Oregon's Site for Bicycle Racing News

BEND — USA Cycling announced today that it has awarded the 2011 and 2012 Masters Road National Championships to Bend.

Following the city’s successful hosting of the Elite,U/23 and Juniors road and the cyclocross national championships, the cycling hotbed is now poised to host another round of the nation’s best. Held in Louisville, Kentucky, 2008 through 2010, the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships are scheduled to go off in Bend Aug. 30 – Sept. 4, 2011 and Aug. 27 – Sept. 2, 2012.

“(T)he two USA Cycling National Championship events hosted by the city in 2009 brought Bend $2.5 million dollars in direct tourist spending.”

The two-year agreement between USA Cycling, the sport’s national governing body, and Visit Bend is expected to bring more than 800 competitors and 2,500 visitors to the Pacific Northwestern city for seven days of racing leading up to the Labor Day Weekend. (more…)

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. (more…)

Oregon’s VeloNews subscribers got a nice surprise in their mailboxes today. The March April issue of the magazine features Alpenrose Velodrome regular and Portland-based Rubicon-ORBEA rider Dean Tracy in a two page Cor Vos “Off the Front” photo spread. The Oregon rider is shown avoiding a crash at the Rotterdam Six day event.

From the magazine:

“American Dean Tracy said he could hear all 10,000 spectators gasp in unison as he narrowly avoided tumbling Dutchman Teun Mulder midway through the keirin. …Tracy, who hails from Portland, Oregon, is a two-time national team sprint champion making his first attempt at six-day racing in Europe this season. Stateside, he rides for the Rubicon Orbea team as a track specialist.”

Way to go, Dean.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Saturday’s Sublime Sublimity Cat 3 men’s winner William O’Donnell doubled up over the weekend by setting the fastest men’s overall mark at Sunday’s Jack Frost Time Trial. Sabrina Savage was the fastest woman on the course.

O’Donnell (Westwood Velo) covered the 14-mile out-and-back course in 28:56.9, nearly a minute faster than second-place rider Quinn Keogh (Rubicon-ORBEA), who set a pace of 29:42.9. Fred Keown (bicycleattorney.com), a Cat 4 rider who clocked a 29:49.1, was the third fastest male rider.

Women’s winner Sabrina Savage (Trisports.com/Eclipse Racing) flew over the course for a time of 33:55.5. Veloforma’s Elise Huggins set the second fastest women’s mark on the day at 35:04.1. Hammer Velo’s Lindsay Kandra crossed the line in 35:53.0, the third best women’s time.

Junior Grant McElroy set the fastest junior pace on a shortened course, crossing the line in 23:30.6. Todd Marley covered the full course in 26:42.8 on his recumbent. Gary Ellis and John Hatfield won the Tandem event with a 33:29.5 mark.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Jack Frost Time Trial
Vancouver, Wash.
Sunday, Feb. 21

Men Overall
1. William O’Donnell (Westwood Velo) 28:56.9
2. Quinn Keogh (Rubicon-ORBEA) 29:42.9
3. Fred Keown (bicycleattorney.com) 29:49.1
4. Aaron Sander (Cyclepath) 29:53.2
5. Trevor Spahr (Ironclad Performance Wear) 30:08.6

Women Overall
1. Sabrina Savage (Trisports.com/Eclipse Racing) 33:55.5
2. Elise Huggins (Veloforma) 35:04.1
3. Lindsay Kandra (Hammer Velo) 35:53.0
4. Sarah Tisdale (Sorella Forte) 36:08.5
5. Jennifer Woodruff (Hammer Velo) 36:45.9

Complete results are HERE.

The 2010 Sublime Sublimity Circuit Race took place under sunny skies on the rural farm roads about 20 miles east of Salem. The difficult course once again proved to be the main antagonist as the rollers and winds quickly whittled fields to an exclusive few.

Cyclepath’s Ryan Carlson won the men’s Pro/1/2 race. MacKenzie Madison (Therapeutic Associates/GNR8) rode to victory in the women’s Pro1/2/3 event. William O’Donnell (Westwood Velo) one a two-up sprint to take the men’s Cat 3 race. Jeffrey Otto (Portland Velo) won the field sprint in the Masters 40+ race, while Brendon Gallant (Willamette U./Capitol Velo) slipped off the front of the men’s Cat 4/5 race in the closing kilometers to take the win. Ironclad Performance Wear’s Anna Christiansen won her second women’s Cat 4 race in a row. The cycling newcomer entered and won her first-ever race last week at Cherry Pie.

