Davy Crockett Classic Returns this Weekend
Cycling Races Come to Houston County
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – After successful bicycle races in 2017 and 2018, the cyclists are back in 2019 for the Third Annual Davy Crockett Classic.
“The City of Crockett, Blue Agave Cycling Club and Topview Sports are proud to have teamed up to prov
ide the 3rd Annual Davy Crockett Classic! What started out as a single day road race has grown to become a two day, three stage omnium event nestled right in the heart of East Texas,” according to the website, www.usacycling.org.
The weekend events get started on Friday, Feb, 8 as the riders and their teams are asked to pick up their packets between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Crockett Community Center located at 650 Lamar Ave. Once the packets have been picked up, a church servi
ce for the athletes will be held at the same location beginning at 8 p.m.
The actual racing begins bright and early on Saturday, Feb. 9 with time trials. In a 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 2076 (Hall’s Bluff Road).
According to Topview Sports’ Alex Montoya, the time trials are an eight mile “out-and-back” course on FM 2076. Junior riders will do a four 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 2019 race has been extended and will run in the opposite direction of 2018, with the start/finish on the north side of the Houston County Courthouse square. The crit races are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. with the junior category.
Once the Saturday races have been completed, the cyclists will take a break but hit the road once again for the Wild Frontier Road Race on Sunday, Feb. 10 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].
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