Alison Powers (Team Type 1) the Wheaties Sprint Jersey leader as well as the current Women's Prestige Series leader.
It will be a loaded week for double series leader Alison Powers (Team Type 1) as she heads into the Cascade Classic hoping to wrap up the overall victory in both the Women's Prestige Cycling Series (WPCS) and the National Racing Calendar Series (NRC). The race will also be good preparation to defend her US National Time Trial title the following week in Bend, Oregon.
The Women's Prestige Cycling Series heads into its fourth and final round at the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic set to begin on Tuesday, July 21 in Bend. As the series leader, Powers starts the final stage race with 484 points, well ahead of Katharine Carroll (TIBCO) at 300 points and third placed Katheryn Mattis (Webcor) with 275 points.
"I would love to wrap up the Women's Prestige Cycling Series with a win and also the NRC win because it is the last stage race for that series as well," said Powers who will stay and compete in the US Elite National Championship the following week in the same city. "Also, I think the time trial at Cascade is similar to the one at nationals so I can use that as a nice preparation."
The WPCS four-rounds began in March at the Redlands Cycling Classic held in California. It continued in May at the Joe Martin Stage Race and in Arkansas, followed by the Nature Valley Grand Prix held in June in Minnesota. The competition will heat up in Oregon, where the country's best riders will amass for the finale.
"The field is going to be really strong at Cascade this week," Powers said. "I think it is the first time that we have all raced together since Nature Valley. It is great that so many riders will be here. We will have a smaller team going but still hope for some good results there if we can."
Several of the nation's leading women's professional cycling teams stand out in the rankings with Powers leading both the individual standings and the series' best sprinter competition. Powers is tied at 209 points with Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home), with Kirsty Broun (Riverstones-CDA) and Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) tied for third place with 165 points.
Webcor-Builders dominates the series' best young rider competition with Rebecca Much leading the way with 484 points ahead of teammate Alexis Rhodes who has 429 points and Julie Beveridge (TIBCO) at 308 points.
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Team TIBCO tops the scoreboard as the series' best overall team with a total of 769 points. Trailing not too far behind is team Webcor-Builders with 740 points and Team Type 1 with 655 points.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
