ProCX Calendar for 2018 Begins Labor Day Weekend

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The 2018 Professional Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX) returns this fall with a total of 39 races across 19 states and the District of Columbia for the top off-road cyclists in the U.S. The calendar spans from September to December and is comprised of UCI-inscripted Category 1 and Category 2 races.

“This year we are proud to deliver a more balanced calendar that showcases multiple events in key geographic regions which benefits travel schedules for racers and fans,” said Chuck Hodge, Vice President of Operations for USA Cycling. “Cyclocross continues to grow in popularity across the U.S. With the hard work by the race directors who put on top-level events for the Pro Cyclocross Calendar, and the American Cyclocross Calendar, we look forward to another great season of racing.”

Of the 21 events, 18 are two-day competitions with a combination of categorized races. The Trek Cup in Waterloo, Wisc. and Jingle Cross in Iowa City, Iowa, held back-to-back weekends at the end of Sept., include World Cup competitions. Jingle Cross is the only event with three days of UCI races.

Massachusetts will host the most ProCX events of any one state this year, with races in Gloucester, Falmouth and Northampton. New to the schedule is the Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross in Falmouth, Mass. on Nov. 3-4. The other two New England races, the CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester presented by Ipswich Brewing (Oct. 13-14) and Verge Northampton International (Nov. 10-11), are part of the 2018 Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar. The series provides four weekends of competition on classic courses with points and award jerseys for the best UCI Elite, U23 and junior athletes in 10 categories. Two additional events on the ProCX calendar are also part of the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series, Supercross Cup in Stony Point, N.Y. (Nov. 17-18) and NBX Gran Prix of ‘Cross in Warwick, R.I. (Dec. 1-2).

"The Vittoria New England Cyclocross Series has built a tradition over the past 30 years and it feels good to see what we've been able to do in that time. Our goal is to set the standard again this year for big events that can effectively serve riders at all levels,” said Adam Myerson, president of the Series and owner of Cycle-Smart. "Cycle-Smart was the first UCI organizer to provide equal prize money to women way back in 2003, and we are always looking for ways to make the sport better for women. We love the approach Trek CX Cup has taken by putting the women as top billing. We decided to follow their lead and put the women last on Saturday while keeping the men last on Sunday for all Vittoria Series races.”

The Parkway CX Trophy presented by Union Brewery is new for 2018, combining four events over two October weekends in the Mid-Atlantic region. The ProCX races at Charm City Cross in Baltimore, Md. (Oct. 6-7) and at DCCX in Washington, D.C. (Oct. 20-21) comprise the series.

Rochester Cyclocross in Rochester, N.Y. on Sept. 8-9. >span class="NoneA">RenoCross in Reno, Nev. will be held on a midweek date, Wed. Sept. 19. This coincides with the venue and dates for Interbike, the largest U.S. bicycle industry trade show. NBX Gran Prix of ‘Cross has been upgraded on Dec. 1 as a new C1 race in 2018. Returning C1 races are Jingle Cross (Sept. 30), Charm City Cross in Baltimore, Md. (Oct. 6), Cincinnati Cyclocross at Devou Park in Covington, Ky. (Oct. 27), and Ruts N’ Guts (Dec. 8).

Last year’s ProCX Elite Women’s crown was captured by Caroline Mani (Besancon, France/Van Dessel/ Atom Composites), a four-time French national cyclocross champion who resides in Colorado. With 11 ProCX race titles, Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz/Donkey Label Racing) won the title for Elite Men. Lance Haidet (San Luis Obispo, Calif./Donnelly Cycling) took the U23 Men’s honors and 17-year-old Benjamin Gomez Villafane (Scotts Valley, Calif./Top Club Cyclocross) claimed the top ranking for Junior 17-18 Men.

Two inaugural ProCX events this fall were upgraded from the American Cyclocross Calendar (ACXC), the Iead-off Deschutes GO Cross and the Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross. Any new event seeking UCI inscription and inclusion on the ProCX must first be part of the ACXC for at least one year.

In 2018, the ACXC calendar will include five events in four states. Tri-Star CX returns for a second year in Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 15-16. Two events have been added in Oregon, the Cross Crusade - Alpenrose in Portland on Oct. 6 and the Cross Crusade - Deschutes in Bend on Nov. 3. Two-day events will be held in the Midwest, the Oz Cross in Fayetteville, Ark. on Nov. 10-11 and the Undercross in Sapulpa, Okla. on Nov. 17-18. Click here to see the complete calendar.

Follow ProCX updates and standings this season on Twitter (#ProCX and @USACyclingLive, Facebook (usacycling) and at www.usacycling.org/procx.

If you would like more information, please contact Guillermo Rojas, USA Cycling at grojas@usacycling.org.