On Tuesday, December 6, the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTMEETINGS) welcomes the 2022 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships to Hartford’s Riverside Park at 20 Leibert Road. Riverfront Recapture, Inc. will host the six-day event and many area organizations and businesses are ready to greet this prestigious competition.
“This race is one of USA Cycling’s four major national championships with more than 1,600 athletes coming from all over the nation to compete for 34 national titles, including categories qualifying for the UCI Cyclocross World Championships,” explains Michael Zaleski, President & CEO of Riverfront Recapture, Inc., the private, non-profit organization that manages Riverside Park. “The USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships was first held in Riverside Park in January of 2017, and it moves to a different city and course each year. The organizers’ and participants’ responses to our race venue in the Capital City was so positive that USA Cycling chose to return here again.”
National championship titles will be awarded in age groups from 11 years old up to age 70 and older. The event also features a festival atmosphere with food trucks, beer, and an age 10 and under Fun Lap.
“We welcome this dynamic outdoor tournament and the thousands of the visitors it will bring to the Greater Hartford region,” says Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTMEETINGS), the state’s official meetings and sports events sales and marketing organization. “With over 1,600 competitors, hundreds of coaches, officials, staff and supporting vendors, plus thousands more spectators, the six-day event is projected to generate more than $2.2 Million* in revenue for the Greater Hartford region.”
“CTMEETINGS is managing the tournament’s hotel reservation process and has booked rooms in at least 15 hotels in Avon, East Hartford, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, Southington, Windsor and Windsor Locks, with the Hartford Marriott Downtown serving as the event’s host hotel.,” adds Murdock. “Spending by visitors at local restaurants, attractions and hotels during the tournament will support more than 480 tourism-related jobs and will result in over $160,000 in sales tax revenue for Connecticut.” (*Destinations International calculator FY 2021-22).
Admission to the championships is $20 for attendees who are ages 11 and up, and wristbands can be used for the entire championships.
To purchase wristbands and get all information about the 2022 Cyclocross National Championships for athletes, vendors and spectators, including the event schedule, go to www.riverfront.org/cyclocross
The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTMEETINGS) is the state’s official meetings and sports event sales and marketing organization. Working in partnership with businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations and their surrounding communities, the Middletown, Conn.-based CTMEETINGS markets all of the state – convention and meeting venues, hotels and attractions, and sporting venues – as a premier destination for international, national, regional and statewide conferences, conventions, and major sports events. The Bureau is funded by private sector partnership support and through the DECD/CT Office of Tourism. For more info, visit www.CTmeetings.org or call 860-728-6789.Â
Riverfront Recapture is a nonprofit (501c3) organization that manages, operates, maintains, and activates four connected parks covering 148 acres along 3.5 miles of the Connecticut River. Riverfront Recapture has been fulfilling its mission to connect people with the Connecticut River for 40 years. Since 1981, Riverfront Recapture has led the effort to reconnect with the river in ways that enhance quality of life and make the region a better place to work, live and play. The creation of Mortensen Riverfront Plaza in Downtown Hartford, Charter Oak Landing in South Hartford, Great River Park in East Hartford, and the restoration of Riverside Park in North Hartford has given millions of people access to Connecticut’s most beautiful natural resource. Riverfront Recapture offers year-round access to vibrant riverfront parks and a seasonal calendar of events, programming, and outdoor activities. Riverfront Recapture’s dedication to the bold vision of a beautiful riverfront park system resulted in the recent acquisition of 60 acres of riverfront land to build a new community park.