Cyclocross

The Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross celebrates its fifth anniversary this Saturday as the six-race series kicks off in Louisville, Kentucky. The October 24-25 Papa John’s Derby City Cup presented by Toyota will once again be held at Champions Park, a former private golf course just east of downtown Louisville. Both races boast UCI C2 status. In 2007, Louisville debuted as a stop on the USGP, a move that brought Kentucky’s its first UCI cyclocross race. The decision to expand into an untraditional cyclocross market irked many riders and fans.

Due to the start time of a live football game being rescheduled on Saturday, the first showing on October 25 has been moved to 2:00 p.m. MT on Saturday (not 5:30 p.m. MT, as originally announced). The race is being broadcast on Altitude Sports and Entertainment Network, available on cable systems in the western U.S. and on DirecTV and Dish Network in select areas nationwide.

Canadian Wendy Simms currently sits atop the Women's UCI cyclocross rankings with 309 points, ahead of Dutchwoman Daphny Van de Brand, who holds 300 points. Simms (Kona) successfully defended her ’07 title at the Canadian national cyclocross championships on October 11 in Edmonton. The Victoria, Canada, resident then finished eighth at the UCI World Cup opener in Kalmthout, Belgium, on October 18. Simms was the top North American finisher, male or female, at that event.

Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) and Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) won at Cincinnati's three-day cyclocross festival this weekend, but while Powers took over the men's lead of the USA Cycling cyclocross standings, Amy Dombroski took over the women's lead. Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) scored double wins at the Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester in Massachusetts. Kona's Ryan Trebon, who won both days at Gloucester, is now in second on the standings. After 15 contests on the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar, the current standings: Men

Kona's Ryan Trebon and Velo Bella-Kona's Amy Dombroski took over the lead of the North American Cyclocross Trophy Series after their dominant weekend at the Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester race in Massachusetts. Trebon and Dombroski each won their respective races both days. Dombroski also holds the lead in the Verge New England Cyclo-cross series, which also awarded points at Gloucester. Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale), who was fourth and third at Gloucester, holds the men's lead in the Verge series. North American Cyclocross Trophy series standings, men:

The mid-October heat in Middleton Ohio was matched only by the hot racing action at the Java Johnny’s / Lionhearts International UCI C2 race on Saturday. The women's race saw Katie Compton power away from the field of the country’s top ‘crossers, including Rachel Lloyd, who finished second on the day, and eventual third-place finisher Sue Butler.

20.09.2008 FSA Star Crossed Redmond, WA C2 20.09.2008 Nittany Lion 'Cross Fogelsville, PA C2 20.09.2008 KTR Michigan Double Cross - 1 Springfield Township, MI C1 21.09.2008 KTR Michigan Double Cross - 2 Springfield Township, MI C2 21.09.2008 Rad Racing GP Lakewood, WA C2 24.09.2008 Cross Vegas Las Vegas, NV C1 27.09.2008 Mad Cross I Sun Prarie, WI C2 27.09.2008 Schoolhouse Cyclocross Montpelier, VT C2 28.09.2008 Mad Cross II Sun Prarie, WI C2 28.09.2008 Catamount Grand Prix Williston, VT C2 10.10.2008 The Cyclo-Stampede Burlington, KY C2

They like to call the Gran Prix of Gloucester the "New England 'Cross Championships," although with a winners' list peppered with names like Knapp, Bessette, Johnson, Trebon, Gould, Dunlap, Gullickson and even Vervecken, that might not be going far enough.

The US Gran Prix of Cyclocross is adding several features to encourage growth of the sport in the junior and U23 ranks. The three-weekend USGP series will now include the CyclocrossWorld.com / USGP Junior Race Series. Two events in the series — New Jersey's Mercer Cup presented by Knapp's Cyclery and The Portland (Oregon) Cup presented by Stanley have been named the official U23 and Junior Worlds qualifying races and are the only sanctioned UCI Junior races on the American cyclocross calendar.

