Delayed USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Championships resumes on Monday in Austin

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The delayed 2015 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships has resumed on Monday beginning with the junior men’s 15-16 category at 12:30pm CST at the Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department postponed Sunday’s competition due to excess rain and park grounds deterioration.

The junior men’s 15-16 race will start the day's event at 12:30pm. The junior men’s 17-18 will be next on course at 1:15pm where Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Co/Vista Subaru) will be eyeing the title. On course at the same time will be the junior women’s 15-16 and 17-18.

The under-23 men will race at 2:15pm, followed by the elite women at 3:20pm and elite men at 4:25pm, where Katie Compton (Trek Factory Racing) and Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) will try and defend their elite titles.

According to a statement from USA Cycling, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department was concerned that the two inches of rain over the past two days along with the four days of cyclo-cross racing would threaten the health of the park’s landscape and create an unsafe situation for riders. However, it was reported that the area only got half an inch of rain.

Although the championship event was briefly cancelled, USA Cycling and the department agreed to continue the event on Monday. The department spent the last 24 hours restoring the grounds and allowing for the course to dry, the statement read. The rain subsided and what were slippery and wet mud conditions the previous day, has turned to thick and sticky mud.

Minor changes were made to the course, which moved in a few sections to avoid tree roots. All of the technical sections were still available including a dirt descent, two sets of stairs (one short and one long), barriers, a wooden ramp and limestone stairs, all on a 3.5km circuit.

Read about the 12 riders to watch at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships.