Race Weekends (Omniums)
Road races are held on weekends March to April or May; our carpools depart Friday afternoon (accommodating racers’ class schedules) and we stay in the homes of other collegiate teams and alumni. In the Northwest, each school hosting a race finds people to host visiting teams—cheaper than hotels and creates a great community of racers from around the Northwest. Rise and shine early Saturday morning for the road race, a 2-4 hour race in a big group on country roads. Then, we rest for a few hours and compete in the team time trial, a race against the clock of 5-10 miles with just 2-3 teammates. Sunday morning, we race in the criterium, a fast race in a big group on a mile or so course with several corners, doing as many laps as possible in 20-60 minutes. We return to Bellingham Sunday night. We race in Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and around Washington state.
Road Race Categories
Riders race in categories according to their skill and experience, with A being the highest category and C being the beginner, for both men and women. Riders can decide to move up to the next higher category after they accrue upgrade points based on their placing in races and number of race starts. Only A level riders may compete at Collegiate National Championships.
If you’ve never raced before, don’t worry, get excited! Collegiate riders come from a huge range of cycling backgrounds, and you’ll quickly learn and have support from your other teammates. Even if you don’t keep up with the large group (peloton), there are bound to be a few other riders your pace to ride with and you will not be left behind!
2019-2020 Schedule
|
Location |
Date |
| Oregon State / U. of Oregon | March 21-22 |
| U. of Washington / Seattle U | April 4-5 |
| Western Washington U. | April 11-12 |
| Montana State | April 18-19 |
| U. of Idaho / Whitman College (Champs) | April 25-26 |
| Nationals | May 8-10 |