After the first ten races of the 2008 USA Cycling Cyclocross Calendar, Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) and Natashia Elliott (EMD Serono/Stevens) lead the standings. Page was fourth at the category 1 CrossVegas race and then won both the Mad Cross / Jonathan Page Planet Bike Cup races in Wisconsin the following weekend. Likewise, Elliott was 15th at CrossVegas but won both the Mad Cross events. Men's Standings 1. Jonathan Page (Northfield, N.H.) 145 points

With the seasons changing, more and more racers are turning to cyclocross as a way to utilize their late-season fitness, stay in shape or just have some fun in the process. Managing editor Neal Rogers teamed up with national masters 35+ champion and online ’cross diarist Brandon Dwight to shoot some instructional videos. The videos are available on VeloNews.tv.

Dee Dee Winfield (Velo Bella/Kona) and Wes Schempf (C3-Sollay.com) scored impressive wins in Sunday’s Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross in Buckeystown, Maryland.

Outspoken Kona cyclocross star Ryan Trebon has his own thoughts about Lance Armstrong’s plans to race cyclocross this season — bring it on, champ. While Jonathan Page has been the most successful American racing at the European World Cup level in the years since Armstrong retired, Trebon has been the most dominant cyclocross racer in North America, where Armstrong is expected to compete in the coming months.

Six hours before kicking off their cyclocross season at the Full Speed Ahead Starcrossed UCI cat. 2 event in Redmond, Washington, Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com riders Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers sat down with VeloNews.com for a post-lunch, pre-nap chat on a rainy Seattle afternoon. The following day both men were headed to Tacoma for the UCI cat. 2 Rad Racing GP, presented by Kona and FSA, known for its dreaded UCI-limit 80-meter run-up. Top cross racers Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks, Adam Craig, Carl Decker and Geoff Kabush were also expected at both races.

This weekend's Full Speed Ahead Star Crossed presented by Gerk's Ski and Cycle and the Rad Racing GP presented by FSA and Kona opens the North American Cyclocross Trophy with an impressive field. Current National champ Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale) will be met at the start line by '06 champion, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and '05 champion and Olympian Todd Wells (GT). Wells, who raced the Beijing mountain bike race, is on top form after finishing fifth in the cross-country at the Canberra, Australia, mountain bike World Cup on August 30th.

Eight established UCI cyclocross races in North America are linking their events to form a new series this fall.

Belgian national cyclocross champion Sven Nys signed a three-year deal with Landbouwkrediet-Töissteiner on Tuesday. The contract takes effect January 1, 2009. The 2005 world cyclocross champion, a 10-year veteran of the Rabobank squad, is vying to represent his country in the cross-country mountain bike race at the Olympics this summer in Beijing, China. "You have to feel good in a team; all noses must be in the same direction," Nys told Sporza.be. Nys will join cyclocrosser Rob Peeters and mountain biker Filip Meirhaeghe on Landbouwkrediet.

Cyclocross racer Jonathan Page will race for the Wisconsin-based Planet Bike team next season, after earlier negotiating an end to his two-year contract with his European team Sunweb/Projob. Page, who won a silver medal at the cyclocross world championships in 2007, will continue to try to improve on that placing. He also will participate in several U.S. races, including a new UCI event in Wisconsin that will bear his name.

It’s been two weeks since Rachel Lloyd closed out her 2007-08 racing campaign at the 2007 UCI world cyclocross championships in Treviso, Italy. Lloyd, a native of Fairfax, California, was the highest-finishing American during the January 26-27 championship weekend, crossing the line in 9th place. She briefly rode as high as third, until waning fitness from a long season caught up with her.

Belgian Niels Albert won the Hoogstraten Superprestige cyclocross on Sunday in Belgium. It was the seventh race of the Superprestige championship series.

Maureen Bruno-Roy, winner of the masters women’s 30-34 race at December’s USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, has been stripped of her title because she was ineligible to compete in that category. Runner-up Josie Jacques-Maynes has been declared the winner, with Sally Annis second and Kristi Berg third. The problem stems from a violation of rules 1H4 and 1A29 of the 2007 USA Cycling Rulebook, the national governing body noted in a press release.

It hasn’t rained all week in Treviso and that could mean that this weekend’s world cyclocross championships could be settled on what is probably the fastest world’s course since the 2002 championships in Zolder, Belgium.

Kona-Yourkey.com rider Ryan Trebon, the 2006 national champion and three-time Crank Brothers USGP of Cyclocross series winner, has withdrawn from this weekend’s world cyclocross championship in Treviso, Italy.

USA Cycling on Monday named its elite men's team slated to compete at the cyclocross world championship on January 27 in Treviso, Italy.

