The legacy of Alpenrose Velodrome will live on
Posted on February 26th, 2021 at 3:10 pm.

It’s no coincidence that the Giordana Velodrome in Rock Hill, South Carolina bears a striking resemblance to Alpenrose.
(Photo: City of Rock Hill)
From road racing to mountain biking, and everything in between, browse the headlines below for coverage of Portland’s competitive racing scene.
Posted on February 26th, 2021 at 3:10 pm.
It’s no coincidence that the Giordana Velodrome in Rock Hill, South Carolina bears a striking resemblance to Alpenrose.
(Photo: City of Rock Hill)
Posted on February 23rd, 2021 at 8:51 am.
The beloved racing event site at Alpenrose Dairy is now permanently closed. [Read more…]
Posted on February 4th, 2021 at 2:30 pm.
Posted on December 22nd, 2020 at 1:59 pm.
Clara Honsinger (left) and the stars and stripes on the podium.
(Image via Flobikes.com video)
Portland local Clara Honsinger continued her ascension into the top ranks of cyclocross with a second place finish at the UCI World Cup in Namur, Belgium on Sunday.
Honsinger (Cannondale P/B Cyclocrossworld.com) stormed through the field and set her sights on a podium finish about half-way through the grueling, one-hour race. On the third lap, Honsinger pedaled past current World Champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Fenix) for third place. “It’s wonderful to see from the American,” said race commentator Anthony McCrossan, who was clearly impressed with the 24-year-old rising star. Not satisfied with a podium position, Honsinger rode the difficult Namur course with enough skill and speed to catch and pass Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) for a comfortable second place finish.
It’s a massive accomplishment for Honsinger to not only get her first European World Cup podium, but to do it at Namur which is considered by most people to be the toughest course on the circuit.
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Honsinger won the U.S. Under-23 National Championship in 2018, then followed it up by winning the Elite National Championship last year. Honsinger raced for Portland-based Sellwood Cycle Repair – Team S&M the past two years and signed a pro contract with the Cannondale – Cyclocrossworld.com team back in August.
Sunday’s performance sets Honsinger up well for the Covid-shortened World Cup scheduled. She’ll have three more races before the UCI World Championships on January 30th.
Keep up with Clara and support her season by following her on Instagram.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Posted on November 25th, 2020 at 5:28 pm.
It’s been one year and one day since Portland hosted its last sanctioned, competitive cycling event. In many ways, 2020 was a lost season for local racers, but 2021 will look a lot different — not only because we are likely to emerge from the Covid cocoon, but because electric bikes will be welcomed into the racing scene for the first time.
In a statement today, Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Executive Director Chuck Kenlan announced that the 2021 season is already coming into focus. Weekly racing is slated to re-start in April and May’s schedule is filling up. “We are approaching the race season with caution and expect the earlier races to run using modified formats that follow the state guidance for outdoor recreation,” Kenlan shared. “Our plan is to work with promoters to help them make their races as safe as possible and still allow for a fun competition.”
Kenlan also said OBRA’s new liability insurance policy will cover events that include a category for “Class 1” electric bikes. [Read more…]
Posted on July 1st, 2020 at 11:01 am.
It’s been 116 days since the last officially sanctioned bicycle race happened in Oregon.
The coronavirus crisis forced the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) to cancel all races on March 12th. What was expected to be a four week hiatus turned into nearly four months. Dozens of events have been cancelled statewide, resulting in a major blow to OBRA’s finances, a hit to promoters’ pocketbooks, lots of frustrated athletes, and a loss of tourism dollars for the many cities and small towns that host races.
That sad streak will be broken this Sunday when racers show up to Blodgett, Oregon (just east of Corvallis) for the 33rd annual Mudslinger cross-country mountain bike race.[Read more…]
Posted on June 17th, 2020 at 11:20 am.
The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, our state’s official sanctioning body for competitive cycling, knows it isn’t doing enough to support participation of Black, Indigenous and people of color. And they’ve taken a first step to do something about it.
In a statement shared with the group’s 4,500 members yesterday, OBRA Board of Director members Stacy Westbrook and Christy Hawkins wrote, “The events over the last few weeks have shone a spotlight on the systemic racism prevalent in our communities. OBRA recognizes that the cycling industry, and the sport of cycling, has contributed to this.”[Read more…]
Posted on May 13th, 2020 at 10:59 am.
“This won’t be an off-the-cuff approach. This is serious business and we’re taking it seriously.”
— Mike Ripley, Mudslinger Events
Posted on March 20th, 2020 at 9:25 am.
Sad face emoji.
Posted on March 17th, 2020 at 2:29 pm.
Start of Echo Red to Red MTB race in downtown Echo, Oregon.
(Photos: Facebook)