Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By Jason Blevins, The Denver Post

BOULDER — With a thousand spectators lining the muddy track, some of the world's top cyclocross racers delivered a dramatic and dirty show over the weekend at Boulder's heralded Valmont Bike Park.

The park's big-stage cyclocross debut was a resounding success, with Boulder Cup racers celebrating the European-style course, which featured 2.1 miles of lung-searing climbs, curves, sand, stairs and mud.

"So really technical. It was more of a European track today, and I think that worked to my advantage," said Belgian Ben Berden, the 36-year-old pro cyclocross racer who won the seventh annual Boulder Cup with an attack on the final lap.

Read about the weekend cyclocross race results here.

Thirteen years ago, the corner of Valmont Road and Airport Boulevard was 40 acres of weeds and fill dirt, freshly acquired by the City of Boulder. Long before it became a park, pedal-loving dreamers hosted a cyclocross race there in 1998, planting a seed for what could be. Today, Valmont Bike Park is 40 acres of rolling singletrack, terrain parks with dirt jumps, wooden berms and pump tracks. Splayed across it all — with sand pits, stretches of shin-deep mud, hairpin switchbacks and a thigh-crushing staircase — is a world-class cyclocross track.

Read more about plans to hold additional cyclocross races at Valmont, including hopes the national championships will be held there in coming years.

PHOTO:  Katie Compton, of Colorado Springs, was the clear favorite in the women's race, and she didn't disappoint while dominating the field.