Providence Cyclocross Festival Registration Opens

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2011
CONTACT:
Jeff Bramhall
Media Coordinator, Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series
(617) 669-5056
jeffrey.bramhall@gmail.com

The Providence Cyclocross Festival presented by Interbike, one of the premier cyclocross events in the country, will open registration at midnight on Thursday, September 1. This year’s edition of the race, to be held on the 8th and 9th of October, will include a UCI Category 1 race on Saturday and a UCI Category 2 race on Sunday. Both days return as rounds six and seven of the Verge New England Cyclocross Series for amateurs, juniors and masters in addition to the new Shimano New England Professional Cyclocross Series presented by Verge for the elite racers.

For the 2011 edition, the race returns to its traditional venue – Roger Williams Park, made famous as the grounds for the National Cyclocross Championships in 2006. One of America’s most friendly venues to spectators, the course is able to take advantage of drastically varied terrain in a tight locale. For this reason, Providence is one of the most anticipated races on the New England calendar.

The Providence Cyclocross Festival is a key part of the New England cyclocross season and this year will pull double duty as part of both of New England’s premier series. Racers will contest the sixth and seventh races in the prestigious Verge New England Cyclocross Series that will once again crown the best amateur racers in New England.

Once again, this year’s edition will attract top talent from America and around the world – having the advantage of being the second weekend in the New England Cyclocross Holy Week with the Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester the weekend before. "The national championship course designed by Tom Stevens created enormous prestige for Providence. This city, this venue, and this course have generated enough buzz to get us this Category 1 status from the UCI," said Richard Fries, marketing-communications director. "We're expecting to draw big numbers and an international field and this is just our third year."

To register and for more information, go to http://www.providencecrossfest.com/ or http://www.bikereg.com.

About the Verge New England Cyclocross Series
The 2011 Verge New England Cyclocross Series includes fifteen races in eight venues. The opening weekend is in Williston, Vermont on September 17th and 18th with the Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend. The following Saturday, September 24th brings Nor’Easter Cross at the Nor’easter Festival in Burlington, Vermont. The Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester comes next on the 1st and 2nd of October followed by the Providence Cyclocross Festival presented by Interbike on October 8th and 9th. Rounds 8 and 9 bring the series back to New Gloucester, Maine for the Downeast Cyclocross weekend on the 22nd and 23rd of October. The series hits the home stretch on November 5th and 6th in Northampton, Massachusetts for the Cycle-Smart International. After a two-week break, the series pays its annual visit to Sterling, Massachusetts for Tom Stevens’s Bay State Cyclocross on November 26th and 27th. The series finale comes the next weekend with the NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross.

This year’s series is generously supported by Verge Sport, makers of fine cycling clothing and products since 1993; by by Cycle-Smart, purveyors of personalized cycling coaching and solutions for riders across the country; by BikeReg.com, the official online registration service of the NECXS; by Pedal Power Photography, the official photographer of the NECXS; by crossresults.com, the internet’s premier race result and ranking resource; by Challenge, makers of professional level tubulars and open tubular; and by Ryders Eyewear, sport-specific and performance eyewear.

For more information, visit http://www.cycle-smart.com/neccs

2011 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Schedule:

  • Green Mountain Cyclo-Cross Weekend – September 17th and 18th – Williston, Vermont
  • The Nor'easter powered by Eastern Mountain Sports – September 24th – Burlington, Vermont
  • Grand Prix of Gloucester – October 1st and 2nd – Gloucester, Massachusetts
  • Providence Cyclocrossfest – October 8th and 9th – Providence, Rhode Island
  • Downeast Cyclo-Cross – October 22nd and 23rd – New Gloucester, Maine
  • The Cycle-Smart International – November 5th and 6th – Northampton, Massachusetts
  • Bay State Cyclo-Cross – November 26th and 27th – Sterling, Massachusetts
  • NBX Grand Prix – December 3rd and 4th – Warwick, Rhode Island