how the course can offer a unique cyclocross racing experience, along with the ability to host vendors, teams and spectators.
Hosting the tour was an eclectic mix of city, local business and community organizers. Mike Ubanks from the city parks and recreation department showed off the Valmont Bike Park. National cyclocross winner and owner of Boulder Cycle Sports, Brandon Dwight, emphasized the local business support for this race. Mike Goldberg was on hand to distribute a special USA flag Polar Bottle to the contingency. For the days finale, the Boulder Beer Company hosted the group to beer and snacks at their brewery restaurant.
Kelly Lusk, National Events Director for USA Cycling found a number of positive amenities that Boulder can offer for the race. People knowledgeable about organizing and running a bike race was seen as a plus for Boulder. The 5-day event will need the collective effort of city and community organizations to plan and implement the race. Boulder appeared to have the infrastructure and expertise to support an event of this magnitude.
USA Cycling hosts 17 national bike race events across the country. The cyclcross race changes location every 2 years. Current host city is Madison, Wisconsin that just had the 2012 race. Next race will be there in January 2013. The race for 2014 and 2015 is now being decided, with Boulder having great hope that their community will be the next location.
More Valmont Bike Park cyclocross photos by Peter Wayne
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