Why Not? Based on the success of Bandit CX in July, and last year’s ‘Cross Resurrection, we needed something in between to bridge the gap. $35 entry, USAC sanctioned, earlier in the year, non-ovcx… and then Bob Bobrow gave us the green light to revive this race! Perfect!

Anyway, here’s some history:

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 a couple back from the dead.

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

The Storm Eva Bandman course has always been known as a power course, and this year we will stay true to the identity of the race, but with some twists. This race will undoubtedly be a different course than what you’ll see for Cyclocross Resurrection.

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.

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 the $35 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 $35. You will have to present us proof that you purchased it on their website at checkin.

Masters Cat 5/Novice, you will be racing your age group buddies if you want, or you can jump into the true novice category. Or you can double up and do two races in one day!

Preregistration will be available at > http://www.bikereg.com/storm-eva-2023 <

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.

To get you all to register for this race earlier, we are implementing a tiered registration pricing schedule.
- $30 before October 14
- $35 between Oct 14 and 26 when Pre Reg closes
- $40 onsite Saturday, Oct. 28th

Call-up order based CrossResults.com points rankings will be set at close of registration on October 26 at midnight and published on October 27th.

Because this is a halloween race, wearing a costume at the start will improve your call up. Face paint, fake mustaches, and obviously retro racing kit (10+ years) all count as a costume!

The pricing tiers apply to all categories greater than Cat 5 men, Cat 4/5 women, Juniors, and U23.

Bikes are for everyone and for all bodies. We disagree with USA Cycling and the UCI’s stance on trans athletes and welcome all athletes regardless of gender identity, sex, religion, race, or creed to our events.

At registration, in good faith, please select whichever race lines up best with your ability, experience, and gender. If there is a problem with our BikeReg Page, please email us at cyclingholdings@gmail.com to rectify the issue.

Thank you.

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. We will follow suit with this race. 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 “Hillbillies” 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 this race, 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 15psi in muddy races and in dry races most everyone settles around 25-30psi.

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!

We have crafted a schedule that we think provides women equal footing to men, allows level playing fields, and also offers a separate single speed race for those interested in double races per day.

To take growth more seriously, every full-price registration to any women’s field will receive a custom coupon for a reduced-cost $25 entry to the Novice Women’s race. This initiative is designed to promote networking and for women to encourage fellow women to participate in this amazing, welcoming sport. Women who use the coupon do not have to pay any additional fees for USA Cycling one-day licenses.

Part of our commitment to cyclocross is our open cyclocross practice every Thursday at 6 pm at Eva Bandman Park. All abilities are welcome!