District Championship in Estacada Completes the Series PORTLAND, Ore. The River City Bicycle Cross Crusade the largest participatory cyclocross series in the world hosts its final event of the 2005 season this Sunday, November 20, at the Estacada Timber Park, when more than 500 riders take part in the Round 6 District Championship. Read the entire race flyer: www.crosscrusade.com/flyers/2005/november_20.html Competition starts at 9 a.m. and continues all day, with the Women's Category A race at 1:10 p.m., and the Men's Category A race at 2 p.m. The Estacada Timber Park is located on Hwy 224 a quarter-mile before the town of Estacada. "The District Championship will be a hotly contested conclusion to an incredibly successful Cross Crusade," said Race Director Brad Ross. "Interest in the sport of cyclocross and the Crusade continues to grow. Participation again set records, particularly at the prestige event, the Crusade's Cannondale Stumptown Cyclocross Classic at Alpenrose, which drew 760 racers. Entries for the other Crusade races have topped 550." The long-running success of the River City Bicycles Cross Crusade this is its 14th year has firmly established the Northwest as the country's most popular region for cyclocross. Each round of the Cross Crusade offers 16 classes of competition, from elite men and women to masters and junior categories. Races vary from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the class. The series, sanctioned by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, will pay out more than $20,000 in prize money plus merchandise. Cyclocross bike racing is a specialized form of cycling competition, one that requires riders to race on a closed-loop circuit, over grass, pavement, gravel, and mud, with barriers and steep run-ups mixed in for additional challenges. Cyclocross requires special techniques and fitness dismounting the bike at speed, running, carrying the bike over barriers, shouldering it up hills, and maintaining speed through turns and over uneven, muddy terrain. Plus, the pace is frenetic, with little time to rest and less opportunity for "slipstreaming," as in road races. The Cross Crusade is organized and promoted by Club Vivo, 4409 SW Dosch Road, Portland, OR 97201, 503-806-6943. For complete information on the River City Cross Crusade, visit www.crosscrusade.com. Racers can register in advance at www.athleteslounge.com. Learn more about the Cross Crusade and all types of bicycle racing in Oregon at www.obra.org, site of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association. |
