About 114 "cyclo-cross" racers, some of them nationally known in their sport, invaded Harbin Park on Sunday - and enjoyed punishing their bodies, minds and bicycles at the Bio-Wheels/United Dairy Farmers UCI Cyclo-Cross race.

For 30 to 60 minutes, they bumped along grassy ruts, steered around sharp turns, pushed through a muddy patch, surfed through sand and hurdled over wooden boards while hoisting their bikes.

"It's just relentless," said Amanda McKay, 22, of Petersburg, Ky., sweating, panting and smiling after her race. "You have to be willing to push yourself until you feel like you're going to break."

Sunday's event was Greater Cincinnati's first race to be sanctioned by UCI - Union Cycliste Internationale.

Some elite-class racers traveled here from Canada, Connecticut and Georgia, said Mitch Graham, 32, of Oakley, owner of Bio-Wheels, a Clifton cycling shop that co-sponsored Sunday's race. "It's exciting to the local racing community to see people that they read about in big cycling magazines," he said.

Cyclo-crossing has become popular because of how tough it is, Graham said. "It's technically challenging," he said. "You need a mix of the tactics of road racing with the skills of mountain biking."

Thus, the cyclo-crossing bicycles are hybrids: equipped with thicker tires than road bikes but lighter frames than mountain bikes. Costs range from $800 to $8,000, participants said.

Cyclo-crossers tend to be Type A-personalities: "People who are ambitious and goal-setters," Graham said.

Jim Rollo, 48, of Fairfield, laughed at the notion that cyclo-crossing appears to attract people who are bananas - and like eating them, too.

"People who do this sport are a little bit crazy, because cycling's all about suffering," said Rollo, who belongs to the Queen City Wheels cycling club but came Sunday just to watch.

Many of Sunday's racers were munching on bananas because that potassium-rich fruit helps prevent muscle cramps and supplies carbohydrates for energy, Rollo explained, adding, "Atkins doesn't work around here."

Competitors were vying for more than $4,000 in cash and prizes, plus points that help elevate their ranks with UCI and could make them eligible for national and world competitions.

Sunday's outdoor conditions were idyllic - about 68 degrees under sunny skies with a slight breeze. But if the weather had turned miserably cold and rainy, the race would have gone on, Rollo said. "They won't cancel it for cold or rain," he said. "They do for lightning or tornadoes.

Information: www.kentuckycyclocross.com.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com