Three riders - Jonathan Page, Tim Johnson and Ryan Trebon - earned automatic spots on the team, while USA Cycling coaching staff named Jeremy Powers to fill the remaining discretionary slot.

Page qualified as a silver medalist from the 2007 world championships while Johnson and Trebon earned their spots as the next two Americans in the UCI Cyclo-cross Rankings.

Rabobank’s Sven Nys earned the fifth national cyclocross title of his career as he outpaced his closest challenger, defending champion Bart Wellens, in the Belgian championship race in Hofstade on Sunday. The 31-year-old World Cup leader and world’s No. 1 repeated a feat he’d accomplished in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006 and remains a favorite for the world’s championship race, scheduled for Treviso, Italy, on the 26th of this month. Belgium, like most countries, schedules its national championship race for Sunday.

Italy’s defending national cyclocross champion, Enrico Franzoi, has opted out of the opportunity to defend his title this weekend, saying that he hopes to recover from a month-old ankle injury in time for the world championships in Treviso. The 25-year-old Franzoi, who recently moved to the Liquigas team, said lingering problems from an ankle injury suffered during November's World Cup event in Koksijde, Belgium, will keep him out of this weekend’s Italian national championships in Scorzè, near Venice.

Now that it’s the holiday season, millions of Americans are travelling home to relax with family and friends. There is one select group of Americans, however, who will be doing just the opposite: leaving home and hearth to fly across the Atlantic and compete against the world’s best cyclocross racers in the damp and chill of northern Europe.

USA Cycling has announced the first round of nominations to the U.S. national team for the 2008 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Treviso, Italy,January 26-27. Sixteen athletes were nominated to the squad in the elite women’s, U23 men’s and junior men’s categories based on their competitive performance over the course of the last year. The elite men’s nominations will be announced on January 14 following the next two rounds of the UCI’s World Cup in Belgium and France.

It’s been a busy year for Georgia Gould. The 27-year-old swept the National Mountain Bike Series, grabbed her first podium finish at a UCI World Cup, a top-10 at the UCI mountain-bike world championships and won the Crank Brother’s U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series. And now, the Luna rider is taking on the Union Cycliste International, asking for equal minimum prize money payouts for the top finishers in both women’s and men’s races.

To: Union Cycliste Internationale (U.C.I.)

The snow stopped, the sun came out, but conditions were still tough on the final day of the 2007 USA Cycling cyclocross national championships. [nid:41624]Mud, wind and cold aside, our man Casey Gibson braved the elements to document events as he saw them.

The intrepid Casey Gibson hadn't planned on filing any pix from Friday's installment of the 2007 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, but since he happened to be on hand in Kansas City, and since the eternal Steve Tilford just happened to be racing, he stuck around and clicked the shutter a few times, just for the heck of it.* [nid:41600]* Plus, we pay him. Not as much as he's worth, it's true, but we do pay him.

What will Mother Nature throw at Kansas City next? That’s the question organizers and racers alike are asking at the 2007 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, running Friday through Sunday in Kansas City, Kansas. On Monday, the metropolis was hit by an ice storm that grounded flights, knocked out electricity to tens of thousands and transformed city streets into treacherous swaths of ice. Wyandotte County Park, the site of the race, received a generous dusting and sports a slick layer of ice.

Cyclocrossworld.com teammates Lyne Bessette and Jeremy Powers capped off the Verge New England Championship Cyclocross Series on Sunday with wins in the elite races. Despite being besieged by illness this ’cross season, Bessette went on to clinch the series title, having won five of the seven races. Men's leader Jesse Anthony (Jamis), in his first year as an elite racer, easily pocketed the overall win with consistent top-three finishes in each of the seven races.

