They’re Baaaccck!
Cyclists Set to Pedal into Houston County this Weekend
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – After two successful bicycle races in 2017, Local Bike Racing is back for 2018 with a few new twists as the Davy Crockett Classic gets underway this Saturday, Feb. 10.
“The City of Crockett and Local Bike Racing are happy to invite you to the Second Annual Davy Crockett Classic cycling event hosted in Houston County. The 2018 event will feature a new and improved format with a new Time Trial stage, an extended downtown crit (criterium) course and over $5,000 in prizes,” according to the Local Bike Racing website. 
The weekend events get started with one of the new features added this year – the time trials. In the time trial, cyclists will take off one at a time for a race against the clock. The start/finish line is the intersection of Loop 304 and FM 229.
According to Local Bike Racing Director Alex Montoya, the time trials course is an 8.4 mile “out-and-back” course on FM 229. Junior riders will do a 4.2 mile version of the course. The various time trial categories will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Following the time trials, the venue will change from the back roads to the mean streets of Crockett for what is known as a criterium.
As to what a criterium (or crit in cycling argon) is, Montoya previously explained, “It’s a closed circuit race where riders make several laps around the course. These are a lot more common in the U.S., but they rarely end in a downtown or cool venue like this,” Montoya explained.
The 2018 race has been extended and will run in the opposite direction of 2017. The crit races are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. with the junior category.
After the Saturday races have been completed, the cycling action will take a break but hit the road once again for the Wild Frontier Road Race on Sunday, Feb. 11 starting at 8 a.m.
Starting at Tyer Real Estate located at 200 N. Fifth St, the cyclists will travel down FM 2022 and exit the Crockett city limits. They will then follow FM 2022 into Percilla. At the intersection of FM 2022 and FM 228, the route turns right onto FM 228 and heads east. The riders will follow the road to FM 3016 (the Liberty Hill road) where they’ll turn right and head towards FM 227.
At FM 227, the riders take another right and head west, back towards FM 2022. At the FM 227 and FM 2022 intersection, the riders turn left on to FM 2022 and head back towards Crockett. The more advanced riders will make three loops between FM 228 and FM 227 for a total of approximately 80 miles.
Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
