Most people wouldn?t fly across the country to ride their bicycles in 40-degree weather, but this is the cyclocross national championship.
For the last three winters, Darrell Davis has packed his bikes to compete in this hour long event. Even though the conditions were unusually harsh in Kansas City, Mo., last winter, hundreds of other cyclists also made the trip.
“It?s still fun,” said Davis, nicknamed “Dr. Cross” because he?s a professor as well as a hardcore enthusiast for cyclocross. “People were falling down all over the place. The pavement was a sheet of ice.”
Invented in Belgium as a way for bicycle racers to stay fit during the winter, cyclocross incorporates the speed of road cycling, the handling skills of mountain biking and the ruggedness of a steeplechase.
A typical cyclocross course includes sections of paved road where a road bike would be advantageous, dirt trails that favor mountain bikes and obstacles and terrain where riders must dismount and carry their bicycles.
Road bicycle racers, who are often referred to as “roadies” in the cycling circle, prefer cyclocross during the winter because it?s short and intense. The slower speed also decreases wind chill. These reasons make the sport more popular in the Snow Belt and Northern Europe.
Because of the variety of challenges, cyclocross riders prefer bicycles that are a hybrid of a road and mountain bike. A cyclocross bike is light like a road bike so the rider can carry it easily. It also has brakes, knobby tires and a stronger frame that can handle the dirt and bumpy trail.
Most serious local cyclists enjoy both road and mountain biking, and many of them own both types of bicycles. Cyclocross gives them a chance to utilize both skills at once.
When Davis, an associate professor in medicinal chemistry, watched his first cyclocross race 10 years ago, he wasn?t impressed by its interdisciplinary style.
“I thought it was stupid,” said Davis, who was already a serious road bike racer at the time. After watching the state championship in Ogden, however, he decided to enter his first race on a modified mountain bike.
Davis was initially dissatisfied by the small turnout and bad course design, which was more like a mountain bike course. The technical demand of quickly mounting onto and dismounting from a bicycle also intimidated him. It would be another seven years before he would try it again.
“It?s more organized [now],” Davis said. “Ten years ago, it was more of a mountain bike [course]. Now, it is more a traditional European [course].”
Cyclocross also gave Davis an excuse to buy more equipment, which many cyclists consider to be half the fun. Davis bought two additional bikes, each costing $1,000, solely for cyclocross.
“You really need two bikes in ?cross,” Davis said. “The bike can gain about 10 pounds [of mud] in a lap.”
In a cyclocross race, riders can change bikes at designated areas on the course. While a racer is riding a clean bike, a team mechanic can be cleaning the other.
Alex Rock, a freshman biology student who races against Davis at local races, owns only one cyclocross bike, which costs about $1,500.
Rock rides about 10 to 15 hours a week and spends four hours on cyclocross-specific training like practicing mounting and dismounting, and running on trails.
“It?s a total change from all the basic stuff,” said Rock, who has his roots in mountain bike racing. “It?s a cool way to mix all the elements of cycling.”
Races are held every Saturday at Wheeler Farm and attract many road and mountain bikers. The course is slightly different each week. Last Saturday?s course was technical and favored the mountain bikers.
Rock, who has been concentrating more on road biking this year, flipped over on a rocky section of the course and hurt his knee. Although he couldn?t bend his knee for days, he knew he would “definitely” be back at this week?s race.
In fact, a more traditional course this week helped Rock finished in the top 10.