2015 Cyclocross National Championships

If you're not yet familiar with cyclocross, you need to get up to speed! January 7-11, 2015 will see the 2015 USA Cycling National Championshipsreturn to Zilker Park after last being held there in 1978.

There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to cyclocross, also called cross or CX. The racing is fast and furious, the courses are built for spectating, and you can easily interact with the racers. Plus, the whole thing happens inside a loud, fun, cycling-loving party!

Cross was first developed in France as a way for road racers to stay fit during the fall and winter months. Designed as races from town-to-town, akin to steeplechase, racers could take nearly any path they chose, and they did–crossing fields, hoping fences, riding through ditches, and across streams. Today those elements are built into the course to offer challenges to racers. Forced dismounts where racers have to carry and run with their bikes and mixed terrain–pavement, dirt, grass, sand, mud–are the calling cards of cross racing. Add in winter weather, which often present particular challenges, and that these conditions are tackled on what's basically a modified road bike, and you have the makings of a real spectacle!

To race cross is one thing. But anyone can come out and really enjoy a day at the races. Imagine being at Zilker Park inside a national championship race course that allows for easy spectating from nearly any vantage point, and you can see why cross races have often taken on a party atmosphere.

With the race wrapped around you, it's easy to get caught up in the festivities. Cowbells, horns, and other noise makers are common. Barbed cheers, or heckles, are common at US races as well. Designed to be stinging, but good natured, it's best to save them for racers you know and simply cheer everyone else. You can bet though that we'll be reminding members of the Bicycle Sport Shop Cyclocross Club that it's a run-up not a walk-up! There will also be a team paddock area, so you can see how the pros set up for a race and an expo area with food, drink, beer, and more. We'll be there too as the official bike shop of the event.

New to cross or seasoned racer, we're hoping to see everyone out there. Stop by our tent or the shop race week and see what all we have going on.