Iowa City Community Cross '21

Good news! The weather this week is looking less and less like rain, so we'll likely be racing cyclocross in Upper City Park at Iowa City Community Cross Tuesday evening.

For a weeknight "practice race," Community Cross can draw quite the crowd. And for very good reasons.

Iowa City Community Cross 2021
Register now at BikeReg.com.

From its start as part of the Chamois Time Series, the race has focused on novice racers, a supportive atmosphere, and stiff competition. That emphasis wasn't lost when the race was later taken up by Goosetown Racing Club.

Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

When Jingle Cross first became a World Cup race, the UCI's Euro-centric schedule pushed it up to September, leaving Midwest racers scrambling to prepare ASAP. As an early season precursor to bigger races yet to come, Community Cross was there for all of us.

"Having just the two groups, A and B, make it simpler for people just getting into the sport who don’t know what category they should be racing in," explained Griffin's sister Olivia, another Corr Devo junior. "If this was a bigger weekend race the fields would be much too big, but because it's a fun weekday race focused on locals it is perfect." 

Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

Still, the casual emphasis on local racers hasn't diminished the race's appeal across the state. Despite the weeknight schedule Community Cross draws racers from Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Des Moines, and the Quad Cities.

Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

"Like most Iowa cyclocross races, the atmosphere at Community Cross is super friendly and everyone is supportive of one another, said Griffin. "This year's Iowa CX season is going to be a fun one!"

Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

"​The City Park race is super fun" said the Corridor Development Team's Griffin Caskey. "The course is very fast, with lots of turns and fast straights, "It is perfect for beginners, but still great for experts too." 

Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

​"Community Cross is one of my favorites!" said Griffin and Olivia's father, Bike Rags racer Ben Caskey. "It was Grif's first cx race and we made life long friends there. I love the short, fast course with lots of corners." 

Fast friends from fast cx races. (Ben Caskey)