MAC series hosts two international events

The Verge MAC Series hosts two UCI international cyclo-cross races this coming weekend. The Lower Allen Classic, one of the jewels of the Verge MAC Series, will take place on Saturday, November 11, in Camp Hill Pennsylvania, just outside of the State Capital of Harrisburg. The following day, the series will move east to Jamesburg, New Jersey for the recently relocated HPCX Cyclo-cross in central New Jersey. Both races carry a UCI-C2 listing and will bring in riders from at least four countries and both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Both races will also see the return of the Sports Balm 'Hot Lap' prime for the Elite Masters and B Men.

In the past four years, the Lower Allen Classic has made donations totaling $5,000 to the Lower Allen Township Park. This year, promoter Mike Hebe is looking toward a $1,500 donation to the park from the proceeds of the event. And in keeping with the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, Hebe has also instituted a food drive at his Lower Allen Classic cyclocross to benefit the Bethesda Mission, a homeless shelter in nearby Harrisburg. "I am going to ask all riders to show their generosity to those less fortunate around the holidays," he said. "Just think the amount of people who could have a great meal because of us. If each racer brought three-or-four dollars of non-perishable food to the race, that is almost $1,000 worth of food. The amount of goodwill that will generate is huge!"

The following day’s HPCX cyclo-cross was recently relocated from its traditional home in Highland Park to a temporary location in Jamesburg, New Jersey, because ongoing construction in Highland Park is running past schedule. New Jersey riders who are familiar with Jamesburg’s Thompson Park are speaking highly of it. According to MAC regular Brian Burgess, who knows the area well, "I used to ride there quite a bit when I was working in New Brunswick. That is an excellent venue for a cyclo-cross race. Hills, sand pits, off cambers, road climbs and flats, great starting/finishing stretches, etc. It even has a little zoo and playgrounds for the young 'uns. It's also just 2 miles from exit 8a off the Jersey Turnpike, so it couldn't be easier to get to. For those wanting an adventuresome warm up, there's a bunch of nice singletrack buried in the back of the park. Great, great venue."

For more information on this Verge MAC International Double-Header, including directions and pre-registration information, see www.bikereg.com, the official on-line registration service of Verge MAC. Elite riders, please note that UCI rules prohibit day-of-race registration for the UCI classes at these races.