Wissahickon 'cross brings history to UCI weekend

The Philadelphia suburb of the Ludwig's Corner Pennsylvania will experience the rush of Verge MAC International UCI cyclo-cross action on Sunday, October 21. Now in its third year at the Ludwig's Corner Horse Show Fairgrounds, the Wissahickon Cyclocross has a proud history that predates the current location. In fact a young Ryan Trebon scored his first-ever UCI victory at this race in 2003.

The race is traditionally run on the same weekend as the UCI C1 Granogue 'Cross just 25 miles to the south, and promoter Kelly Cline had already announced his intention to elevate his race to C1 status as well, but the UCI rules do not allow for C1 events to be held on the same day as World Cups. When the UCI's schedule was announced, the Wissahickon race conflicted with the Kalmhout World Cup.

Even with a C2 ranking, Cline expects a big crowd as all areas in the US have experienced explosive growth in cyclo-cross. "Even non-UCI races around here are getting 300 to 400 entries this year, so we don't know how many more people are going to show up this year," Cline remarked. "This weekend has turned into a carnival that's exceeded our wildest expectations."

Adding to the carnival atmosphere is live music by alt-jam band Murder House and unguarded kegs of Yard's Ale that are conveniently kept under a canopy next to the run-up. With planks to hurdle as they ascend the hill, the run-up slows the racers down in a pivotal spot, so that masses of people holding red plastic cups can either encourage or harass them. "It's one of the noisiest places on the Verge MAC circuit" smiles Cline

For more information about the Granogue and Wissahickon UCI Cyclo-cross race weekend, including directions to the two events and pre-registration, see BikeReg.com.