We promised big things for the 2014 Canadian Cyclocross Championships. And judging by the enthusiastic response from those who showed up, we delivered. For 2015, we will build on this foundation and attempt to raise the bar even higher. You do not want to miss out.

A three-day championship event and cycling-themed party returns to the centre of the nation, being held in Winnipeg on October 23-25, 2015. We’ve kept the best of the 2014 course and modified it in order to take even more advantage of The Forks, a venue that will flat out blow you away. This isn’t just another cyclocross race that takes place in an open field in the middle of nowhere. We’re bringing the action right into the heart of the city with a course that showcases the very best of what cyclocross racing can be.

The weekend will be kicked off with a series of fun exhibition and relay races that will continue into the night. There will be clinics, conversations with elite racers, an expo, and plenty of opportunities for the media. The opening day will wrap up with a proper Peg City party just blocks from the course.

Saturday is the marquee event of the weekend—the Canadian Cyclocross Championships! Elite and amateur racers from across the country will be competing for the honour of wearing Canada’s National Champion’s jersey and qualifying for the 2016 World Championships in Belgium. Racing will occur throughout the day, as various age groups in both men’s and women’s categories take to the course.

The weekend will wrap-up on Sunday with the Manitoba Grand Prix of Cyclocross, an internationally sanctioned UCI 2 event. Similar to the national championships, amateur racers of all age groups will have an opportunity to race on the same course as elite racers. The elite men and women will be competing for coveted UCI points as well as cash prizes. One key twist is that international racers will line up to challenge the newly crowned Canadian champions.

All events throughout the weekend will be held at Winnipeg’s ‘meeting place’—The Forks—a national historic site in the heart of downtown Winnipeg. Located at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, The Forks is one of the city’s most popular public gathering spaces. It also makes for an incredible cyclocross venue, with a variety of on-site restaurants and bars, a hotel, the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and a variety of family entertainment opportunities.

For racers, The Forks provides a world class venue that is comparable to those in the Belgian heartland of the sport. The course leverages the steep and potentially muddy riverbanks, rolling grassy embankments, historic cobbled roads, and deep sand pits.

The course also winds its way through the Forks Market Plaza, bringing the action into close proximity with one of the most heavily trafficked areas of the venue. After all, racing is so much more fun when there is a throng of screaming spectators on hand.

 

The explosion of Cyclocross in North America is due to the strong appeal for an incredibly wide range of participants. It’s common to arrive at a cross race and see an eclectic mix of roadies, mountain bikers, pros, rookies, hipsters, parents, kids and grandparents, all united in a common quest for mud, cowbells and a spectacular display of tortuous bike racing. It doesn’t matter if racers are first timers or elites—all levels of competition are supported with enthusiastic cheering from spectators and fellow-competitors.

 Spectating at a cyclocross race is a sport unto itself. It’s competitive, tactical, and certainly more physically demanding than curling or golf. In fact, without the screaming, heckling, beer-drinking, cowbell-ringing fans, cyclocross is really just a cold and dirty road race.

Bring the kids along to join the excitement in one of the most family friendly venues in the city. Or bring your friends and hole up in the heart of the course—an outdoor beer garden next to the infamous sand pit. Conveniently located right in front of the most grueling stretch of the racecourse, the decisive moves and spectacular spills will most likely come from this location.

 

Cyclocross is driven by the community that supports it, the hard work of volunteers behind the scenes and the relationships of event sponsors. Volunteering is a great way to connect with like- minded people and a way to help cycling continue to grow in Canada.

As a sponsor, it’s a great way to interact with an engaged and passionate audience and build your brand’s reputation by supporting active lifestyles. We encourage you to look at this opportunity from a two-year perspective, and leverage your relationship with the event and the sport throughout the year.

We are specifically speaking with brands that are interested in on-site activation and interaction with our spectators and racers. With the right partners, we can work together to build sponsorships that enrich attendees’ experiences during and after the event, provide value and unique engagement opportunities to our sponsors, and elevate the championship weekend as a whole.

We would love to talk with you about how we can work together to form a sponsorship package that makes sense. Please contact us to start getting involved today!