Iowa City Cyclo-Cross World Cup named best in the world, is back this weekend

When Iowa City was named the best of 10 host cities for the international Telenet UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup this April in Switzerland, John Meehan was shocked and pleasantly surprised.

The man who organized and ran the Iowa City Jingle Cross Cyclo-Cross race - growing it from a small event in the early 2000s to an annual Iowa cycling tradition drawing thousands every year - is marking the culmination of more than a decade of work.

. By 2016, the race and its track that weaves through the hilly, wooded, barn-dotted Johnson County Fairgrounds had been named a host city for the Cyclo-Cross World Cup, a series of races held across the globe and organized by UCI, which also runs the Tour de France. 

After Iowa City, World Cup cyclists will ride in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium and other countries.

"To hear our name being called out as the best was a huge honor," Meehan said. "It was a surprise because we had only been there for a  few years. But at the same time, I know my crew and the city had done a great job. I felt so honored to accept the award for the city and the volunteers.”

Meehan and about 350 volunteers will look to live up to the award this weekend as they host the city's third-straight Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup and Jingle Cross Cyclo-Cross Festival. The festivities run Friday through Sunday at the fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road SE., Iowa City. 

With a dance party and racing under the lights Friday, the men's and women's World Cup races featuring the sport's best Saturday and more on Sunday, the event will feature thousands of gear-heads either racing, watching or both. 

Drawing more Iowans to Cyclo-Cross

With new and expanded events like an international wine walk, humans racing with their dogs through a cyclo-cross-style course and a concert featuring a big-name local band like The Pork Tornadoes —and a blessing by the gridiron gods for having a Hawkeyes football bye-week the weekend of the World Cup — Meehan is confident that this will be the town's best World Cup yet.

“We want people to come out and watch this sport and see it. They just need experience the carnival atmosphere it creates,” Meehan said. “Everyone who comes out here for the first time says ‘I’ve never seen anything quite like that.’”

Though live music has been a part of the event the last two World Cups, this year features its first big concert. The Pork Tornadoes will play a free concert starting at 5 p.m. Saturday to celebrate the conclusion of the World Cup races. A DJ party featuring DJ Jay Herman will take place atop the course's notorious hill Mt. Krumpit starting at 5 p.m. Friday. 

Throughout every day of the the World Cup and Jingle Cross festival, the Deschutes Brewery Beers and Gears Festival will be open serving beer and places to relax. In contrast, the family-friendly Kid's Zone features bouncy houses, face painting and games. 

Jingle Cross staples like the MidWest One Bank's Single Speed Speedo Spectacular, noon on Saturday, features cyclists wearing bathing suits, underwear, weird costumes and more. Open to anyone who shows up in a wacky costume and a bike,  awards are given to sexiest, unsexiest, coolest, funniest costumes and more. 

To entice more people, the race has organized a wine walk for the first time. Starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, spectators can walk through the fairgrounds and experience wines from across the world Meehan said, including countries that have sent their best cyclo-cross racers to Iowa. 

A new event last year, the Doggy Cross, is one Meehan expects to grow in popularity. In Doggy Cross, pet owners race with their leashed dogs through a course like the ones riders navigate. Owners must carry their dogs over obstacles, and crawl or roll over other obstacles. They must also carry poop bags to pick up any droppings their doggy friends deposit.

"Last year, Doggy Cross was just a whim. Now, it's a big deal and people are really getting excited for it," Meehan said. Doggy Cross features three classes: one for dogs under 30 pounds, one for dogs 30-60 pounds and another for dogs over 60 pounds. The free event starts at 1:15 p.m. Saturday. 

With all the extra events surrounding the races, Meehan and fellow race organizer Josh Schamberger, the president of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau, hope to entice new people to come and see the Cyclo-Cross races.

"Once they come out here and see it all, they're hooked," Schamberger said. 

Comparing Iowa City to the world 

Schamberger was the person who floated the idea to Meehan about trying to get the World Cup to Iowa City back in 2016. With then-city manager Tom Markus, the two were in Belgium when Iowa City won the bid to be a host city. 

Since the mid-2010s, Schamberger has been attedning Cyclo-Cross races across Europe. 

One thing he knows Iowa Citians  have  in common with their Cyclo-Cross World Cup Europeans is a love of the sport. 

"Thanks to John, there's been 14 years of amateur cyclo-cross racing beforehand in Iowa City. Everyone that's out there is in love with the sport," Schamberger said. "That love is translated into hundreds of volunteers trying to make things perfect for the best riders in the world.”

Like fans in Europe, Schamberger said Iowa City crowds root for every rider, are loud and a little rambunctious. He pointed to Iowa wrestling legends Tom and Terry Brands. They didn't know what cyclo-cross was before Iowa City hosted the World Cup in 2016. Now, they run up the steep hill cyclists must climb - with their bikes in-hand - cheering them on. 

"People don't realize the true level of competition that comes into our community," Schamberger said. "It's not too often that you really get to see the absolute best athletes in the world of a certain sport in your backyard, and that's truly what we have here."

There's one big difference between European cyclo-cross events and Iowa City: the size of the crowds. Iowa City routinely draws thousands of people —spectators and racers— but Schamberger said the European races can draw, up to 80,000,  more than Kinnick Stadium holds for football games.

In years past, the biggest crowds in Iowa City come out for the two World Cup races. This year, the UCI Men's World Cup race will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Women's World Cup race will serve as the last race of the day at 4 p.m. 

"Last year, our race as viewed by 12 million people live across the world. That's how big this sport is in Europe," Schamberger said.

Reach Zach Berg at 319-887-5412, zberg@press-citizen.com or follow him on Twitter at @ZacharyBerg. 

If you go

What: Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup and Jingle Cross Cyclo-Cross Festival. 

Where: Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road SE., Iowa City. 

When: 11 a.m. until after 9 p.m. Friday, 7:50 a.m. to after 8 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to after 4:45 p.m. Sunday. 

Admission: Free. Shive-Hattery VIP Experience, which includes catered gourmet lunch, Deschutes Brewery beer and wine, exclusive seating for World Cup races, seating for the Pork Tornadoes concert and World Cup swag, is $120 per person. Visit http://jinglecross2.com/index.php/world-cup/vip1-3 to buy tickets. 

For a rundown of all events, visit jinglecross2.com.