October 21/99 12:56 pm - 'Cross Nationals Are On!

Posted by Editor on 10/21/99
 

1999 CYCLOCROSS NATIONALS - November 7th
(courtesy CCA)

It has just been confirmed that the Canadian Cyclocross National Championships will be held on November 7th, at the Mont Habitant ski area just outside St-Sauveur, 45 minutes north of Montreal.

No organizers had stepped forward in due time to run the nationals, and it is only thanks to a last minute decision on the part of Benoit Houle that the championship will take place. Though the date gives everyone short notice, it will help ensure that the race will not be affected by early winter weather as has been the case in the past. In addition the November 7th date does not conflict with any other events: some early SuperCup schedules had the Chicago race as being held on the 7th, but is actually scheduled for the 13th.

The course has a good balance between a tough climb, some tricky off-camber corners and some fast, flat riding on hard ground. There are also some barriers so practice your technique!

The schedule of events is as follows:

11:00 - Women, Juniors, Masters: 40 minutes
12:15 - Seniors, Espoirs: 1 hour

Registration will close 1 hour before each event and costs $20. On-line registration may be available through the Canadian Cyclist website. This will be confirmed soon. The event is open to all riders with a valid CCA road or mountain bike license.

Despite recent UCI rule changes, there will be no bicycle restrictions at this event: all bikes, regardless of handlebar type or tire width, are welcome.

Please remember that for an event to qualify as a national championship there must be riders from at least three provinces taking part, so convince your out-of-province friends to come. Cadet and younger riders are welcome to take part in the Junior category; however there is no national championship for their category.

To get to the race, take highway 15 north from Montreal. Take the St-Sauveur exit (# 60), cross over the highway and follow the signs to Mont Habitant, which is only about 2 km down the road. There are bathrooms and food available on site, but no showers.

For more information contact the organizer, Benoit Houle, at 450-227-2637, or Kris Westwood or Diane Drouin at the CCA at 613-748-5629 (email: events@canadian-cycling.com).

By the way, thanks to Ziggy's for offering to run the event. Their offer came as this one was being finalized and we had to turn them down. Please, anyone interested in running the event next year get your bids in to the CCA a.s.a.p.: we don't want to be running around at the last minute like this again.