Corinth’s Craig solid in R.I. event Mountain biker picks up two top-5 finishes

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Adam Craig of Corinth earned a pair of top-five finishes over the weekend at the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships held at Roger Williams Park.

Craig, the 24-year-old World Cup mountain biker sponsored by Giant Bicycles and Pearl Izumi, finished third among 116 starters who battled a snow-covered course in Saturday’s elite men’s cyclo-cross race, then placed fourth Sunday among 72 starters in the Liberty Cup event.

Todd Wells, 29, of Durango, Colo., won both events, and with the Liberty Cup victory earned his second career elite men’s national cyclo-cross championship. With the win, he earned an automatic bid to the International Cycling Union’s world championships to be held in the Netherlands in January.

Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing that takes place typically in the autumn and winter, and consists of many laps of a short (2 to 3 kilometer) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills, and obstacles requiring the rider to dismount, jump the barrier and remount. The sport is administered by the International Cycling Union; it began in the 1940s and the first world championship was held in Paris in 1950.