It’s not the Tour of Missouri, but international cycling is returning to Missouri next week.
The first-ever Gateway Cross Cup is slated for Wednesday, Sept 21, at Heman Park in University City.
You read that right, Wednesday.
Most cycling events take place on the weekends, but not this one. CrossVegas organizer Watts Marketing is teaming with St. Louis cycling guru Mike Weiss to bring mid-week evening races to new markets, starting with St. Louis in 2011.
The event is nestled between CrossVegas, which took place Wednesday night, and the USGP of Cyclocross Planet Bike Cup Sept. 24-25 in Sun Prairie, Wis. Organizers hope that will draw some of the world’s top cyclocross riders to the race.
Racing at the Gateway Cross Cup will begin at 1:30 p.m. with the USA Cycling Cat 4 race. The USA Cycling Women’s Open/4 race is set for 5:20 p.m., the USA Cycling Men’s Race at 6:40 p.m., the UCI Women’s race at 7:50 p.m. and the UCI Men’s race for 9 p.m.
The races sanctioned by the International Cycling Union are considered Class 2 races.
For those of you not familiar with cyclocross, it combines some of the best features of road and mountain bike races. Cyclocross bikes are similar to road bikes, except the tires are wider and have knobby surfaces. Most of the Gateway Cross Cup course will be on grass, and racers often will have to hop off their bikes to navigate stairs and barriers.
