SEASON PREVIEW 2019 Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series

BOSTON, Mass. (October 25, 2019) - The 2019 Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Cycle-Smart returns as a UCI series for the 2019-2020 cyclocross season. With historic roots in the sport, the Series continues to be an anchor of the season with the support of returning title sponsor for a fourth year, Vittoria. Cyclocross fans can follow each round of competition on classic courses in Northampton, MA, Suffern, NY, and Warwick, RI. Riders will race for the coveted overall Vittoria Series jersey provided by Verge Sport.

“We know that bike racing generally is experiencing a contraction, but the popularity and participation levels for cyclocross have been holding steady and even growing again in some places,” noted Series President Adam Myerson of Cycle-Smart. “This is my 20th year organizing the Series, so it makes me proud to still be able to create these flagship events for the community, with Vittoria and Verge’s help.”

“Vittoria is proud to be the title sponsor of the Northeast Cyclocross Series,” said Marketing Manager Devin Dube of Vittoria Industries North America. “Our Terreno CX product line aligns great with the NECXS, as Adam, along with other world class cyclocross athletes helped test our product to make it what it is today.”

Fans and racers alike will find new categories in competition for the overall title this season, with the expansion of a UCI junior men 17-18 field and a corresponding junior women’s 15-18 race with equal prize money. Riders will compete for the Vittoria Series jersey in the 15-16 men’s and women’s categories, as well as the 17-18 men and women.

“We have always run successful junior fields, with riders like Jeremy Powers, Ellen Noble, Tim Johnson, Jesse Anthony, and Curtis and Emma White all coming through our races and moving on to international success,” said Myerson. “Now we’re mandated to run a UCI Junior men’s event, but it’s crucial to make sure we’re giving that same amount of support to the junior women even before we’re required to. Offering equal prize money to junior women to match what we’re asked to give the junior men is the right thing to do, and I applaud all my Vittoria Series event organizers for stepping up and making that commitment.”

This year’s Verge Northampton International, on November 9 and 10, at Look Park in Northampton, Massachusetts, hosts one of New England’s fan-favorite races and the oldest UCI race in the US. “We’re excited to showcase the Pioneer Valley to the cyclocross community,” said Cycle-Smart’s Alec Donahue, the event director. “We have a great course and a lot of great food and beer at the event. The JAM Fund and Northampton Cycling Club make this race special with their volunteer support, and seeing everyone pitch in to produce the race is what community is all about.”

Now a mainstay of the Vittoria Series, Supercross Cup, November 16 and 17, in Suffern, New York, serves as rounds three and four. With its “World Cup-style” venue at Rockland Community College, the Supercross course has tested top racers in the best and worst of weather conditions. A compact course set on a full college campus, participants enjoy on-site locker rooms and hot showers. With activities for young children not yet of racing age and a range of food trucks, Supercross offers fun for the whole family throughout the weekend, and a course redesign for 2019 promises more fun for everyone.

The Vittoria Series grand finale will be at the NBX Gran Prix of ‘Cross at Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick, Rhode Island, December 7 and 8. The final chapter of the Vittoria Series showcases the essence of cyclocross in New England with its twists and turns, rooty descents and the legendary long beach sections culminating with a season-long celebration and jersey presentation at the conclusion of the weekend.

Registration is currently open for The Verge Northampton International and Supercross Cup on BikeReg.com.

Throughout the Vittoria Series, look for a behind the scenes view following one athlete’s journey through the six events, and how Vittoria makes a difference for her. The Path to the Vittoria Series will feature Alex Carlson, a Vittoria-sponsored Cycle-Smart athlete, as she prepares to tackle this dense block of racing. Dirtwire.tv will produce the videos which will be available on all of the Vittoria Series online outlets and the Vittoria Series YouTube page.

Watch the races unfold in person or by following tweets at @VittoriaSeries. Follow on Facebook for race weekend highlights at facebook.com/VittoriaSeries. Race videos are hosted at the NECXS YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/VittoriaNortheastCyclocrossSeries

For more information visit www.necyclocross.com

Series Calendar

The Verge Northampton International
Look Park, Northampton, MA
November 9-10
http://www.nohocx.com/

Supercross Cup
Rockland Community College, Suffern, NY
November 16-17
https://www.supercrosscup.com/

NBX Gran Prix of 'Cross
Goddard Memorial Park, Warwick, RI
December 7-8
https://www.nbxbikes.com/events/nbx-gran-prix-of-cyclocross-pg626.htm

Series Competition Categories

The Verge Northampton International

Elite Men
Elite Women
U23 Men
U23 Women
Men 3
Women 3
Masters 40+ Women (Cat 1-4)
Masters 50+ Women (Cat 1-4)
Masters 40+ Men (Cat 1-4)
Masters 50+ Men (Cat 1-4)
Masters 60+ Men (Cat 1-4)
Juniors 17-18 Men (UCI)
Juniors 15-16 Men (Cat 1-4)
Juniors 17-18 Women (Cat 1-4)
Juniors 15-16 Women (Cat 1-4)
Juniors 9-14 Boys
Juniors 9-14 Girls

About the Northeast Cyclocross Series

The Northeast Cyclocross Series is a UCI level cyclocross series produced by Cycle-Smart, Inc., and is made up of four premier event weekends in the Northeast that attract national and international caliber athletes to compete for an overall leader's jersey. Both professional and amateur athletes compete throughout the fall in Gloucester, MA, Northampton, MA, Suffern, NY, and Warwick, RI.

