January 10, 2008

Utah Cyclocross celebrates their successful season with more than 200 attendees

Engin Yesilyemis

SCOTT has been a proud sponsor of the Utah Cyclocross Series for the past three years. The weekend of January 5 and 6 marked the end of the ‘cross season with a fun, snowy race and a great ‘80s awards party.   Despite the weather conditions, diehard cross racers and fans gathered at Wheeler Farm for one last mud-fest. The race was followed by the awards party which had more than 200 people attending in their ‘80s outfits. Attendees were trying to bring back the “Head Bangers Ball” or “Flash Dance” fashion. When I spoke to some of the guests, they informed me that they didn’t go out shopping for their outfits; most of them had this gear stashed in their closets (scary!!!). The highlight of the evening was when race promoter Matt Ohran’s daughter Ciera Williams and her friends [they called themselves “Honey and The Killer Bees”] came on stage and covered some of the greatest ‘80s hits.   We sat down and talk to Ohran about the progression of this growing sport in Utah. He provided some mind-blowing stats on how all this started and what kind of a place cyclo-cross takes in people’s lives today.   “Well believe it or not I just finished my 13th year of promoting the Utah Cyclocross Series.” said Ohran. “This year we averaged 159 participants per race for 10 races. Last year we averaged 119, and back in the beginning I would be cleaning up the course wondering why I put on cyclocross races because only about 25 people showed up.”   “I am sure nationwide the growth is for many of the same reasons that we are growing so fast in Utah. It is all about the people. You witnessed that at our party. Everyone has their place in the huge family of cyclocross in Utah. There are other reasons as well. The multi-lap format makes the racing very spectator-friendly. We also have 11 categories and four races throughout the day, which makes it great for families. We have multiple families where mom and the kids race in the morning while dad is in the pits handing off water, taking pictures, ready to help with a mechanical. Then dad gets ready and lines up for his race. Mom and the kids are changed and back to cheer dad on in his race. It really works out well. Then, consider the sport of cyclocross itself and how much fun it is. We will be here all day. If you ride road bikes or mountain bikes and you have not tried cyclocross, you are missing out!”   Matt also could hide his enthusiasm about working with SCOTT. “I have known some of the people from SCOTT for a long time now. Great people! We use to all work together at Cannondale. I am glad that cyclocross has taken off and is doing what it is today. In the end we are all just selling fun. I am honored everyday to be able to work with people like the people at SCOTT. We all love seeing people enjoy life while riding bicycles.”
As the happy promoter and the proud dad, Ohran commented on his daughter’s band and the party. “I wanted to end the 2007 Season with a Bang. We also had our best season ever. I am a generous person. I have always told the riders that as we grow we will give back all we can. It was a great year and I just wanted to say thank you. Of course without SCOTT’s support it would be very difficult to put a smile on everyone’s face. As far as the Band and 80’s night, we saw that the ‘Cross Crusade in Portland was having their party and doing Prom Night. So I came up with the idea for ‘80s. I really just wanted to dress up as a rocker and have some fun myself. Some of my friends accuse me of poisoning my daughter Ciera’s music taste because she loves all the old hard rock that I listen to. She has been playing base guitar for two years now and she has quite the voice. That just fell into place and I thought, why not? They definitely stole the show. When it came time to give the awards out everyone wanted the band to keep playing. I was so impressed. We have set the bar high for 2008. Don’t worry though; I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.”
  SCOTT Congratulates the winners of 2007 Utah Cyclocross Series! Team: Contender Bicycles, Jr 14 Under: Paden Hoover, Jr 15-18: Tanner Cottle, Men A: Bart Gillespie, Women A: Dayna Deuter, Singlespeed: Steve Wasmund, Men 35+ A: Dave Wood, Men B: Connor O'Leary, Men 35+ B: Rich Caramadre, Men C: Troy Nye, Women B: Christy Clay