The Cyclocross World Championships will take place in Louisville, Kentucky in 2013, the UCI confirmed today. The venue of the Derby City Cup round of the USGP of Cyclocross is to play host to the first time the championships have been held outside Europe.
“After more than a decade of working closely with American promoters and the UCI to grow our international calendar of cyclocross events,” said Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling on usacycling.org, “Louisville’s winning bid is a testament to the success of those efforts and to the extraordinary quality of ‘cross racing in the U.S.”
The championships will be organised by Bruce Fina and Joan Hanscom, alongside the Louisville Sports Commission and USA Cycling.
“This is thrilling news,” said Fina. “We have worked for six years with the USA Cycling National Team and six years on the USGP to further develop the sport in the U.S. to the point where our riders can be competitive on the global stage. Hosting the Worlds in the U.S. is the next logical step.”
Fina sees the awarding of the World Championships to Louisville as a further boost to the sport’s growth in the United States. “We hope to see a continued increase in the number of professional cross racers in the states and hope this venue will enhance that goal,“ he concluded.
Louisville is building the US’ first permanent cyclocross facility in Bandman Park, which will also serve as the venue of the local USGP round as well as national and international races.
“I’m so proud that Louisville is the first city outside Europe to be awarded the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships,” said Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson. “We’re turning Louisville into one of our nation’s most bike-friendly cities by investing in bicycle infrastructure, listening to the needs of local cyclists, and hosting events that draw more attention to cycling. Our local cyclocross teams are among the nation’s best, and we’re developing a venue that will help them keep their competitive edge.”
“I was impressed with the vision and detail of the plans to develop the area into a cyclo-cross race venue,” said Simon Burney, UCI technical delegate. “The area, terrain and surroundings lend themselves perfectly to a major race venue, and with the city of Louisville firmly behind the project the opportunity for world class events certainly looks exciting."
As well as support from national and international federations and local government, the idea has been very popular with many of the top European racers. Belgian champion Sven Nys has already hinted that he may delay his retirement by a year if Louisville were to be awarded the championships. He is currently set to retire after the London 2012 Olympic mountainbike race but now looks likely to stay on a little longer.
After this weekend’s championships in Tabor, Czech republic, the World Championships will be held in Sankt Wendel, Germany in 2011 and Koksijde, Belgium in 2012.