Check out some PHOTOS of the race. (more…)

SUBLIMITY – Ryan Carlson (Cyclepath) celebrated his recent return to cycling after a 10-year absence by taking a solo win Saturday in the men’s Pro/1/2 event of the Sublime Sublimity Circuit Race. MacKenzie Madison (Therapeutic Associates/GNR8) survived a shattered four-rider breakaway to take the women’s race.

The endless rollers and exposed wind sections of the Sublimity course took their toll on the racers again this year. Thirty-six riders started the 53-mile men’s Pro/1/2 race; only 16 finished. Eight riders had dropped out just 20 miles into the race.

Carlson, who took up racing again in 2009 after being away from the sport for a decade, broke away from the main field on second of four laps. Seattle’s Sam Johnson (Hagens Berman), fifth at last week’s Cherry Pie, quickly joined Carlson up the road and began supplying most of the power for the two-rider breakaway.

The strategy initially paid off as the pair of riders was able to stay from the decimated field going into the final miles, but Johnson paid the price for his workload before they made it to the finish.

“Going over one of the hills I started feeling like, uh oh, what have I done to myself here,” Johnson said of impending implosion. “We only had like 35 seconds on those guys, so I gave it one more good hard effort to make sure the gap ballooned back up. And then …” (more…)

HOOD RIVER — The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic pro women’s race is back on for 2010. Race Director Chad Sperry announced today that the June stage race will reinstate the event after previously deciding not to run an elite women’s race this year.

“After our initial press release was sent out regarding the postponement of the 2010 Women’s race, we were hit with an outpouring of support, enthusiasm, and commitment,” Sperry wrote via e-mail.

Sperry said many elite women racers have have committed to attending and supporting the event despite conflicts with National Race Calendar events. A scheduling conflict with the Liberty Classic in Philadelphia, one of only two women’s UCI races remaining in North America, reduced Hood’s women’s elite field to just 25 riders last year.

The USAC Pro/Cat 1 men and Cat 2 men will begin racing Tuesday with two stages in Portland. The Pro/1/2/3 women will begin racing — along with the rest of the OBRA categories — Thursday with a stage that begins in Washington under the Shadow of Mt. Adams. Cat 3 women will race with the Pro/1/2 riders but will be scored separately.

“There will be no Cat 4 race this year, as the difficult nature of the courses and challenging venues is better suited to the elite women,” Sperry said. “In addition, the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic is focusing on providing Cat 3 and 4 women with a tremendous spring stage race in which to compete.”

Sperry also announced that Omer Kem has taken on the role as event “liaison” for the women’s race.

SUBLIMITY — At just over 13 miles, the course for the Sublime Sublimity Circuit Race is quickly gaining a reputation as an early season slug fest that features a lot of rolling ups and downs but very little level ground.

A short-but-sweet vertically significant detour is added onto the last lap for the finishing kick. Beginning groups cover two laps of the circuit before hitting the detour and the finale. The Men Pro/1/2 cover 4 laps, and everyone else does three.

Evan Plews won last year’s Men’s Cat 1/2 race fresh off his triumphant trip south for the 24 Hours at the Old Pueblo endurance MTB race. Jen Akeroyd won the Women’s Cat 1/2/3 race.

Check out some photos from last year’s race. (more…)

BEND — The Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic will once again be part of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, which features four national-caliber stage races that promise to showcase the country’s top female cycling talent.

The four events take place in four different states, beginning in March and running through July:

* March 25-28 – Redlands Bicycle Classic (California)
* April 28-May 2 – SRAM Tour of the Gila (New Mexico)
* June 16-20 – Nature Valley Grand Prix (Minnesota)
* July 20-25 – Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic (Oregon)

This is the second year that the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic has been a part of the series. The Nature Valley Grand Prix has been in every Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, and the Redlands Classic is in the line-up for the sixth time in seven years. New to the calendar is the SRAM Tour of the Gila, which replaces the Joe Martin Stage Race.

The 2010 season opener is in the books. The Cherry Pie Road Race drew 535 competitors onto the rolling rural roads northwest of Albany. The weather was unexpectedly dry, and the fields drew riders from Washington, Idaho and California.

Check out the Cycling Action photo gallery for this race. (more…)