Old favorites, new treats planned for 2010 season

Feb 25, 2010 by editor

With three races already under its belt, the 2010 Oregon cycling season is starting to simmer, and it’s seasoned with all the best time-tested races and some fancy new offerings to keep things interesting.

In With The New
The biggest change could come for riders seeking an OBRA road race championship — they may need to tweak their training peaks a bit. The Rehearsal Road Race and OBRA Championship Road Race have been moved to August from the the early June dates they occupied in 2009. The 2010 road races, which will take place in the Columbia River Gorge on courses that promoter Chad Sperry promises will be spectacular, run Saturday, Aug. 7 for the Rehearsal and Saturday, Aug. 28 for the OBRA Championships.

But the first of the brand new events is a three-race time trial series outside of Wilsonville. The As the Raven Flies Time Trial runs consecutive Saturdays, March 6, 13 and 20. The Salem Downtown Criterium will run April 3 in conjunction with the Willamette U. collegiate race.

May offers up a harvest of new events for Oregon riders, starting with the Bend Don’t Brake road race May 8 in Central Oregon. The Umpqua Criterium, promoted by Sal Collura, looks very promising. The Roseburg race runs May 29 in conjunction with a recreational ride that traverses the county. The next day features the Umpqua Road Race promoted by Ryan Champion.

Criteriums seem to be a popular adddition during the mid-season. The new Portland Criterium Series starts June 13 and runs through the summer. The Salem Twilight Criterium scheduled for June 19 and the Sisters Criterium June 26 are new to the schedule The Clackamas Criterium is scheduled for July 17, just one day before the Sunday Gresham Criterium. Ironclad is joining the schedule with new race and new format for the Oregon scene. The Ironclad Street Sprints are scheduled for Saturday, July 24, followed by the Ironclad Criterium on Sunday. And as the season transitions into fall and cyclocross, promoter Kris Schamp has some more tricks up his sleeve with the Helvetia farm Crit scheduled for Aug. 9

New Twists On Some Old Favorites
Although it’s a well-established Oregon spring classic, the Piece of Cake Road Race will be moving to a different location for 2010. Gone is the pancake-flat route near Woodland, Wash., that traversed the sometimes-treacherous dikes along the Columbia River and its tributaries. The 2010 Piece of Cake course will take place on a 12.5 circuit southwest of Amity that promises mostly flat roads with a few slight rollers. Start is at the Perrydale School.

The Mt. Tabor Circuit Race should be back May 23 after a one-year hiatus for course repairs in the park. June starts off with a bang when the 2010 Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cycling Classic heads back to Portland for two stages June 1 and 2. The first stage, a prologue time trial at PIR, will be brand new to the event. The next stage will revisit Mt. Tabor, where the race’s pro peletons flew over the course in 2008. Then the stage race heads to the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood for more stages and its finale Sunday, June 6.

MTB: Heading For The Hills

The Oregon XC Series kicks off March 6 with the Echo Red To Red — back for its second running — and continues April 11 at Horning’s Hustle north of Hillsboro. The series features 10 off-road races throughout the state, culminating with Pickett’s Charge on June 27. The series will also host the Junior Mountain Cup for younger riders.

The National Spotlight
Bend will also continue to build its national reputation as a bicycle racing mecca in 2010. For the second year in a row, the Central Oregon city will host the USA Cycling Junior, U/23 and Elite Road National Championships June 22-27. The week-long event will award national titles in the road race, criterium and time trial events. New to the schedule for 2010 will be the elite men’s and women’s criteriums, which in the past have been held in conjunction with the USAC Professional Criterium National Championships. This year’s races will take place about a month before the NRC-ranked Cascade Cycling Classic invades Bend for a week in July. Last year’s championships took place the week after Cascade. The big fall/winter show will be back in Bend for 2010 as well when the USAC Cyclocross national Championships hit town Dec. 9-12.

OREGON XC SCHEDULE
March 6 — Echo Red to Red
April 11– Hornings Hustle
April 25 — Bear Springs Trap
May 2 — *Peak Sports Mudslinger (Jr Mtn Cup)
May 11 — Cascade Chainbreaker
May 16 — *Spring Thaw (Jr Mtn Cup)
May 30 — Sisters Stampede XC
June 6 — Return on the Jedi
June 20 — Test Of Endurance 50
June 27 — *Pickett’s Charge (Finals/Jr Mtn Cup and Oregon XC Series)

OBRA ROAD RACE HIGHLIGHTS
April 23-25 – Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic (The Dalles)
May 8 – Bend Don’t Brake (Bend)
May 29 – Umpqua Criterium (Roseburg)
May 30 – Umpqua Road Race (Roseburg)
June 3-6 – Mt. Hood Cycling Classic (Hood River)
June 18-20 – Elkhorn Classic Stage Race (Baker City)
July 23-25 – Cascade Stage Race (Bend)
Aug. 7 – OBRA Rehearsal Road Race (The Gorge)
Aug. 28 – OBRA Road Race Championships (The Gorge)

USA CYCLING RACES
June 1-6 – Mt. Hood Cycling Classic (Portland/Hood River) Pro/Cat 1 Men, Cat 2 Men
June 22-27 – USAC Junior, U/23 and Elite National Road Championships (Bend)
July 20-25 – Cascade Cycling Classic (Bend) National Race Calendar Event
Dec. 9-12 – USAC Cyclocross National Championships (Bend)