A cyclocross race at Alpenrose in 2019 and the cover of the Dairyville Gazette from August 1962.

The beloved racing event site at Alpenrose Dairy is now permanently closed. [Read more…]

Clara Honsinger (left) and the stars and stripes on the podium.
(Image via Flobikes.com video)

Riding past the World Champ like it’s no big deal.

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.

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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A Class 1 “Talon” e-MTB from Giant.

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…]

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

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…]

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

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…]

“This won’t be an off-the-cuff approach. This is serious business and we’re taking it seriously.”
— Mike Ripley, Mudslinger Events

[Read more…]