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CrossVegas 2008 Ready To Rock Interbike Again - Preliminary Race Details Released

January 11, 2008
After a tremendous first year in 2007 that saw 5,000 spectators and arguably the highest caliber field ever assembled in the U.S. converge on the evening of Interbike’s opening day, CrossVegas is back on the schedule for 2008. Boulder-based organizers, CrossVegas LLC, announced the event will be Wednesday September 24, once again capping off the show’s opening day.

Dubbed as “the international cyclocross season starts American-style in Las Vegas,” CrossVegas featured a field of elite men and women racing under the lights at Desert Breeze Soccer Complex, a short distance from the Strip and Interbike. Canadian Lyne Bessette won the women’s event while then-U.S. national champion, Ryan Trebon, took the men’s title.

Providing a peek into 2008 plans, CrossVegas co-promoter Brook Watts announced that a race for tradeshow attendees is one of the new additions for year two. “There’s obviously a lot of folks in the industry who race cyclocross and we’ve heard many pleas for a “Wheelers and Dealers” race to start the evening. We’re ironing out details but expect full information by late spring.”

Commenting on 2008, Interbike advisor, Lance Comisasca continued, “We're working closely with CrossVegas to build upon the success of year one by developing a shuttle for spectators among other things. We'll be announcing lots of joint promotional efforts in the upcoming months.”

Sponsorship opportunities are available at various levels ranging from CrossVegas title sponsor to suppliers. Watts heads the sales and marketing effort and explained “It’s still early in the planning process for many companies, anyone who is looking for a way to reach 5,000+ bicycle industry influentials should consider sponsorship of CrossVegas.”

Observing the impact of CrossVegas on the still-growing cyclocross bike category Watts said, “We had several manufacturers tell us they wrote more cross bike orders on Thursday morning than any previous show day.”

Watts said organizers are confident that European manufacturers will take the opportunity to bring their sponsored athletes over to serve double duty. “Top riders are already talking about making it part of their 2008 schedule and are recruiting fellow Euro competitors to come over. I think that trend will grow now that the value of CrossVegas is recognized.”

“We saw a number of riders racing on Wednesday night then meeting & greeting retailers in the booths on Thursday. I think that trend will grow now that the value of CrossVegas is recognized,” Watts commented.

CrossVegas LLC is a Boulder Colorado based group of event organizers. Chris Grealish and Brook Watts head the group that has staged multiple international cyclocross events including CrossVegas, The Boulder Cup and The Redline Cup events.