Cyclocross is a hard-core cycling obstacle race and the World Cup is coming to Iowa City.
By Travis Coltrain
This upcoming weekend, Iowa City will host its first Union Cycliste Internationale Cyclocross World Cup series.
The race, or Jingle Cross, as it’s called, will host world-renowned cyclists from all over the world at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. Some participants are even coming shortly after competing in the Rio Olympics.
Jingle Cross is only the second place in the United States to host a Cyclocross World Cup. The first is CrossVegas, which has been held in Las Vegas every year since 2007.
Just like Jingle Cross, CrossVegas wasn’t always a Cylocross World Cup. Last year, the cyclists’ union announced that CrossVegas was the first World Cup outside of Europe.
The cyclocross fever is huge in Europe, according to the union’s website. Seven out of the nine World Cups are held in Europe. The sport began in Europe in the early 1900s, and in recent years, it has gained popularity in the United States.
Officials say cyclocross is a mix between cycling and mountain biking. It is a steep hill race in which participants race around a track filled with muddy terrain, large logs, and other various obstacles, while spectators watch and cheer from both sides of the track.
“It’s like a tough mudder on a bike; so you have obstacles, you have fly overs, which is where you pick up your bike run over the stairs to one side, then you mount your bike at the top and ride it down,” said Laura Alderson, a special-events assistant at the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
On the track are also two pit stops, similar to NASCAR, according to SB Nation, an online sports media outlet. In these pits, a rider’s pit crew can fix anything the bike might need. Riders can also switch their bikes if needed.
“It’s a bike-racing discipline that involves riding over various terrain,” said Tim Hopkin, the founder of the North Carolina cyclocross. “The essence of the sport is about changing from one situation to another. It is a very spectator-friendly course, with spectators on both sides of the track.”
According to cxmagazine, a print and digital magazine in the cyclocross community based in Long Beach, California, the typical cyclocross seasons lasts from September until January. During this time, many racers are fighting for three season-long trophies: the Superprestige, GVA-trophy, and World Cup, which is the most prestigious.
However, the magazine also states that each race can be different, although it follows most of the same basic rules. First, the starting line is always based on cyclist-union ratings; the better cyclists will always be in the front, while those who aren’t as good and others who are just making it into the pro world will be in the back.
“Cyclocross is similar to road criterium [a bike race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit] race in which races are set amount of time,” said Bryan Wenzel, an amateur cyclocross racer who will participate in the Jingle Cross. “After a certain amount of laps have elapsed, the officials will time out how many laps remain based on average lap times.”
According to the rulebook on the cyclist-union website, officials must take notes on the lap times in the first two laps. Using that time, they calculate how many laps the riders will have to ride. In a regular race, the goal is to get as close to 60 minutes as possible, but a World Cup race has to last longer than one hour.
The website also states that the Jingle Cross event will run from Thursday until Sunday and will be broadcast live by NBC Sports Network digitally and by Telenet in Europe. NBC will air a broadcast on Sept. 25 and rebroadcast on Sept. 26.
