Community will join Las Vegas, NV as the only two North American sites on the 2016–2017 circuit.

The Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Iowa City, and Jingle Cross are please to announce that Iowa City has been selected by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) as a Cyclo-cross World Cup race site for the 2016–2017 season. Most recognized in road cycling and the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, or the Veulta a Espana, the UCI is the governing body in the sport of cycling and headquartered in Aigle, Switzerland. Iowa City will host the 2nd official 2016–2017 World Cup circuit race at the Johnson County Fairgrounds on Saturday, September 24, 2016. Las Vegas (NV) will host the season’s first race on Wednesday, September 21.

“September 24 will mark a pretty historic day for the support of cycling in Iowa. On that day, we will welcome Cyclo-cross teams from all over teh world to, arguably, the best Cyclo-cross course in North America. That day of racing will be shown for several hours live across Europe to over 8 million homes,” said Josh Schamberger, one of the organizing officials and president of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The well-known Jingle Cross race, celebrating its 13th year in 2016, will move from its normal November/December dates to September to coincide with the UCI World Cup race. Jingle Cross will take place September 22, 23, & 25 with the UCI World Cup races occurring on Saturday the 24th. “Make no mistake, the reason we celebrate today with this announcement and again in in September is because of the contributions of Dr. Meehan and his incredible Jingle Cross team,” said Schamberger. “They have created an athlete event and fan experience that made this a very easy decision for UCI.”

The reaction from pro cyclists has been extremely supportive. “The course at Jingle Cross is one of the best in America,” said current U.S. National Champion Jeremy Powers (Rapha Focus). “I always look forward to racing in Iowa. I’m excited that this year, I’ll be racing it as a World Cup.”

Schamberger and Iowa City City Manager Tom Markus traveled with Dr. Meehan to Koksijde, Belgium in November to personally deliver the community’s bid to UCI Head of Off-Road Peter Van den Abeele during their World Cup race. The event is expected to attract 15,000 spectators and generate an economic impact of $1.2 million to the community.