Asheville named a finalist to host USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships

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by Asheville Now
on Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Asheville has been selected as one of three finalist to host the 2014 and 2015 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, USA Cycling announced Wednesday. The three potential host cities are Asheville, N.C. (Biltmore Estate), Austin, Texas (Zilker Park) and Boulder, Colo. (Valmont Bike Park). The Sports Commission submitted a proposal to USA Cycling in late October with the help of Biltmore Estate, the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the local cyclo-cross community. With six bids under consideration, USA Cycling evaluated potential host cities using various criteria, including: accessibility, community support, course options, technical expertise and the organization's commitment to volunteer recruitment, marketing and lodging.

USA Cycling will visit Asheville in January to evaluate the proposed course, venue and facilities at Biltmore Estate. Additionally, USA Cycling will meet with the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Asheville-Buncombe Regional Sports Commission to discuss community support. "Asheville is already a destination for world class mountain biking and road riding, now with a growing community of cyclo-cross enthusiasts we hope to showcase Asheville and Buncombe County as a great destination for the National Championships," said Ben VanCamp, Executive Director of the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission.

"We are extremely excited about the quality and depth of the bids we received for this event," National Events Director Kelli Lusk said. "All of the cities offered spectacular presentations. We're confident that any of these three cities would make a great host for this event in 2014 and 2015." The USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships event draws between 1500-1800 racers and additional 2500-5000 spectators. The championship races are open to all USA Cycling Masters (30+), Junior (18 & under), Elite, U23 (19-22), Collegiate D1 and D2, and Singlespeed classes for men and women. The championships are held in early January and takes place over five days. A 2009 Economic Impact Study done for this event by the University of Oregon estimated a $1.08 million boon to the Bend, Oregon economy in direct tourist spending.

To learn more about Cyclo-cross please visit usacycling.org/cx/. A release from USA Cycling can be found at usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=7265

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