U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross: Watch the pro races live this weekend
VeloNews.com will host live streaming video coverage of the Louisville rounds of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Saturday and Sunday, courtesy CyclingDirt.org
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Cyclocross fans can get a great view of all the live action of the pro USGP races in Louisville this weekend — regardless of their geography. VeloNews.com is hosting live streaming video of the pro women’s and pro men’s races on Saturday and Sunday, thanks to a special partnership with CyclingDirt.org. The pro racing begins at 1:45 p.m., EDT, both days.
The U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclcross kicked off last month in Madison, Wisconsin. VeloNews.com hosted live video of those races also, where Katie Compton swept the women’s events and the Cannondale-Cyclocross.com duo of Jeremy Powers and Tim Johnson each took a win.
This weekend, the USGP descends on Louisville, Kentucky, host of the 2013 world cyclocross championships.
The USGP will be held at the new worlds venue, though not necessarily on the exact course that will be used for the worlds.
“We’ve utilized a lot of the same features and elements that the new venue offers,” said USGP director Joan Hanscom. “The course will utilize a good many of the features of the worlds course – but obviously a course that is appropriate for the worlds most elite racers is not the same as we will use for a mixed participation base that ranges from ten-year-olds to top pros. We’ll take feedback from this year and continue to combine, recombine and refine the elements right up to the worlds.”
In addition to the pro races, the USGP events also offer a range of category and age-group competitions.
The pro women’s events this weekend will be more open, with the dominant Compton taking a pass as part of her world championship preparation. This year the six-time national champion is doing fewer USGP and World Cup races than she did last year in hopes of coming into worlds fresh. That means the Olympian Georgia Gould and upstart Amy Dombroski have a great shot of getting their Luna team on the podium. Cal Giant-Specialized’s Meredith Miller will also likely be in the mix.
In the men’s event, Johnson, Powers and their teammate Jamey Driscoll will be battling their perennial Kona opponents of Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks, although the latter has yet to show the ’cross form he’s had in years past. Former national champion Todd Wells (Specialized) and his younger brother Troy Wells (Clif Bar) are also slated to start.
The women’s race begins at 1:45 and the men’s at 3:00 p.m., EDT
