Published on: February 16th, 2010
The Pro/1/2/3 Women's race is back on for the 2010 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. In this photo, ValuAct Capital's Leah Goldstein battles Bend's Teri Sheasby to the finish of the Wy'East stage at Mt. Hood Meadows last year.
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.
Published on: February 5th, 2010
Rob Britton, from the Canadian Trek/Red Truck Cycling Team, played off the leaders' battle for the overall and took the Wy'East stage win at a still-snow-covered Mt. Hood Meadows during the 2009 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.
HOOD RIVER — Oregon’s nationally regarded Mt. Hood Cycling Classic has some big changes in store for 2010. Although the pro men’s race is growing from four stages to six — two of them planned for Portland — this year’s event won’t have a pro/elite race for the women.
Promoter Chad Sperry said conflicts with other NRC races draw away too much top female talent, making Hood’s elite women fields too small to be viable right now. But Sperry also guaranteed the pro/elite women will return to the 2011 line-up when organizers attempt to get the race back on the National Race Calendar schedule — possibly adopting the late-May dates vacated by the now-defunct UCI-ranked races in Montreal.
As it stands now on the calendar, Mt. Hood competes for top-tier women racers with Philadelphia’s Liberty Classic, a huge draw for women’s team’s because it is the only remaining UCI race for women in North America. Besides the Liberty Classic on June 6, Hood’s six-day schedule clashes with other NRC races, including the Richmond Twilight Criterium on June 3 and Tulsa Tough June 4-6. Mt. Hood fielded 52 pro/elite women riders in 2008 when it was on the NRC schedule, but that number dipped to just 25 in 2009 when Mt. Hood dropped off the national calendar. (more…)
Published on: January 11th, 2010
Oregon's variety of scenic terrain offers some of the best road racing in the country.
Oregon is blessed with a bountiful supply of quality stage races and the world class roads to host them. Stage racing starts in April and spreads out through the summer. Here are just a few photo highlights from The Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic, The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, The Elkhorn Classic Stage Race and the granddaddy of them all, Bend’s National Race Calendar ranked Cascade Classic.
Check out the PHOTO GALLERY …
(more…)
