One Bend cyclo-cross event scrubbed; one still on
The Deschutes Brewery Cup UCI cyclo-cross weekend scheduled for December 6-7 in Bend’s Old Mill District has been canceled, race organizers said Tuesday. But another fun weekend of costumed racing is still on tap in a few days at the same venue.
As for the Deschutes Brewery Cup, “I have not been able to find a sponsor for it, number one,” Race Director Brad Ross told CyclingNews.com.
“And number two: Deschutes Brewery has some construction slated to start right about that time, and there’s going to be all kinds of survey work going on, and we just weren’t able to nail down exactly when all that stuff was going to start happening or whether the race was going to get in the way of all that. It was looking like survey crews and bike racers were going to be stepping on each other’s toes.”
Ross said Deschutes Brewery, where the race takes place, was willing to work around the construction issues, but that uncertainty, combined with the lack of sponsorship dollars, made putting the race on untenable.
The weekend was to feature two UCI C2 races as part of USA Cycling’s Professional Cyclo-cross Calendar. The weekend would have provided one of the few opportunities for West Coast riders to earn the UCI points that are now required for a starting spot at the national championships in Austin, Texas, this January.
However, Central Oregon cyclo-cross fans can still get their fill with the Halloween Cyclocross Crusade taking place this weekend at the same location. It’s the third year for that event, which draws over 1,000 racers donning costumes and competing for Cross Crusade points. As usual, there will be a beer garden, food and live music.
Though the fun race is still on, Bend competitor Damian Schmitt was disappointed by the news of the December cancellation.
“For the few of us that want to travel to nationals, not having any USA Cycling races in the state, it really affects our starting position” of the national championships, scheduled for Austin in January, Schmitt said Tuesday. “And so we end up getting put in the very back.”
