Sonoma-Insiders: those cool cats at Bike Monkey have teamed up with the City of Santa Rosa (fairly cool in their own right) for another last-minute Cyclocross race. Look below the photo of muddy guy (Thanks PD!) for the details.
This is all in the run-up to the cool Amgen Tour of California and which will feature Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong duking it out in a muddy pit with a bunch of Europeans in spandex. Or something like that – haven’t gotten that press release yet.
Regardless, I’m bringing my Huffy with the Banana Seat and you guys are going down!
Last month's race was awesome and muddy!
What: Santa Rosa Cyclocross Series Race
On Saturday, December 6, at A Place to Play park on West Third Street in Santa Rosa, Bike Monkey and the City of Santa Rosa are hosting the 3rd cyclocross series race in the 2008-2009 five-race series.
An official companion event to the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, the event attracts an average of 200 athletes of all ages and abilities from the North Bay to participate in this varied-terrain competitive cycling event.
Cyclocross Bicycle racing is a fun spectator sport that is great for the whole family, and is FREE to watch. Features include cash prizes to top racers in the pro-level categories, and a FREE kid’s race for children under the age of 9 where every kid gets a medal.
Live Music will be played by Blue Shift Band. Food and drinks will be provided by REI. Cow Bells will be provided by the City of Santa Rosa as part of Bike Monkey’s ancillary affiliation with the 2009 Tour of California.
Race heats begin at 10:00 am with the professional race beginning at 1:30 pm.
For more information and directions please visit www.BikeMonkey.net.
When: Saturday, December 6, 2008
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Visit www.BikeMonkey.net for registration and specific race times
Where: A Place to Play
2375 West Third Street (near Fulton Rd.)
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
About Cyclocross:
Races almost universally consist of many laps over a short course, ending when a time limit is reached rather than after a specific number of laps or certain distance; the canonical length for senior events is one hour. Generally each lap is around 2.5-3.5 km and is 90% rideable. Races run under UCI rules must have courses that are always at least 3 m wide to encourage passing at any opportunity, however sections of singletrack are common for small races in the USA and Great Britain. A variety of terrain is typical, ranging from roads to paths with short steep climbs, off camber sections, lots of corners and, a defining feature, sections where the rider may need, or would be best advised to dismount and run whilst carrying the bike. Under-tire conditions include asphalt, hardpack dirt, grass, mud and sand. In comparison to cross-country mountain bike events, terrain is smoother. Less emphasis is put on negotiating rough or even rocky ground with more stress on increased speed and negotiating different types of technical challenges.
Each section of the course typically lasts no longer than a handful of seconds. For example long climbs are avoided in favour of short, sharp inclines. Sections are generally linked together, or long straights broken up, with tight corners. This not only allows a standard length course to fit in a relatively small area, but also forces competitors to constantly change speed and effort. Accelerating out of corners, then having to decelerate for the next before accelerating again is a common theme.
About Bike Monkey
Bike Monkey publishes a quarterly cycling lifestyle magazine out of Sonoma County with the purpose of strengthening both the awareness and acceptance of cycling as a growing means of transportation and recreation.
About the Amgen Tour of California
The largest cycling event in America, the Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race, presented by AEG, that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course. Building on last year’s third-annual stage race, which attracted 1.6 million spectators, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California will be expanded to cover more than 750 miles over nine days from February 14-22, 2009. Stage 1 will take place in Santa Rosa on February 15, 2009. The final Cyclo Cross bicycle championship with be held on February 14, 2009 as a companion event to the tour.
