The return of local hero and reigning national cyclocross champion Curtis White highlights this year’s third annual Soall Viet Kitchen Gran Prix Beverly Cyclocross. The event, featuring top professional and amateur bike racers, will take place on Saturday, Sept. 9 between noon and 6 p.m. at Lyons Park and Dane Street Beach.
“This will be my third time racing the GP Beverly, and it’s one of my favorite races of the year,” the 27-year-old White, who calls Beverly’s Ryal Side his neighborhood home, said in a release. “Cyclocross, by nature, is a very spectator friendly sport. We’re in a park, on a closed course, right on the beach, and close to downtown.
“The laps are short, you can see most of the course from one vantage point, and the racers are giving 100 percent right in front of you,” White continued. “The course has an interesting mix of features with some climbing, barriers, and running on Dane Street Beach.
“But the best part is how close you get to the spectators. My favorite part of the course is flying by the beer tent and hearing the fans and spectators cheer.”
The Gran Prix Beverly Cyclocross offers eight race categories, including Amateur Men at 12:30, Juniors at 1:30, Masters at 2:30, Kids race and Kids Parade at 3:30, Elite Women, Amateur Women, and Masters Women at 4:00, and Elite Men at 5:00.
The Lyons Park/Dane Street Beech venue was tweaked last year, spreading out the distinctive cyclocross obstacles throughout the course, said race promoter Paul Boudreau. He is another Beverly resident who has more than two decades of hosting bike racing events in the Garden city as well as in Gloucester.
“Cyclocross courses are tight and technical, and spectators can get up close to the action,” said Boudreau. “If you’ve been to GP Beverly when it was a road event on Cabot Street and appreciate how close the athletes are to the crowd, you’ll feel even more part of the action watching cyclocross. The course is much tighter, and spectators can see most of the race course.”
The Gran Prix Beverly and its predecessor — the Gran Prix of Gloucester — have always attracted a strong field of racers, including national champions. Last year, the event showcased members of USA Cycling’s Cyclocross National Team.
This year, White, who races for the Steve Tilford Foundation Racing Team, is the event’s headliner.
“GP Beverly has potential to be a big community event and to bring more people into the sport of cycling,” said White, who was crowned national champion late last year in Hartford. “Gloucester hosted an epic race that drew World Champions, World Cup winners, and numerous national champions.
“GP Beverly has the right combination of being close to downtown, easily accessible, and having support from community oriented local businesses,” said White. “That makes me even more excited to represent the National Champion’s jersey at my home race.”
Cyclocross, for the uninitiated, is a race-specific cycling discipline that blends road racing, mountain biking, and cross-country running on a twisting, convoluted course.
Fiona Land, an amateur racer from Beverly with Pedal Power Training, said that cyclocross “is a little bit of everything that I love about riding bikes — a crazy intense workout, an eccentric skill set, a community of friends, and a whole lot of fun.”
Often pushing their bodies to their limits, racers count on the extra encouragement that the crowd can provide.
“There’s nothing like hearing friends and family ringing cowbells and cheering you on to dig deep,” said Chris McKernan of Beverly, the event’s operations director. “I’ve been around cycling for decades and have lived or visited dozens of popular cycling destinations, both here in the States but also internationally. And without a doubt, the North Shore rivals every one of them.”
Old Planters Brewing Company on Rantoul Street returns to sponsor the event’s beer tent. Gentile Brewing Company and Coastal Massachusetts Brewing, also both based in Beverly, will join Old Planters in the event’s beer tent.
In addition to Soall Viet Kitchen and Old Planters Brewing, the event is sponsored by TEMPRISE Cooling & Heating, US Advisory Group, and Marblehead Cycle.
The event’s web site is www.gpb-cx.com.