Anna Milkowski (Velo Bella–Kona) and Todd Wells (GT) helped end an era by winning the final W.E. Stedman Grand Prix of ‘Cross on Saturday. After a successful seven-year run, race promoter Joel Brown and patron W. E. Stedman will leave the Warwick, Rhode Island, race in good hands with the NBX-Narragansett Beer Cycling Team, which will promote it as part of a double-header NBX Grand Prix of ‘Cross weekend in 2008. Saturday’s 4km course wound circuitously around Goddard State Park, diving down to the sandy shoreline of Narragansett Bay at one point and sending racers running up the embankment

Maureen Bruno Roy came and conquered not only the season-ending Capital Cross Classic, but also the 2007 Verge MAC SRAM season championship. Davide Frattini couldn’t make the finale in Reston, Virginia, but claimed the Verge MAC SRAM season championship by a single point based on his previous conquests. A big part of the story of this year’s Capital Cross Classic, presented by the Bike Lane, was what didn’t happen. Rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain were all part of the forecast, but Sunday’s weather turned out nicer than the previous day, marked by wind and bitter cold. One thing that

Belgian Sven Nys (Rabobank) won the fifth round of the UCI World Cup of Cyclocross in Igorre, Spain, on Sunday. Nys took the top spot ahead of compatriot Bart Wellens (Fidea), a repeat of the finishing order in last year’s World Cup in Igorre. Nys’s victory further solidifies his hold on the overall standings in the nine race series.

The first half of the final weekend of the 2007 Verge MAC Series brought the first taste of the winter weather to the Mid Atlantic racing scene after an unusually warm autumn. The Carlisle Cross Classic took place on Saturday at Pennsylvania's Carlisle Fairgrounds, a location more famous for its massive antique auto shows than for human powered speed. "Speed" was the name of the game on the course designed by Mike Hebe on the wide open spaces of the fairgrounds. It sent riders up and over every side of the only hill, but its dominant characteristic was the extremely long, paved approach

Demonstrating why they were crowned the overall winners of this year’s Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, Kona-YourKey.com rider Ryan Trebon and Luna’s Georgia Gould each soloed to victory on Sunday in wet and windy Portland, Oregon. Trebon’s competition for series supremacy was Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Leer-Cyclocrossworld.com), who won Saturday but finished a distant second on Sunday. Gould, who had the series wrapped up after winning Saturday, outlasted perennial rivals Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Lyne Bessette (cyclocrossworld.com), who both abandoned the cold,

Upsets were the theme of the day in Portland, Oregon, at the fifth round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. On a muddy day that saw brief snowfall turn to cold rain, pre-race favorites Ryan Trebon and Katie Compton, the reigning elite U.S. men’s and women’s national champions, were beaten by their top domestic rivals, Tim Johnson and Georgia Gould. Racing was held at the Portland International Raceway, site of the 2003 and 2004 national cyclocross championships. The course, which was relatively flat, would have been a fast and uneventful track if not for the rains that

“A 60 percent chance of snow before 10 a.m., then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.” Welcome to December cyclocross in Portland, Oregon, host city to the2007 Crank Brothers U.S.Gran Prix of Cyclocross finals. The forecast for this weekend’s events,a pair of races that will determine the series winners, is wet, cold andmuddy. It’s going to be a sloppy weekend. Saturday appears to be the harsherday of the two, with colder temperatures bringing the possibility of snow.Sunday is predicted to be nearly 10 degrees

Under crystal blue skies with dry but chilly weather, the Bay State Cyclocrosswelcomed New England cyclocrossers to Sterling, Massachusetts, and a doseof wintry weather that many have been awaiting all season. MenOn the first lap, a trio of Massachusetts-based riders pulled awayand spent the next 55 minutes cheerfully hammering on each other, likea lovably dysfunctional family during the holidays. Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com),Jesse Anthony (Jamis) and Tim Johnson (Leer-Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld)appeared equally matched. From the swoopy turns - each with varying combinations of

Despite a shaky start, two crashes and constant pressure from a top field, Sven Nys still took the win in the fourth round of the UCI World Cup of cyclocross on Saturday in Koksijde, Belgium. Holland's Daphny van den Brand took the win in the women's race, finishing seven seconds ahead of American Katie Compton (Spike-Shooter). In the men's race, the current World Cup leader and reigning champion, Nys scored his third successive win at Koksijde, riding away from the competition on the last of 10 laps of a tough, sandy and hilly 2.775km course. Nys, who often dominates ‘cross

The USGP of Cyclocross presented by Crank Brothers will set a stage this weekend for the nation's elite racers to try their luck in the Northeast's hotbed of cyclocross. The pivotal location just outside Trenton, New Jersey, has already lured local 'cross stars from up and down the Eastern seaboard and the ones arriving from far-flung points across the country will only add to the tense, hyper competitive atmosphere. Following respective wins on home turf and overseas, series leaders Tim Johnson (Cannondale–Leer–Cyclocrossworld.com) and Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) seem poised

