St. Louis hosts third round of Cross After Dark series
Reigning US 'cross champion Todd Wells (Specialized) will contest the inaugural Gateway Cross Cup. (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Following the launch of the international professional cyclo-cross season at CrossVegas one week ago, many of the sport's top stars are preparing to compete at the inaugural Gateway Cross Cup on Wednesday, September 21 at Heman Park in University City, Missouri. A first for the region, 'crossers from across the United States and Europe will be competing for coveted ranking points that are up for grabs at this UCI C2-ranked event.
The field for the elite men's race at the Gateway Cross Cup will feature key American riders such as current US national champion and Olympian Todd Wells (Specialized), former national champions Tim Johnson (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld), Jonathan Page (Planet Bike-Blue Bicycles) and Ryan Trebon (LTS-Felt) as well last season's Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross and North American Cyclo-cross Trophy series champion Jeremy Powers (Team Rapha-Focus).
Top European riders confirmed for the event are Swiss national champion Christian Heule (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld), former Belgian U23 champion Ben Berden (Stoemper) and former Hungarian champion Zoltan Tisza.
The elite women’s field features former US national road champion Meredith Miller (California Giant Berry-Specialized), former collegiate national 'cross champion Teal Stetson-Lee (California Giant Berry-Specialized), former Belgian national champion Joyce Vanderbeken (Cycling Team Vermeeren) as well as local favorite and professional triathlete Sunny Gilbert (Michelob Ultra-Big Shark Racing).
The UCI-sanctioned races kick off at 7:50 pm with the 40-minute elite women's race followed at 9:00 pm for the 60-minute elite men's race. Both the women's and men's events are the third stop on the inaugural Cross After Dark series, which concludes on Saturday, October 15 in Irvine, California, with Spooky Cross. The series began with CrossVegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, followed by last Saturday's StarCrossed in Issaquah, Washington.
Non-UCI races at the Gateway Cross Cup begin at 1:30pm and continue throughout the afternoon. For more information go to www.gatewaycrosscup.com.
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