Austin was selected to host the 2015 Cyclo-Cross National Championships. A press release on the USA Cycling website says the event will be held at Zilker Park.
The beautiful urban park will offer an exciting venue near the heart of downtown Austin, a thriving city with a strong cycling community recently rated one of the Top 20 Most Bike-Friendly Cities in America by Bicycling Magazine. Austin is pumped, declared Matthew Payne, executive director of the Austin Sports Commission. “This event will be another chance to showcase our dynamic city tocyclo-cross athletes all over the country. Austin is long overdue for an event of this caliber and we’re excited about working closely with USA Cycling officials and sharing this with our strong cycling community.
Cyclo-cross bicycles resemble the racing bikes used in road racing, but have larger frames and tires. The races consist of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills, and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount and carry the bike, while navigating the obstruction.