Libby Sheldon (Tokyo Joe’s) and Kyle Hammaker (Cadence) won their respective events on Sunday at the Race Pace Cross in Sykesville, Maryland, round six of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series. In the elite women’s contest Sheldon went away from the gun and was never challenged. Jessica Hill (Trail’s End) was clearly on her way to second place before falling victim to a mechanical, leaving Cathy Large (Yellow Breeches) free to time-trial in for the runner-up spot. The elitemen’s race was entertaining from start to finish. Hammaker, Todd Hesel (HVB), Dave Weaver (unattached) and Jeff Buckle

What happens when you combine a world-championship event, six kegs of PBR, a limitless supply of Oregon microbrews, 110 men and 30 women, a heckling contest, a tequila shortcut and a golden Speedo? You get the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC) November 11-12 near Portland, Oregon. What else? This year, Adam Craig (Giant) let the powerful spirit of Portland cyclocross overwhelm him in the finishing straight of the SSCXWC, held at Estacada Timber Park. In possession of an apparently race-winning lead, Craig stopped to take a beer hand-up a couple hundred meters before the

Georgia Gould (Luna) and Davide Frattini (Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light) reprised their victories at Saturday’s Beacon Cyclocross by winning the second round of a New Jersey double-header, Sunday’s HPCX in Jamesburg. As on Saturday, Gould tackled both the men’s Category 2-4 and elite women’s races. But while she roared through the men’s field to beat the men on Saturday, on Sunday she was never a factor, finishing 10th and fueling speculation that she was tired. But the former Verge MAC champion proved that wasn’t the case a few hours later when she stomped to victory in the SRAM Elite

There were some big men on campus Sunday at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Among the 26 elite male riders in attendance for the UCI C2 Squawker Cross were national champion and Durango resident Todd Wells (GT Bicycles), mountain-bike star Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Litespeed), 2005 U23 cyclocross champion Troy Wells (Clif Bar) and Danish national champion Joachim Parbo (CCV-Protek). The warm, welcoming weather attracted a modest number of spectators, who watched Wells and Kabush battle it out to the end. The two former Olympians broke away quickly, with Durango’s Joey Thompson (Rocky

American Katie Compton and Dutchman Lars Boom took top honors in Sunday's muddy UCI cyclocross World Cup in Pijnacker, the Netherlands. For both, it was their first victory in a World Cup event. Compton (Spike Shooter), the reigning U.S. women's cyclocross champion, took the lead from the gun, surrendering it only briefly in a sandy section that was faster to run than to ride. “The course was very hard, really muddy and sandy, so your skills and power had to be on; lose focus for a second and you crash into a barrier or dump it in the mud,” Compton told VeloNews. Compton regained

Luna’s Georgia Gould and Davide Frattini (Colavita) were the big winners in the Verge Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-cross series event in Bridgeton, New Jersey on Saturday. A former Verge MAC champion, Gould returned to the series in spectacular fashion, starting her day by “warming up” in the men’s category 2/3/4 race. Starting near the back of the field of 55 riders, Gould steadily improved her position until she caught the leading pack of Jeremy Dunn (Cambridge), Patrick Bradley (Beacon), Kevin Kralik (Guys Cycles), John Brewer (Squadra Coppin/IM SAAB) and Verge MAC points leader Eric Linder (Hunt

If Jonathan Baker could press the reset button, he would have started his European cyclocross odyssey by hitting a few more easy races back in the United States. As it was Baker opted for a tough final tune-up schedule before making the move to Belgium in early October (see "Livingthe 'cross dream"). Since then the 33-year-old software engineer, who sold his house and took a four-month leave of absence from his job, has been mixing it up with the world’s best, taking his lumps and learning along the way. Back home Baker is a top-level amateur racer who can hang with most of the U.S.

