A group of Byron Bay Cycle Club members had their first taste of a cyclocross event last month.
The race is a combination of cycling and running and takes in rough terrain. When it is too tough to ride cyclists pick their bike up and run with it.
Last month’s 88km race, called the Roubaix88, consisted of road, gravel, grassfields and canefield tracks through a range of private properties near Murwillumbah, and included 500m of climbing, BBCC’s Deb Fuller said.
‘The sport is a fun way to cross train and lets cyclists refine their bike handling skills,’ she said. ‘A cyclocross bike may look very similar to a road bike with dropdown handle bars and a light frame; however, it is designed like a mountain bike with high clearance, disc brakes and slightly knobby tyres.
‘Competitors carry their bikes up steep terrain or over man-made obstacles during a race,’ she said.
While cyclocross racing is growing rapidly in Australia the history of the sport dates back to Europe in the early 1900s. During the winter months in Europe cyclists could keep fit and continue competing in the snow and mud, and on icy roads.
‘It could be ideal in our shire when the rain causes havoc with our road conditions,’ she said.
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