USA Cycling Awards Cyclo-Cross Championships to Bend

USA Cycling today announced that it has awarded the 2009 and 2010 Cyclo-cross National Championships to Bend. The announcement comes on the heels of a recent site inspection and city tour by USA Cycling’s national events manager Tom Vinson, and is the culmination of a yearlong effort led by Visit Bend and the Oregon Sports Authority to bring the event to Bend.

“While all of the bids received by USA Cycling to host this event were very impressive, Bend’s competition venue, community wide support and commitment to producing a World-class event convinced us that Bend would be a very worthy host city for the 2009 and 2010 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships,” said Tom Vinson, National Events Manager for USA Cycling.

In recent years, the Cyclo-cross National Championships have been held in Portland, Ore. (2003 & 2004), Providence, Rhode Island (2005 & 2006), and Kansas City, Missouri (2007 & 2008).

With 35 national titles on the line, the Cyclo-cross National Championships are expected to attract more than 2,000 competitors to Bend each year for four days of racing, and between 3,500 and 4,500 visitors including support staff, families and media. Because the championships are held during the second week in December – a traditionally slow tourism period that falls between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays when occupancy levels at Bend lodging properties are well below 40 percent – the event is expected to provide a significant boost for the local economy.

Tentative dates for the Cyclo-cross National Championships in Bend are December 10-13, 2009, and December 9-12, 2010. With the US Grand Prix of Cyclo-cross being held in Portland the week prior, a large field of competitors is anticipated.

“Hosting the Cyclo-cross National Championships in Bend is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the community,” said Doug LaPlaca, president and CEO of Visit Bend and co-chair of the local organizing committee. “Winning this competitive bid process was truly a community-wide effort and is strong testimony of what we can accomplish when the community comes together to support a cause.”

Nationally-renown cyclo-cross race director Brad Ross, owner of Vivo Promotions and producer of the Cross Crusade race series in Portland – the largest cyclo-cross series in the country – will serve as race director for the National Championships. Ross previously managed the Cyclo-cross National Championships when they were held in Portland in 2003 and 2004.

“The awarding of the Cyclo-cross National Championships is a shining example of Bend’s ability to host big-time sports events,” said Drew Mahalic CEO of the Oregon Sports Authority. “We feel privileged to have worked closely with Visit Bend and all involved in bringing this outstanding national championship and its substantial economic impact to Bend.”

Hosting major national sporting events is not new to Bend, which is home to the Cascade Cycling Classic – the longest continually-running elite stage race in the country, recently hosted the XTERRA Trail Running National Championships, and will host the USA Triathlon Winter Triathlon National Championships for a second year on January 11, 2009. Bend is also home to many of the nation’s top current and former elite cyclists including current National Cyclo-cross Champion Ryan Trebon, Chris Horner, Carl Decker, Adam Craig, Chris Sheppard, Chrissy Ruiter, April Lawyer, Kirt Voreis, Bart Bowen and Steve Larsen.

In addition to Visit Bend and the Oregon Sports Authority, the local organizing committee that was assembled to pursue the National Championships included representatives from the City of Bend, Bend City Council, Central Oregon Velo, Vivo Promotions, and representatives from Bend’s cycling community.

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