Chris Sheppard (Santa Cruz-CMG) and Emily VanMeter (River City Bicycles) won their respective races during the fifth stop of the 2007 Cross Crusade November 4 at Barton Park outside Estacada, Oregon. The men’s race saw a neck-and-neck finish between Shannon Skerritt (Vanilla Bicycles) and Carl Decker (Giant), with Skerritt taking the runner-up spot by a few inches. In the women’s event, it was a sweep by the River City Bicycles team with Emily VanMeter taking the win ahead of teammates Bridgette Stoick and Dani Dance. The next Cross Crusade race, slated for November 11 at Estacada Park,

Trek-VW teammates Jeremiah Bishop and Sue Haywood won the Tacchino Cyclocross on Sunday at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg, Virginia. Lining up beside Haywood were some of the East Coast’s fastest women, including three-time Verge MAC champion Betsy Shogren (Fort Factory Team), defending BikeReg.com MABRAcross champion Lisa Vible, Team Kenda Tire’s Jennifer Maxwell, Vanderkitten’s Mandy Lozano and Libbey Sheldon of Tokyo Joe’s. Roaring out of the prologue loop, Shogren and Maxwell had the advantage as they powered up the finishing-hill straight to begin the first of their laps. By the time they

Mother Nature's about-face to Saturday's hurricane rains motivated 'cross fans to come out and witness commanding wins by Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Jesse Anthony (Jamis) on Sunday at the Cycle-Smart International, round four in the Verge New England Championship Cyclocross Series. Anthony, Chris Jones (Nerac), Mark McCormack (Clif Bar), and Adam Myerson (Nerac) surged ahead in an early break set up by Troy Wells (Clif Bar).

With many of their usual competitors in Colorado for the second weekend of the U.S. Grand Prix of cyclo-cross, Lyne Bessette (cyclocrossworld.com) and Chris Jones (Nerac) took big wins in Connecticut’s Chainbiter UCI Cyclo-cross race, hit by wet weather as Hurricane Noel moved up the Atlantic coast on Saturday. Bessette back in formNoel threatened to turn the Chainbiter into a messy affair. Less than 50 miles away, the winds whipped across southern Connecticut. The skies were ominous though relatively calm during the earlier events, but as the women’s race began the rain and winds picked up.

Can anyone beat Katie Compton? Will the cyclocrossworld.com keep their Kona-beating streak alive? And what about Todd Wells — how is he going these days? These are a few of the questions to be answered this weekend as the heavy hitters of American ’cross line up for a pair of UCI races in Boulder, Colorado. Saturday’s Redline Cup and Sunday’s Boulder Cup are put on by Chris Grealish and Denver/Boulder Couriers, the same outfit that hosted last year’s Boulder stop of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. “We’re going on like we’re our own USGP,” DBC owner Grealish said. “And we think we can do

Weston Schempf (C3-Sollay.com) and Betsy Shogren (FORT Factory Team) pulled away early to take commanding victories in Sunday’s inaugural DCCX Cyclocross Race presented by DCMTB-City Bikes in Washington, D.C. The event, held on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home and promoted by the DC Mountain Bike Team, featured a course muddied up by three days of rain, with rooted, swooping curves, open road, two sets of tricky barriers and a Paris-Roubaix-style brick section. “Props to whoever put it together,'' Schempf said. “There was a lot of good rhythm to it.''

The U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross came to Kentucky for the first time in its history on Saturday. VeloNews editor Ben Delaney took advantage of the opportunity to take a close look at the race rigs of some the country's best 'crossers. PartIIPartIII

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One of North America’s all-time greatest cyclists popped up unexpectedly on this year’s U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross start list. Canadian Alison Sydor, a three-time mountain bike world champion and road world bronze medalist, decided earlier this fall to throw a leg over a ’cross bike for the first time in her career. Initially, as with everyone, the woman who has won 17 mountain bike World Cups was a little clumsy. But after a few weeks of local racing in British Columbia, Sydor took second at the Canadian national cyclocross championships behind Wendy Simms and ahead of Lyne Bessette.

Following a week of back-and-forth banter in the Belgian dailies, Sven Nys used his legs to win the war of words. The cyclocross superstar attacked out of a five-rider breakaway on the penultimate lap of World Cup No. 2 in Tabor, Czech Republic, and easily held his advantage to the line. Countryman Klaas Vantornout (Fidea) was second, at 0:13, with Dutchman Lars Boom (Rabobank) completing the podium on a cool gray Saturday in this small city an hour south of Prague. “They tried to make me nervous,” said Nys referring to accusations made by rival Fidea team manager Han van Kasteren, who

Cyclocross fans are familiar with most of the initials. UCI, signifying a big race; USGP, the nation’s premier series. But KY? The U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross begins its six-race romp this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. The weekend represents the first UCI ’cross race ever held in the state. The city is behind the event, hosting two days of racing in Champion’s Park just east of downtown along the Ohio River. “Louisville has developed into a great cycling town, and along with a great corporate partner in Papa John’s, we are proud to be able to host the premier cyclocross series in the

The day before the U.S. Gran Prix opener in Louisville, Kentucky, a few marquee riders were out riding the course. Here are a few of the faces and names you'll likely see at the front of this weekend's races: UCI points leader and three-time national champion Katie Compton, Georgia Gould, Danish national champion Joachim Parbo, Tim Johnson, Lyne Bessette, Danny Summerhill and Jesse Anthony.