About Vittoria Industries North America

Vittoria Industries Ltd. is an international group that acquired the famous premium cotton tubular tires producer Vittoria Spa in 1990. Vittoria has built highly reputable partnerships within in the cycling industry and created a distinct brand image. Today, Vittoria Industries is the world's leading manufacturer of bicycle tires with an annual production of approximately 7 million tires and 900,000 high performance tubulars and cotton tires. Its research and development center develops the best racing tires at all levels. Vittoria's worldwide commercial operations are shared among three distinct regions: Vittoria SpA is responsible for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America (EMEA & LATAM). Vittoria Industries North America, Inc., is responsible for North America. The group holding company, Vittoria Industries Ltd, carries out manufacturing and R&D at its fully owned Lion Tyres Thailand Ltd factory in Bangkok.

About Cycle-Smart

From absolute beginners to world-class pros, Cycle-Smart works with individuals and teams to help them achieve their goals. Not only is their coaching staff knowledgeable, but they are active racers, involved in the cycling community every single day. Organizing events is part of that mission, and so the company provides the organizational backbone for the Verge Northampton International Cyclocross, The Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series, and the Cycle-Smart Cyclocross Camp.

2019 Vittoria Series Category and Schedule Changes

Aside from the loss of the GP Gloucester, the addition of a mandatory UCI Junior Men’s 17-18 race to all C1 and C2 UCI races for the 2019 season globally has a ripple effect which impacts almost all of the Vittoria Series categories. One of our primary values with the Vittoria Series is category and prize parity for men and women. Currently, there is no UCI Junior Women’s 17-18 category except at the World Championships, though we will be allowed to run that in 2020. Still, we want to match the duration and prize list mandated for the junior men.

Traditionally, the 15-18-year-old Junior Men raced in a combined race with the 40+ men. It has a long and successful history in New England. However, a UCI Junior race is not permitted to be mixed with any other category, though they have allowed us to put other categories on the course at the same time.

Here are the changes you’ll see this year based on these factors:

1. The UCI Junior Men 17-18 will get their own start, be 40 minutes long, and have an $897 prize list, per the rules.

2. The Master/Junior men’s race will now be 40+ and 15-16, and will start 1-2 minutes behind the 17-18 race depending on the course. It will also change to 40 minutes from 45, to match the 17-18 juniors. It will be run as it was before, as one race, with one set of results submitted to USAC, and additional category results for Series points and standings.

3. The 15-16 Junior men will now have their own series standings and jersey.

4. The Cat. 3 Junior women will now become a Cat. 1-4, 15-18-year-old category, and be run together with the 40+/50+ Cat. 1-4 Master Women, exactly the same way the junior/master men has always been run. They will be run as one race, with one set of results submitted to USAC, and additional category results created for Series points and standings.

5. In this case, the Junior 15-18 Women will also be racing for their own $897 prize list, to match the UCI Junior Men.

6. The Junior 15-16 women will also now have their own Series standings and jersey.

7. The combined Masters/Juniors women’s race will start 1-2 minutes behind the Cat. 3 women depending on the course.

8. This time slot will now also be racing for 40 minutes, rather than 45, to match the men.

9. The Cat. 3 men will now race for 40 minutes, to match the Cat. 3 women.

10. The masters 50+ and 60+ men will now race for 40 minutes, to match the 40+ men.

I hope what this demonstrates is how challenging accommodating one small change in terms of recognition of the 17-18 junior men can be when we extend that change for equality and consistency. My goal and expectation for those categories that have been reduced by 5 minutes is that not much will actually change. If we aim to make sure the winner of those races is always over the 40-minute mark, we’ll see finishers in the 40-50 minute range, which was ultimately the goal of a 45-minute race to begin with. It may lead to slightly more warm-up time between races, and on-time race starts. I think we’ll see a really competitive master/junior women’s race, and more quality overall in that field, with more room for the cat. 3s to race. We now add more recognition for 15-16 junior men and women, and considerably prize money for juniors, which we know they all can use.

Ultimately, the Vittoria Series is a community we are all a part of. I see us all making some small sacrifices in order to give more priority to junior men and women, which I hope we can all feel good about. It was not easy to solve this puzzle and it’s something I’ve been dwelling on for almost a year. Thanks to everyone who made suggestions, and especially to Colin Reuter for being my sounding board as I processed it. Thanks to all of you for continuing to support the series. 2019 is my 20th year in charge. Every year it seems like we’re faced with a new challenge, and a new opportunity for growth. I hope we can thrive with these changes, and survive the loss of Dearest Gloucester.

See you all at Noho.

Adam Myerson
Vittoria Series President