World's Best Cyclists Compete in Downtown Basking Ridge

The National Criterium Calendar (NCC) BaseCamp International race, held on Thursday night in downtown Basking Ridge, is both an international cycling event, and a local tradition.

The race, presented by Verizon Wireless, was held for the seventh year. Liberty Cycle of Basking Ridge launched the race and is promoter of the event.

Greg Cordasco, co-owner of Liberty Corner and organizer of the race, said that 99 cyclists from around the world participated, and about half finished. "It was a hot night," he observed.

The cyclists repeated a .9-mile race loop around downtown Basking Ridge 44 times — at top speed — in order to finish.

"It was really exciting," said Miles Cicchetti of Basking Ridge, one of the local spectators at the race. Miles said he does bike, but also skateboards and rides a scooter.

Individual winners in this year's race were Carlos Alzate of Colombia, first place, who won $3,150; Richardo Escuela of Argentina, second place; and Hilton Clark of Australia, who came in third.

The race was to offer $15,000 in prize money for individual cyclists and teams, for a competition featuring a technical course of turns and sprints designed to lure top riders, according to information from Liberty Cycle.

A stunt rider performance was part of the evening's entertainment, along with food and drink outdoors along the downtown.

A portion of the proceeds from the event were to go to Bike4ALS, a 501(c)(3) organization with the mission of raising a greater awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Riders from the area, including Basking Ridge, already have ridden in fundraising rides for that cause.