Czech cyclocross star Zdenek Stybar will attempt to thrill a home crowd - and prove that his win last weekend wasn’t a fluke - when he lines up in the front row at World Cup No. 2 in Tabor on Saturday. The hour-long men’s race starts at 2 p.m. local time. There are no junior, under-23 or women’s races. The 21-year-old Fidea rider was the surprise winner of round one last Sunday in Kalmthout, Belgium, breaking away solo on the second of 11 laps and never looking back. At the line Stybar had a comfortable 33-second cushion over second-placed Sven Nys (Rabobank), allowing plenty of time to grab

The 2007 Verge MAC Series headed to the rural suburbs of Philadelphia on Sunday for the Wissahickon Cyclocross, a UCI C2 cyclocross at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show Fairgrounds. On a day when New Englanders were talking about the previous night’s victory by the Red Sox, another regional team, CyclocrossWorld.com, pitched a no-hitter by finishing one-two for the second consecutive day. Not to be outdone, Colorado’s Kerry Barnholt (Tokyo Joe’s-Van Dessel) imitated her home state’s baseball team, the Colorado Rockies, by sweeping the weekend women’s series. The fairgrounds are nearly perfect

With the beer-induced haze of cyclocross World Cup No. 1 finally burning off, we figured it was time to empty the digi-cam in preparation for round two Saturday in Tabor, Czech Republic. Scroll down and check out some of the sights and scenes from the season opener held Sunday in Kalmthout, Belgium. In the men’s race Fidea’s rising star Zdenek Stybar took a commanding win, besting home-country hero Sven Nys (Rabobank) by 33 seconds. On the women’s side, it was Dutchwoman Daphny Van Den Brand topping American Katie Compton by just three seconds. There’s no women’s race at Tabor, but Nys

Neither Lyne Bessette (cyclocrossworld.com) nor Greg Reain (Ride withRendal/Colnago/Time) were able to defend their titles at the Canadian Cyclocross Nationals Sunday in Kamloops, British Columbia, despite riding from the front in their respective races. Instead, Mike Garrigan (Jetpower/Epic Ride) took his first ever national title, while Wendy Simms (Kona-Yourkey.com) returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since back-to-back victories in '03 - '04. With very little elevation change to work with, the organizers went for a tight and twisty circuit. The circuit was

The unseasonably hot weather that has afflicted the East Coast cyclocross season continued at the first Verge MAC event of 2007, Delaware’s UCI C1 Granogue ‘Cross. But it did not keep Tim Johnson and Kerry Barnholt from winning their first-ever Granogue titles by huge margins, and taking home the unique pink-flamingo trophies and a lot of cash.

Save for a botched national-anthem selection during the podium ceremony, Sunday was a perfect day for rising cyclocross star Zdenek Stybar. The first-year pro from the Czech Republic launched a bold attack early in the second of 11 laps at the World Cup opener in Kalmthout, Belgium, and held his lead all the way to the finish. It was the second major victory for the 21-year-old Fidea rider, who also won the under-23 race at the 2006 world championships. Belgian Sven Nys (Rabobank) was a distant second, 33 seconds back of Stybar, with Frenchman Francis Mourey (Française de Jeux) winning a

A day after the ProTour season finished up at Italy’s Giro di Lombardia, the 2007-08 cyclocross World Cup gets underway Sunday in Kalmthout, Belgium. Junior and under-23 races take up the morning schedule, with the elite women rolling out at 1:30 p.m. and the men following at 3. Among the Americans taking the startline in the day’s final race will be reigning world championship silver medalist Jonathan Page. The New Englander will be making his big time debut in the predominantly yellow jersey of his new Sunweb-Pro Job team. After several years struggling to make ends meet, Page’s

