The final race of the 2022 Cyclo-cross season for the Kansas City area is on December 17th at Herman laird Park in Shawnee. This little park has been the venue for races since 2005 (and perhaps a few underground events before).
For the Localcycling staff this has been an ideal location for one of our favorite disciplines. It offers a heated ‘town hall’ for registration, rest rooms, and post event festivities. The park is in a central location for the metro.
This year’s race is the Kansas State Championship for Masters and Juniors. Sponsors Transport Brewery, just down the street from the venue will be bringing beer for the Kansas Cycling Association after party.
Hosting a cyclocross race is fairly labor intensive and becoming more expensive for many of the traditional courses in our area. This event is made possible by some generous help from Team Raging Bull, The Natural Grocers Cycling Team, Kieva, INC, Elite Cycling and others that have donated cash or energy.
Things change. Time ages out promoters, development removes green space, venues become more expensive, and the interests of riders evolve.
The COVID pandemic has altered many things in our society, including cycling. There are more bikes on the road and trails, but there are fewer riders competing in fewer USAC races.
Does this race at Herman Laird represent a finale for cyclocross? No. It is the last race of the season. Perhaps a last race at this park. But there are definitely changes. Prior to the pandemic we had up to 20 local CX race days. This year it was 5. Our metro has hosted 3 National Championships (2000, 2007, 2008) attended by hundreds of riders. But we have crested the high point, at least for now.
I suspect in the long term, CX will re-invent itself locally. The Donderdag youth program is as healthy as ever. Gravel riding, which has a close connection to cyclo-cross is the biggest aspect of organized riding. There are talks of a return to more low-key, low cost events for 2023. So, not a finale, but a third act.