Cycling Classic will come to Sisters

Sisters will be the center of activity for Stage Two of the annual Columbia River Bank Cascade Cycling Classic as the elite men and women riders race through town tomorrow on their way to the finish line at the Upper Three Creek Lake Sno-Park.

Two Sisters men, Greg Zadow and Rich Hummel, will compete representing the Sisters Cycling Club in the Category 3/Masters races, which include four stages over three days.

Hummel, a personal trainer at Sisters Athletic Club who moved to Tollgate seven months ago from Tacoma, has raced throughout the Northwest since 1995.

He and Zadow, a physical therapist with a practice in Sisters, train and race together. Both are shooting for a finish among the top ten this week.

The Classic, in its 23rd year, is a five-stage event that combines two road races, a time trial, and two circuit races, over a four day period, and includes over $21,500 in prize money. The Category 3/Masters racers follow a different schedule from the professionals, racing four times in three days.

"The Cascade Cycling Classic attracts some of the premier cyclists in America," said Hummel. "This year's favorite in the professional category is Chris Horner of Sunriver, who will probably be leading when the cyclists enter Sisters on Thursday."

Horner, who leads the Prime Alliance team, is likely to race in the prestigious Tour de France within the next year or two.

Hummel noted that Stage Two, which includes only the elite riders, is probably the toughest road race section in the United States and that the Classic in general favors strong climbers.

All categories participate in the Pilot Butte time trial on Friday, which is just over a mile in length, all uphill.

"It's heinous," said Hummel. "Five-and-a-half minutes of agony."

Each stage of the race has a corporate sponsor.

For example, the first stage Pacific Power Road Race for the professional men got underway today with a course that starts in Bend, travels all the way around Crane Prairie Reservoir, and returns back to Bend, for a total of 110 miles.

Teams work together to help their top rider claim the individual title.

Racers must finish each stage to qualify for the next and all stages count toward the overall standings.

Stage Two, the Deschutes Brewery Road Race, is a 72-mile road race with over 7,000 feet of total climbing. It starts at the highway maintenance facility at the Santiam Junction and heads south on Highway 126 to the McKenzie Scenic Highway, continues up and over the McKenzie Pass, passes through Sisters to Three Creeks Road, and finishes at the Upper Three Creeks Sno-Park.

The men start at 11 a.m. and the women at 11:15 a.m., so riders can be viewed in the vicinity of Sisters in the early afternoon and should come into town around 1 p.m.

Spectators in town can view the cyclists as they turn off of McKenzie Highway onto Hood Avenue (behind Les Schwab), turn right onto Pine Street to Jefferson and proceed to Elm Street and on out Three Creeks Road. Friday includes two races in Bend, featuring an individual time trial against the clock up Pilot Butte during the day and a circuit race in downtown Bend in the evening.

The circuit races, which begin at 7 p.m., are spectator friendly and feature breakaways, sprints, and "premiums", which are cash and merchandise prizes for lap winners. Saturday all categories are featured in the Kirby Nagelhout Construction Grand Prix, which is a seven mile circuit race in the Tumalo area that covers a total of about 70 miles.

Racing concludes on Sunday with the Volkswagen/Carrera Motors Old Mill District Criterium, which begins at 10 a.m. in the Old Mill District.

"If people want to get a first hand look at the highest level of American cycle racing, this is the chance to do it," said Hummel.

For information visit www.cascade-classic.org.