For the second year straight year, Evan McNeely crossed the finish line first after hurtling logs, sprinting up impossibly steep slopes, and cycling through sand.
This was all part of the 2011 National Cyclo-cross Championships Nov. 6 in Pine Point Park, Toronto.
“I love [cyclocross] because of how different it is from anything else you can do,” said McNeely, a second-year mechanical engineering student at Carleton.
Cyclocross is the growing sport that combines cross-country cycling and mountain biking. The track is usually 3.5-4 kilometres long and is chock full of obstacles, sand, and mud.
Unlike mountain biking, contestants are allowed to hop off their bikes and run across obstacles if it’s faster than trying to cycle over or around them.
Each cyclist must complete a set amount of laps of the track or ride until the set time limit is reached.
McNeely defended his title in the U23 men’s competition at this year’s Canadian national championships in Toronto.
“It was a pretty small park actually but it had a lot of barriers and a pipe burst unexpectedly so there was water everywhere,” he said.
McNeely said the already windy and uneven bike trail included a steep hill, an intentionally raised log, and a sand pit.
“They had two planks that we had to run over and then a really steep part that some were running,” McNeely said. “It’s whichever way is faster.”
Jarred Stafford, from Newmarket, Ont., put the pressure on early in the race and was breathing down the neck of McNeely right until the final lap.
“I knew coming into the competition that I had the target on my back,” McNeely said. “But I also knew I had what it took to win the race.”
Stafford was the only rider to challenge as Martin Andrew L’Esperance, Evan Guthrie, Mitchell Bailey and Felix Bouvette jockeyed for position behind the two leaders.
On the fifth lap, Stafford tried to reel in McNeely but the defending champ wouldn’t let go of the lead as Stafford settled for the silver and Martin bronze.
“It feels really good,” McNeely said. “I knew I had to fight really hard to win this one.”
Despite the win, McNeely said he won’t be able to attend the world championships, which are scheduled for Jan. 28-29 in Koksijde, Belgium, he said.
“I qualified, but in Canada it’s hard to train with the winter weather,” McNeely said. “But I will definitely be aiming for Kentucky next year.”
The cyclocross world championships will be held in Louisville, Kentucky in 2013, which will be the first ever tournament of its kind to be held in the United States.
Born in France around 1902, cyclocross grew in popularity after Octave Lapize attributed his win in the 1910 Tour de France to his off-season training in the sport. It quickly spread to countries bordering France and in 1910, Belgium organized its first national championship, before Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Italy did the same.
But in North America, the sport’s still finding its wheels.
“There’s talk of putting it in the Olympics but whether or not that will actually happen I’m not sure,” McNeely said.
For now, McNeely said he’s focusing on training and school.
“I came to Carleton from Kingston mainly for cyclocross,” he said.
McNeely’s next race is Nov. 12 in Louisville.
