What Makes a GREAT CX Race?

This week the CX Republic takes on the characteristics of the great CX race. Below is a contribution from one our members, Sam Krieg. Krieg contributes from the land of potatoes, Idaho. He is a high octane road and CX racer out of Pocatello, ID. He is also owner of Krieg Cycling and Krieg Climbing. Krieg’s blog is here:  and his twitter user name is kriegblitz. As his twitter bio says, he loves his wife Karen, CX, dogs, coffee, and all of them at once is even better.

What makes a great cross race?  Well I have to admit that last weekend I may have found the Holy Grail.  When was the last time you went to a race where the MAYOR built the course?  Yes the mayor.  Where a city councilman drove the bulldozer and planted trees before the race?  In the 6 years I have been racing CX I can’t think of once.  So last weekend we headed to Victor, Idaho to race Moose Cross.  I didn’t actually see a Moose, but the weekend was so incredible you could convince me of about anything.  CX fever had hit Victor like H1N1.  The local racers have a passion un-rivaled by anything I have ever seen.  They just finished a dirt pump track for little kids, and just installed bike lanes in a town that has a population of 500!  Yes bike lanes in a town that has a population of less than 1000.

Saturday, the race was simply incredible.  The riders in Victor built a spectacular course that the city of Victor had constructed as a permanent CX course.  A 2 km loop with some stellar features.  Tons of banked corners and a few really cool permanent obstacles.  The backdrop of the race was the Grand Teton,.

Back to what made this a great CX race.  The first thing is that all great CX races require 2 days.  Moose Cross was a double weekend.  Two days are important so that there is time for a great party, and if you have a bad race there is a second shot on Sunday, or you can drink your sorrows away.   The second reason it is important is so that to the race involves an entire weekend away from normal life, where you hang out with other CX racers and talk about tire pressure and Hanka Kupfernagel in that black leather outfit.

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The second important element of a great cross race is the awards ceremony.  The awards ceremony on Saturday night was second to none.  at the venue was an old theatre in downtown Victor.  Don’t worry about parking or if you have a bad sense of direction.  Victor only has one stoplight, and the theater is right across the street.  After checking into our hotel that was called something with “Cowboy” in it we headed over to the awards.  The coolest thing about the hotel was there were 10 cars in the parking lot and each of them had 2 or 3 bikes on the roof.  So we walked into the ceremony where the Mayor, who is a racer himself and placed fifth in the master’s race, personally handed out the awards.

Picture this. You are in a small town, in a small theatre, with huge mountains outside, and the Mayor is handing out awards.  Have you ever dreamed of this?   Now picture yourself in a cool wool jersey that proudly has your old local state bike shop on the front, and you are now in a sea of other wool jerseys that say Fitzgerald’s Cyclery.  Wait a minute wasn’t the mayors name Fitzgerald?  So the mayor owns a bike shop?  Yes and I am about to sell my house and move to Victor.   Now you are drinking your fourth beer and eating some pizza both of which were made just one block away.  On the theater stage are 3 large LOGS for a podium and several of your friends have made it onto the podium.   As if this evening couldn’t get any better the race promoter who is also a racer and a city councilman has had a special copy of the newest cross video “Warriors of Cyclocross” flown in just for the night!  Seriously, could life as a CX racer get any better?  Have I died and gone to Portland? Honestly this was the best day I have ever had at a CX race in the 6 years I have been racing.  It just couldn’t get any better, and we still had one day to go.  That night I counted moose jumping a white picket fence just to fall asleep.

Krieg’s opinion is well documented above. But we want to know what the CX Republic thinks makes a great CX race? Let us know your opinion in this week’s poll. VOTE!



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