Rank: Cat5
Joined: 1/25/2008
Posts: 58
Points: 39
Location: San Angelo
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I don't know if any local cyclists are interested in giving cyclocross a try this year, so I have not scheduled the annual cyclocross clinic and fun race as in past years. Let me know if there is any interest among the road and mountain groups related to holding the clinic and/or holding a small CX race or race series. This could even be a "no dismounts" practice race series similar to short track mountain bike events.
For those of you who are not familiar with cyclocross, it's a somewhat twisted cycling discipline that combines aspects of road criteriums and mountain bike short track racing, with an occasional dismount over a barrier thrown in for grins. The trend in both Texas and national CX racing is to have more road-like courses with fewer dismounts. Races are short (30-60 minutes), and the pace is typically all out for the duration of the event.
CX races are multiple laps around a 1 to 1 1/2 mile circuit course, with a combination of dirt roads, smooth trails, grass, and possibly some pavement. Although the top racers use a dedicated CX bike, many entry level competitors use their mountain bikes. This short video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSaxjcdBSxA) depicts a typical CX race.
The CX racing season in Texas begins on Oct. 4 with the first race of the Lone Star Cyclocross series (Pflugerville) and continues through January. Both the Texas State Championship race and the Cyclocross nationals are typically held in December. Information on Texas races will be posted on the www.txbra.org web site, and Nationals info is up at http://www.kccrossnationals.com/.
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