When the going gets tough, it must be cyclocross time

VIRGINIA BEACH

Temperatures close to freezing cut through cyclists' skintight racing clothes Sunday morning at the Virginia State Cyclocross Championships.

Sadly for those lining up their bicycles at the foot of Mount Trashmore, that's the worst the weather got.

"If it was raining, it'd be even better," said coordinator Mike Hosang of Virginia Beach, surveying the grassy 1.2-mile course.

"Cyclocross is supposed to be extremely hard, and the harder it is to climb the hill, the more adversity you have. Plus, it's more fun in the mud."

According to avid cyclists, cyclocross is the next big thing in the cycling world.

A cross between road racing and mountain biking, the sport demands quick turns and steep climbs over rough terrain. Mud is a favorite ingredient, along with rain, grass and gravel.

It started in Belgium as a way for road cyclists to stay in shape during the off-season, but now it's become a separate sport. And in Virginia Beach, it's taking off.

The state championship - one in a series of nine Virginia races - has been held here for five years. Some participants are experts, while others are just interested beginners.

About 100 people gave it a try Sunday, competing for medals and prizes of cash and biking equipment.

When the first races began, about 25 cyclists headed up a giant hill. Most pedaled hard; a few grabbed their bikes and ran.

Organizers had marked the course with caution tape wound around posts. It stretched up and over the hill, where racers swirled in and out of Hosang's "spiral of death." Then they went over the next hill and up a series of switchbacks.

Back and forth they puffed, then zoomed down a pavement path before jumping off their bikes to run over two 16-inch-high wooden obstacles. Then they went back up the hill to do it again.

The top riders lapped the course about nine times while the juniors did three. Liz Schleeper of Norfolk, secretary of the Tripower Cycling Club, which promotes the Mount Trashmore race, said it takes strategy to win.

Cyclists will draft off each other, she said. Then, when there's a straight, wide section, they'll zoom ahead.

That's how Robert Netsch of Southern Shores, N.C., won the masters' race for cyclists older than 45. He said he followed the strongest rider for half the race, then pulled ahead on the big hill.

Deedee Winfield of Charlottesville, who took first place in one of the top women's events, said the toughest course she's ever seen was at the world cyclocross in the Netherlands about three years ago. It was covered with mud about 10 inches deep, she said.

That's part of the fun.

"The fans were cheering you on, but it's like NASCAR," Winfield said. "They kind of want to see you crash."