Saturday’s Brownstown Road Race should be an intimate gathering among strangers.
Online registration for the race closed Thursday evening. There will be no same-day registration. And, according to the list of confirmed riders, there will be only 103 people racing in 11 different categories. That number is slightly more than the number of racers in a single category of RedRoseRaces’ events earlier this year.
Although there are riders from local teams competing, most riders are coming from outside the area, including a few Australians registered for the Category 1/2/3 race. Those racers might be expected to be unaware of a boycott of the race - and other Pro-Am Cycling events - called for by some local racers. That boycott has apparently succeeded in keeping many riders away.
The call for a boycott came after David Butterworth, controlling partner in Lancaster-based RedRoseRaces cancelled the remainder of the race promotion company’s season earlier this month. Butterworth revived the Brownstown race and two others under his Pro-Am Cycling banner. Some riders have expressed anger at Butterworth and his actions. Others are expressing loyalty to RedRoseRaces founder Rich Ruoff, who was thrown out of work with the sudden collapse of the company.
More information about the controversy, from Ruoff’s and Butterworth’s perspectives, can be found under the tabs at the top of the page labled “RRR:Butterworth’s side” and “RRR:Ruoff’s side.”
