Louisville, Kentucky used to have one of the most amazing cyclocross communities in the country thanks to the OG’s.

Storm the Green got so big it captured the attention of the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross, who came to town and convinced Metro Parks and the Sports Commission to christen Eva Bandman Park as a cyclocross venue.

Storm the Green became Storm Eva at its new home, then the USGP eventually became The Derby City Cup. The crowning jewel of the USGP and Louisville Sports Commission partnership was the 2013 UCI Cyclocross World Championships held at Eva Bandman. The first time EVER outside of Europe.

Sadly, because of fallout from the regular flooding incidents at Eva Bandman, the Sports Commission moved to higher ground at Joe Creason Park to host the final Derby City Cup and ‘Cross National Championships (again!).

After a few seasons of declining attendance at Storm Eva Bandman coupled with infighting within the Louisville community, the pandemic dealt us a punishing blow.

In 2022, after the pandemic, we looked around and only 8 of us turned up to the weekly hot laps practice. We like to hem and haw that “It used to be 50-60 people every week!”

So then we thought, “We gotta start at ground zero and get people excited to ride weird bikes in circles on grass again.”

With the help of Coach Michael Seiler of Metta Endurance Coaching we hosted a month-long beginner skills clinic in 2022. That was awesome. And now with the push of Bryan Davis and Phil Gardner of The Post Racing, we’re setting up a whole new band and hosting a race. —ahem, bringing one back from the dead.

Last year we made it a fancy two-day event to entice people and give them a BIG opportunity to join us— it was a huge success. This year we’re focusing on making it a more polished event production, and have stepped up to the big leagues of OVCX, so we can’t afford prizes, but we hope you understand once you get here.

Last year it was a party, so please give us some support by racing, bringing friends (particularly non-bike racers! They love CX!) and staying after your race to cheer for your cyclocross community.

After the success of last year, can we even say that cyclocross in Louisville was ever really dead?

Last year we had people say, “I’ve raced at Eva Bandman for over 10 years and never seen such a fun course as what you guys put together.”

For 2023 we promise flow, speed, chunk, tradition, stonehenge, railroad ties, and as always, no plank barriers.

You’ll have plenty of space to park on the grass at the park. Bring your A & B cars just like your A & B bikes.

Please drive all the way down the side-access road to the gravel lot, and turn onto the grass up the hill.

Preregistration will be available at > http://www.bikereg.com/cross-resurrection <

If you missed the pre-reg window, we will have on-site registration on race day. Please register at least 45 minutes before your race. Please bring exact cash.

In 2023 as part of OVCX we are implementing a tiered registration pricing schedule.
- $45 before November 18
- $50 between Nov 18 and 25
- $55 between Nov 25 and 30
- $60 onsite Saturday, Dec. 2nd

Call-up order based on OVCX Rankings, then CrossResults.com points rankings will be set at close of registration on November 30th and published on December 1st on OVCX.com. (Gone are the days of the 2-week pre-registration call-up priority!)

The pricing tiers apply to all categories greater than Cat 5 men, Cat 5 women, and U23.

Most of us once were cash-strapped college students. Back when they used to publish them, the year-end USAC demographic reports regularly showed that more PhD’s raced cyclocross than any other discipline (and cared the least about course safety!! Truly unhinged!!).

New for 2023, OVCX has committed to provide a U23 discount at all its races. If you need a hand up to participate in our race, kindly email us at cyclingholdings@gmail.com and we’ll sort you out with a coupon for whatever category you’re registering.

You are the future of our sport and we cannot afford to price you out. Please bring a friend, or seven. Non-racers love watching CX.

Does your bicycle have two working brakes? If so, you’re good to go.

We’re gonna tell our USA Cycling officials to let anyone with a pulse and a bicycle to race.

Gravel bikes, mountain bikes, cross bikes, fixies (with 2 working brakes), and cruisers all work. We even had Winnie the Pooh and a pair of Rednecks race last year on a tandem. Are some bike choices… bold? yes. But we like boldness around here.

Gravel seems to have a “spirit” but that was stolen from cyclocross and dragged out over 200 miles. At the Resurrection, you can experience The Spirit in a mere 30 minutes.

If you’re into details, the regulations state one must race a drop-bar bike with 33mm tires or less.

If you’re running a 1x drivetrain, we recommend anywhere from a 40-44t chainring and cassettes in the range of 30-35t.

Standard 2x ‘cross chainset of 46x36 or road compact of 50x34 will both work as well.

Tire choice is up to you, but as a beginner you’ll hit the sweet spot with intermediate tires like the Schwalbe X-One, Challenge Grifo, Vittoria Terreno Mix, or Donnelly MXP.

Depending on your equipment, your tire pressure will vary on course conditions, riding styles, and your weight. Tubeless tires can be run as low as 20psi in muddy races and in dry races most everyone settles around 30psi.

If you’re using clinchers and tubes, aim on the high side, (40-55psi depending on your weight and ability) and embrace the jackhammer. It’s better to have sore hands and shoulders for a few minutes after the race than a DNF and a trip to the bike shop for more tubes.

For a scheduled 30-minute Novice race with 8 minute lap times, you can expect the distance covered to be around 6 miles or 4 laps.

Cyclocross is scheduled as a timed event due to several skill categories occurring on the same short course throughout the day.

Distance and lap count is determined based on the leading racers’ average speed during the early minutes of the race. Officials extrapolate those lap times into a lap count that fits the scheduled race duration and will ring a bell for you on the Final Lap.

A great way to prepare is to attend our Hot Laps practices at Eva Bandman every Thursday at 6 pm! We work on skills, then do a sweet spot workout. It’s free and all are welcome. We regularly mentor each other at this practice.

We wrote an in-depth article on this topic called “How to Race a Crit: Tips for Beginners” and we’re pretty proud of it. Give it a read by clicking here!

Now cyclocross is a slightly different beast. So just go out and have fun with it!

If you have never held a license, don’t worry, we got you. We’ll cover your one-day intro license and waive the late fee. Just pay $45 bucks to enter and go race your bike. Have fun!

If you’ve held a USA Cycling License as a Cat 4 or higher, USA Cycling has an “Experienced” one-day license available for $25. You will have to present us proof that you purchased it on their website at checkin.