Riding bikes that fall somewhere between the mountain and road varieties, racers go full-bore for an hour or more around the sport’s short, obstacle-ridden courses in late fall and early winter’s bitter cold.
Their muscles soaked in lactic acid, riders are constantly dismounting and remounting before and after the logs, barriers and hills they must jump over, run to the top of, or otherwise negotiate.
Racers don’t go for time. They go for as many laps as they can squeeze into a set amount of time.
When the race ends and the agony stops, riders are hit with a wave of endorphin-induced bliss. Having questioned their decision to ride for the past hour, most riders are thinking about the next race within minutes of finishing.
Still far from a household name, cyclocross is enjoying a steadily growing popularity here in the Garden City, where the race season is in full swing.
The five-race Wednesday night series out at Fort Missoula is three races in, and the premier event of the Missoula cyclocross season, Rolling Thunder, is coming up Oct. 20 at McCormick Park.
While enjoying a long and storied history in Europe, cyclocross is a fairly recent athletic import to Missoula.
Cross lore traces the sport’s origin to French cyclist Daniel Gousseau, who started popularizing cyclocross in Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Missoula cyclocross, however, goes back just about 20 years.
In the mid-1980s, Geoffrey Proctor came to Missoula to pursue a master’s degree in English after having seen cyclocross for the first time while traveling Europe.
With two other cycling buddies, John Fiore and Charlie Wellenstein, the trio set up a makeshift course at the top of Pattee Canyon on Larch Camp Road.
Armed with weed whackers, a lawnmower and hay bales, the three cleared a track.
“It was really made-in-Montana,” Wellenstein said. “We really didn’t know what we were doing.”
Using logs for barriers, the riders spent the late fall and winter staying in shape as it got too cold for road biking.
“We got some pretty interesting looks from hikers,” Fiore said. “It almost felt like we were a cult.”
Most major bike manufacturers have at least one cyclocross model now, but bikes and parts were in short supply when Fiore, Proctor and Wellenstein started riding.
Cyclocross bikes today are basically road bikes with mountain bike hearts. With the sleek, thin look of road bikes, the bombproof construction of mountain bikes and their signature thin knobby tires, cyclocross bikes can survive the uneven and unforgiving terrain of cross courses with near-road bike speed.
Today’s bikes are a far cry from the bikes ridden in Missoula’s early cross days. According to Fiore, the bikes they had were “Frankensteins,” pieced together with parts from mountain, road and touring bikes, along with a few additions they came up with themselves.
When they couldn’t scrounge up parts locally, former Open Road owner Cary Larson had them shipped in, according to Wellenstein.
Of the three, Proctor has stayed the closest to the sport. While families and careers have pulled Wellenstein, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Montana’s School of Social Work, and Fiore, the owner of Sapphire Physical Therapy, away from cyclocross, the sport has remained an important part of Proctor’s life.
When he’s not teaching English at Helena High School, Proctor is a coach for the U.S. cyclocross team. In his position, he has seen cyclocross in the United States?go from the ragtag, do-it yourself sport with which he started to “the fastest growing discipline in cycling in this country.”
This year, the U.S. will host more internationally sanctioned cyclocross races - 35 - than any other country. That includes Belgium, the recognized center of the cyclocross world, which will host 32.
While perhaps not as meteoric as in other parts of the country, cyclocross’ growth in Missoula has been consistent.
The Wednesday night race series at Fort Missoula, which began in 2003, has attracted more racers every year.
This year’s first race had 40 starters, according to Tim Bechtold, the event’s organizer, compared to 30 the year before and 24 in 2005.
Compared to Missoula cyclocross’ humble beginnings, the sport has come a long way in the eyes of Wellenstein.
“Now that I’m away for 20 years, 40 people at a race is incredible,” he said. “When we set up races up at Pattee, seven or eight guys was a big field.”
The Wednesday night races attract a predominantly local crowd. However, Rolling Thunder, part of the Montana cyclocross series, will bring the big guns of Montana cross to Missoula, as well as some from out of state, later this month.
Last year’s race, which was held at McCormick Park and incorporated Allegiance Field’s baseball diamond into the grueling course, had 61 starters.
Unlike last year, the baseball stadium will be open to spectators and concession stands will be up and running during this year’s event, according to Shawn Radley, one of the race’s organizers.
Admission is free, but the beer will only be free for racers this year.
Many things set cyclocross apart from other cycling disciplines. Its pace is unparalleled, the course complexity is unmatched, and the spectator friendliness is unsurpassed.
Because of the short-course format, riders are always catching someone or getting caught.
“You’re always riding with somebody,” Bechtold said. “If you get dropped in a road race, well there you are. In a cross race, however, you’re always racing someone.”
The short course changes things for fans, too.
“If you’re a spectator, there’s always someone going by,” Bechtold said. “It’s one of the most spectator-friendly sports.”
Brendan Halpin, a local triathlete who’s in his third cross season this year, said cyclocross is a nice break from the other racing he does.
For Halpin, the barriers, running and course variability are a big draw.
“It’s definitely a change of pace,” he said.
While not having anything to do with the racing itself, Halpin said that Missoula’s cyclocross culture is worlds apart from the hard-nosed, ego-driven race cultures surrounding other cycling disciplines.
“It’s a lot more low-key,” he said. “It’s also only an hour long.”
Proctor, who had his share of national and international success before becoming a national team coach, said it’s the pace of cyclocross that drew him.
“It’s the hardest hour of cycling,” he said. “It’s not the sustained threshold thing you see in road racing, it’s top-end the whole race.”
According to Proctor, cyclocross keeps riders in the moment.
“It’s an extremely zen-like sport,” he said. “You have to be in the present all the time. You’ve got to be thinking about what’s under your tires right now.”
Reach reporter Murphy Woodhouse at (406) 523-5240 or by e-mail at murphy.woodhouse@lee.net.
Photographer Michael Gallacher can be reached at (406) 523-5270 or at mgallacher@missoulian.com.
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