You have to appreciate the matter-of-fact frankness of Sven Nys. With the 2007-2008 cyclocross World Cup set to commence Sunday in Kalmthout, the Belgian has set a simple but lofty season-long goal. “It is nothing special, I just want to be the best rider of season,” said the Rabobank rider during an exclusive interview with VeloNews at his modest two-story home in Baal. “That is my goal every year. I don’t have one important race. For me every race is important. That’s how people know me – I am good from the first race to the last and I try to win every time.” Of course even the

Nys opens Superprestige series with winSven Nys (Rabobank) won the Superprestige opener on Sunday in Ruddervoorde, Belgium. Fidea teammates Zdenek Stybar and Bart Wellens were second and third at four and eight seconds back, respectively. Americans Jonathan Page (Sunweb) and Ryan Trebon (Kona-YourKey) crossed in 18th and 19th spots at 1:36 back. Nys leads the series with 15 points. Stybar sits second with 14 while Wellens is third with 13. Superprestige Ruudervoorde1. Sven Nys (B), Rabobank, 1:00:432. Zdenek Stybar (Cze), Fidea, at 0:043. Bart Wellens (B), Fidea, at 0:084. Niels Albert

Fireworks, bagpipes and cyclocross are three things best enjoyed outdoors, in the opinion of most. But when the New England winter sets in even the hardiest crossnuts would appreciate a little bit of climate-control to take the edge off the season. That’s the thinking from a New Hampshire promoter who’s planning a race inside a 94,000-square-foot sports dome for some time after the new year. It would be perhaps the first indoor cyclocross race held in the U.S., providing further evidence of the growth of the discipline. It also might contribute to shifting the New England cyclocross season

First-time cyclocross racer Steven Gordon (Haymarket Bicycles) and Betsy Shogren (Fort Factory) won their respective races at the fourth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross Challenge on Sunday in Hagerstown, Maryland. Stephen Cummings (Meridith Group) took second in the men’s A race with Michael Gallagher (U.S. Armed Forces) third on the dusty, serpentine course at the Hagerstown Fairgrounds Park. In the women’s A race, Lisa Vible (C3 Sollay.com) took the runner-up spot with Libby Sheldon (Tokyo Joe’s) third. Other winners included: Men’s Category 4: Steven Wahl (AVC). Men’s B: Ethan

Vervecken, big women's payout highlight Super Cross CupThe Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup October 6-7 in Southampton, New York, will sport a couple of touches American cyclo-crossers don’t see every day — world champion Erwin Vervecken, and a women’s field that’s racing for more money than the rainbow jersey and the rest of the guys. The latest 'cross videofrom VeloNews.com:Excel Sports CrossVegasMen's race and interviewsWomen's race and interviews Vervecken, who last raced in America in 2003, in the Pacific Northwest, acknowledges the growth of U.S. ‘cross since

The Ridley Factory Team has annnounced its final roster and sponsor lineup for the 2007-08 cyclo-cross season. The team, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will be composed of elite riders who will contest the major U.S. cyclo-cross events — including the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series, Vegas Cross and the U.S. national cyclo-cross championships —and elite team leaders who will head grassroots development programs nationwide. Several members also plan to race in Europe in preparation for the 2008 UCI cyclo-cross world championships in Treviso, Italy. “Our mission continues to be

Hot on the heels of his headline-grabbing second-place performance at the UCI World Cyclo-cross Championships, American Jonathan Page (Morgan Blue) was back in the spotlight Saturday, February 3 at the GVA Series race in Lille, Belgium. In a well-publicized bit of defiance Page refused to take the start of the race after his team mechanic and close friend Frankie Van Haesebroucke was assaulted and hospitalized by the race organization’s security guards. According to Page, Van Haesebroucke was collared from behind by two security guards after a misunderstanding with a course marshal in the

Cleaning up the front page of VeloNews.com, we noticed a wealth of stories on what turned into a memorable weekend for American riders at the 2007 World Cyclo-cross Championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium. Rather than let this stuff fall of the front page within a day and disappear, we thought we'd at least provide a single reference point for readers to review reports from two days of racing that gave Americans Jonathan Page, Katie Compton and Danny Summerhill silver medals in their respective events. Congratulations to all of you.Race ReportsVervecken wins; Page takes silver!Compton