Libby Hill the crown jewel of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships

September 28, 2015

View overlooking lower section of Libby Hill, from a steep vantage point during the elite men’s world championship road race in Richmond, Virginia

Every enduring venue, race promoter Brook Watts once said, has a jewel in the crown, its centerpiece.

Libby Hill Park, a.k.a. simply Libby Hill, ably filled that role for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia.

The Park’s winding, cobbled path energized the racing and added a classics flavor to the international atmosphere. Its location on a hillside shaped like a terraced bowl provided plenty of bird’s eye viewpoints for spectators. Strangers lended each other a hand for negotiating the steep slopes with slippery grass underfoot.

Welcome rock garden

Between laps when the spectators waited for the riders to return, the Norwegian contingent belted out songs about Edvald Boasson Hagen. Adventurous Americans posed for photos with the red and blue clad gang. Belgians painted faces with thick red, gold, and black stripes replicating the national flag.

Traditional-style homes bordering the top of the park went all out for the festivities, hanging large and small flags from porches. One home displayed two life-sized riders on a roof; the bent over figure of one mimicking a moment of suffering.

And on a quiet side of Libby Hill, visitors posed with the ubiquitous Virginia “LOVE” emblem. In love with each other. In love with competitive cycling.