LONGMONT, Colo. (BRAIN) — This year's Clif Bar CrossVegas event will become the first round of the 2015-2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, and the first 'cross World Cup event in history to be held outside Europe.
The UCI announced its World Cup schedule Friday at an event in Tabor, Czech Republic. The Las Vegas event will be followed by another World Cup in Montreal a few days later.
The World Cup CrossVegas will take place on Wednesday evening, Sept. 16, and will include World Cup racing events for Women's Elite and Men's Elite, as well as a USA Cycling category race and the popular Wheelers & Dealers Industry race. The event is held during the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas.
CrossVegas is the biggest cyclocross race held outside of Europe and has been an UCI Category 1 event for the past eight years.
"CrossVegas is honored to be selected. Becoming a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup race is the natural next step for CrossVegas and is the culmination of years of support from dedicated sponsors and the worldwide cyclocross community," said race director Brook Watts. "For years now, racers, teams and fans from Europe, North America and beyond having been hoping that CrossVegas could be a World Cup. Now that it will be a reality, I'm sure the event will delight 'cross fans from across the globe who want to see their favorite international racers compete here in the U.S."
While the U.S. has never hosted a 'cross World Cup, it did host the world championships, in Louisville, Ky., two years ago.
Organizers of the Las Vegas and Montreal events worked together in developing their plans with special attention to travel and ground arrangements for racers and supporters, Watts said.
"Our goal will be to make the experience of traveling to North American World Cup events as simple as possible, especially for competitors," said Watts. Complete information for spectators and competitors will be available in late spring.
