(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
It might be hard to believe, since we’re just now getting in the groove of summer, but cyclocross season is right around the corner. The first official cyclocross race of the season is just three weeks away.
If you’ve been meaning to brush up on your ‘cross skills, or if this will be your first season and you want to gain some confidence in your riding, you are in luck. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) calendar is full of skills clinics led by experts and designed to help you get the most out of your racing.
Check out three of the best local cyclocross clinics in our round-up below:
Wenzel Coaching
Wenzel is offering three clinics this year featuring coaches Rhonda Morin (CX national master’s bronze medalist), Martin Baker (Oregon MTB XC Champ), and Elaine Bothe (Oregon MTB XC Champ). The clinics will cover a wide range of essential skills and they’ll break participants into small groups for focused attention. They’ll also share insights on nutrition, clothing, and other gear-related issues. The classes will be on August 19th, August 26th and Sunday, September 8th and each one builds on lessons learned in the previous week.
Price is $35 per clinic or $95 for the entire series. Learn more and register online at WenzelCoaching.com.
Private Coaching with Sue Butler
Sue Butler is a local cyclocross star with many championships to her name (her awesome bike-friendly house was also the subject of a Wall Street Journal article a few years back). This year, she’s offering one-on-one cyclocross clinics aimed at people who don’t want to learn in a group, want seriously focused training, and want to do it on their own schedule. Sue says you can also bring a friend a two along and learn as a small group.
Prices vary depending on duration of lesson and number of people (maximum is three). More details here.
Alpenrose CX Clinics by Upper Echelon Fitness and Rehabilitation
This is the fifth year in a row that Alpenrose Dairy has hosted a series of weekly ‘cross clinics. These are a great option for all levels of riders and they happen at 6:00 pm each Tuesday and Thursday (women and juniors only) at Alpenrose Dairy. The folks at Upper Echelon have been doing ‘cross clinics for over a decade and they know their stuff. Expect small groups and hands-on instruction.
See UpperEchelonFitness.com for full details.
Hosmer Chiropractic Cyclocross Training Series
Hosmer is offering a series of training rides and clinics each Thursday starting August 15th. The rides are led by Hosmer coaches Josh Liberles, Karey Miles and Dr. Seth Hosmer himself and they meet at the Hosmer Chiropractic Health Clinic at 1030 NW Marshall. A full range of cross skills (including tips on gear and so on) will be taught on the rides. They’ll also be using some high-tech, real-time video analysis “so you will immediately be able to see how you can improve your mounts, dismounts, shouldering technique, etc.”
You can register for individual clinics ($35) or the full series ($95) at OBRA.org. Get full details via this PDF.
Sellwood Cycle/Team S & M Beginner ‘Cross Clinics
Learn the basics and become ‘cross-proficient from the legendary local team S & M. These are the official clinics of the Cross Crusade and they’re a great bargain at just $10 per session. They start August 28th and continue on September 4th and 11th. All clinics held at Alpenrose Dairy and begin at 6:15.
To register and learn more, check out the event flyer at CrossCrusade.com.
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As all these clinic offerings demonstrate, Portland has an amazing cyclocross scene. Now is the time to get your OBRA membership in order (required to attend the clinics), find a cyclocross bike, and start practicing! We’ll see you out there as BikePortland has a lot of ‘cross coverage planned for this season thanks in part to our friends at Sellwood Cycle Repair.