October 24, 2009 (Louisville, KY) – The series that stoked the exponential growth of cyclocross in the United States and in the Ohio Valley – the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross – returns to Louisville, KY for it’s third consecutive season on October 24th and 25th downtown at Champions’Park.

“We are incredibly thrilled to be returning to Louisville. It’s become one of our favorite events in the Series” said Bruce Fina, Executive Director, US Gran Prix of Cyclocross. “The cycling community here embraces the event and it’s tremendous to be a cornerstone in the growth of the sport regionally.” Fina continued, “We love returning here each year – we’ve had great support from Papa John’s enabling us grow – each year we’ve seen bigger fields, bigger crowds and we expect more of the same in 2009. Combine the continued strong support of our national sponsors such as SRAM, Stanley, Clif Bar, Selle Italia and Bob’s Red Mill with a start-list of top elite athletes we are confident that the USGP Derby City Cup will remain a vibrant weekend on the US and international scene for many years to come.”

The USGP weekend is comprised of top level professional men’s and women’s fields featuring the sport’s top competitors including defending ’08 USGP Champion Tim Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, defending ’08 National Champion, Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona, along with fellow cyclocross superstars Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, Jamie Driscoll, Barry Wicks (USA) Kona, Jesse Anthony, Troy Wells (USA) Clif Bar, Andy Jaques-Maynes, and newly crowned Canadian National Champion Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain. Other Canadians include Mark Batty (Can) Planet Energy.

The pro women’s fields are equally stacked with the powerhouse LUNA squad brining defending ’08 USGP Champion Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna and her teammates Georgia Gould (USA) Luna and the newly un-retired former Mountain Bike World Champion Alison Dunlap (USA) Luna. Canadian National Champion Alison Sydor (Can) Rocky Mountain, Amy Dombrowski (USA) Richard Sachs-RGM, Sue Butler (USA) Monavie Cannondale, Laura Van Guilder (USA) 3C Sollay, Kelli Emmet (USA) Giant, and Meredith Miller (USA) California Giant Berries round out the field.

Racing begins on Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 with the amateur categories and builds throughout the day until the Pro Women take to the course at 1:45pm. The Pro Men race begins at 3:00pm. Papa John’s Pizza, BBC, and Cycler’s Cafe will be on hand all day both days to provide food and fun to the racers and spectators alike.

You can watch the action live!
For Saturday’s coverage, click here
For Sunday’s coverage, click here