by Carla Caruso
Cyclocross racing has been gathering momentum in Adelaide.
The state championships, presented by Port Adelaide Cycling Club, will be held in Kangatilla / Reservoir Park (Park 4) on October 10.
The event had to be rescheduled after being postponed due to the state’s COVID-19 lockdown.
Gemma Kernich, a volunteer at Port Adelaide Cycling Club, describes the sport as “a cross between road racing and cross-country running”.
“You ride what looks like a road bike with slightly fatter tyres. It’s an old-school, European-type sport where, in the winter, they just bash around on their bikes in paddocks.”
A cyclist takes a fall at a 2018 race in Kangatilla / Reservoir Park. Photo: Tim Loft.
“It’s a bit on-road, it’s a bit off-road, it’s a bit wet,” Gemma continues. “There are deliberately obstacles that people can’t ride over.
“So, they’re forced to get off and run and dismount unless they’re extremely skilled and can bunny-hop big things. We use natural obstacles like fallen branches.”
It’s the 10th state championships for the club. About 150 competitors will take part across junior and senior categories.
Women compete at a race in Kangatilla / Reservoir Park in 2018. Photo: Tim Loft.
To Gemma, the sport is “a bit silly and good fun”. “It’s probably the most inclusive form of [cycling]. It’s got a lot of women involved and part of the attraction is, even though you’re racing against other people, it’s also a bit of a personal challenge. We record everyone’s lap times and people try to have their perfect lap.
“The other thing about it is even the top guys might only be averaging speeds in the low 20km an hour or mid-20s.
“So, everyone looks slow, unlike road racing where you’re in a bunch, and if you get dropped off the back, you’re done. Everyone just looks like they’re going around slowly [because] it’s hard.
“It’s also more spectator-friendly because the course is only about 2.5km long and it loops back on itself in the park.
“So, you can have a picnic or sit in a tent or a hammock up on the side and see someone come past every couple of seconds.”
This cyclist had to dismount and run with his bike at a 2018 race. Photo: Tim Loft.
Park 4 in North Adelaide is a great location for various reasons, according to Gemma. “It’s got a bit of paved path, the driveway to the historic reservoir, and a bit of mud.
“It’s got a nice, big, open field, and some natural, forest-y parts that we can enter. We’re aware that there is a new section of plantings that we’ll be avoiding, but it’s just got an interesting mix of terrain.”
Gemma adds: “We basically build the race circuit out of tread in electric fenceposts and hazard tape. We actually don’t release our course map until just before the event to discourage people from going into the park ahead of the day.
“And we have a rule about people not using the course after the event as well, because we want the space to be able to regenerate naturally. You can’t tell we were there in a week.
“We’ve had working bees to repair any damage and we generally leave the parks cleaner and tidier than when we got there.”
Cyclocross racing is not for the faint of heart. Photo: Tim Loft.
Other cylocross events have been staged at Ellis Park / Tampawardli (Park 24) and John E. Brown Park (Park 27A).
With the Tour Down Under cancelled next year, a Festival of Cycling is being staged instead in January. The club hopes to run another cyclocross event then.
For more information on the AusCycling SA State Cyclocross Championships 2021, check out this site.
The shape of the race circuit is kept a mystery until the day. Gemma says: “It might be a ginormous spiral or a series of zigzag-y bends or lots of straights and a big cube. People won’t know until they get there.” Photo: Tim Loft.
