$10,000 Purse Announced for Deschutes Brewery Cyclocross Race

Professional cyclists from around the country will converge on Virginia’s Blue Ridge for the chance to get their hands on a $10,000 total purse in the inaugural GO Cross Presented by Deschutes Brewery in Virginia’s Blue Ridge at Fallon Park on Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Cyclocross can be described as a bike race in a steeplechase format with riders that hop on and off bicycles while leaping over barriers and sloshing through mud, navigating gravel pits, stairs, and barriers. The event is an official USA Cycling race, which will draw professionals from all over the country. The Roanoke Outside Foundation and East Coasters Bike Shop are organizing GO Cross.

“It’s a huge deal to have an ACXC race on the official national calendar. This will take the Roanoke cycling scene to the next level,” said Pete Eshelman, director of the Roanoke Outside Foundation.

The cyclocross style of racing is designed to entertain rowdy crowds with epic wipe outs and heckling is encouraged. Deschutes Brewery has built a huge cyclocross community around their facility in Bend, Oregon, and plans to bring the exciting and gritty sport to their new east coast home as well.

“We are looking to continue leveraging the region’s outdoor assets by establishing Virginia’s Blue Ridge as a top cyclist destination on the east coast,” said Landon Howard, president of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. “This event has the potential to attract top racers from around the country, and draw bike enthusiasts to the region for a metro-mountain weekend getaway.”

The “in-field” activities will include a Deschutes Brewery craft beer garden, food trucks, a beer mile running race, kitschy yard games with the Deschutes “FUNraisers,” drawings for everyone with prizes from Trek Bikes and East Coasters Bike Shop, and of course heckling. The after party will be at the soon to open Deschutes Brewery tasting room in downtown Roanoke.

Learn more about what a cyclocross race entails, a course description, full schedule of events, and more information.

Special thank you to sponsors Deschutes Brewery, Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, Roanoke Regional Partnership, East Coasters Bike Shop, Trek, and Woods Family Heating & Air.