USA Cycling
More than seven weeks before the event promoters of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships report registration at a record pace. "We have a happy problem," said Tom Stevens, race director. "We are approaching 1,000 pre-registered riders and we're still more than a month out."
The highest registration, ironically, is for a non-championship event known as the 'B' race. "Apparently everybody wants to ride the roller coaster we're building," said Richard Fries, communications director. "The total number of racers in all categories will easily exceed the 1,200 mark we expected."
The promoters have altered Sunday's schedule to allow them to split the B field into an older and younger category, with the break point at age 35. The split proved nearly even. "We've created a 35-plus group and an under-34 group," noted Stevens. "We're calling it B-plus and B-minus," said Lyle Fulkerson, operations director. "This is a testament to a number of things. The East Coast cyclo-cross scene has grown considerably since the nationals were last held in this time zone in 2001. This is also a testament to the sport's continued growth elsewhere. We're standing atop the shoulders of promoters in Portland, Seattle, Northern California, The Rockies and other growing cyclo-cross hotspots."
The 2005 Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships is a production of the New England Cyclo-cross Association. For more information visit www.cyclocrossnationals.com
