December 16, 2005 – Despite a weekend beset with bitter weather, illness, injury and dangerous travel, the proud moments prevailed at the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships.

Racers dispatched from around the nation arrived in Providence to compete against rivals with reputations for excellence. Wunderkind Alex Coelho of Loveland, Colo. easily collected the stars-and-stripes jersey for the junior men 15-16 category while Arielle Filiberti of Worcester, Mass. edged out race favorite Stephanie White for first place in the junior women 17-18 category. Reporting to the start line all the way from Ronald, Wash. Dan Norton claimed a valiant victory in the master men 55-59 after a crash in the final lap left him with two dislocated fingers. At last check Norton was in search of a way to remove his wedding ring from his swollen finger.

Draw back the curtain on this year’s cyclo-cross nationals and the militia of staff, volunteers, vendors and supporters, who were onsite before dawn to do everything from clear the course of snow and ice to marshal races throughout the day, would have made Chairman Mao blush.

“There were a lot of heroics on the bikes worth noting, but what most impressed me was the turnout of volunteers after the storm on Friday,” said Richard Fries, communications director. “We had a 3,200-meter course covered with eight inches of wet snow. Our announcer, Joel Brown, himself on crutches after a mishap in the masters race, worked the phone and got four Rhode Island clubs to respond like Minutemen. When we arrived Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m., the snow was all ready flying. If people did not have shovels they used coroplast signs. At 8 a.m. the sound came on, the grills were lit, the tents were heated, and we had a course worthy of the world championships.”

For those who watched the massive expo tents on Friday inhale and exhale enormous gusts of wind without taking flight, a kinder, gentler Mother Nature rewarded fans and racers with two made-for-‘cross days on Saturday and Sunday.

Weary yet charged promoters of the first ever Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships have already commenced plans for next year’s national championships scheduled to take place December 15-17, 2006. Keep watch over www.cyclocrossnationals.com for more information as it develops.

Thanks for the most successful national cyclo-cross championship to date. See you next season!