Ian Boswell (Trek-Livestrong) working hard to hold onto his GC position.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Ian Boswell (Trek-Livestrong) didn't have to travel far for his hometown race.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Ian Boswell (Trek-Livestrong) on the front on the climb.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Trek-Livestrong's Ian Boswell is hoping to put forth a strong performance during the ‘queen' stage three at the Cascade Cycling Classic. The Bend native will have the home-town advantage and plenty of cheering support when the race heads up the final ascent to the top of Mt Bachelor Ski Resort.
"Cascade Classic is a hometown race and I always wanted to do well," Boswell told Cyclingnews. "I was training hard the last couple of weeks and looking at all the stages. "I could try and go for a stage win or go for the mountaintop finishes."
Boswell had a good start to the Cascade Cycling Classic placing fourth during the stage one Mackenzie Pass Road Race that finished atop a lengthy ascent to Three Creeks Snow Park. RealCyclist.com teammates Cesar Grajales and Francisco Mancebo placed first and second respectively ahead of Alex Howes of Chipotle Development in third.
He is a likely stage three podium contender because of its elevation gain. It will start at the Summit High School in Bend head up an opening 24 kilometre ascent. The race will pass one smaller climb before hitting a nearly 30 kilometres of a predominantly uphill drudge to the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. Boswell is not the only climber on the team and pointed to his teammates George Bennett and Carter Jones as possible threats. The team lost one of its strong climbers, Dale Parker, to a crash in stage one.
Boswell had a head-turning season last year with a strong performance at the Navada City Cycling Classic and a third place finish atop Mt. Nebo at the Tour of Utah's second stage, behind Levi Leipheimer from RadioShack and Francisco Mancebo who is now racing for RealCyclist.com.
This year he has spent most of his time racing overseas with the USA Cycling Under 23 National Team contesting events such as the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Giro della Toscana and several one day races. He returned Stateside to contest the Mt Hood Cycling Classic, Nevada City Cycling Classic, which he won, and the USA Cycling Under 23 National Championships.
"I was there until mid-April," Boswell said. "It was all right. I didn't have stellar form and had some health issues. I was wanting to gear up for the second part of the year. It was good racing and a good experience."
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The Cascade Cycling Classic was scheduled as one of the opening events to the second half of the season for Trek-Livestrong. The team was focused on competing at the UCI 2.1 events Tour of Utah and USA Pro Cycling Challenge in August. After being invited to contest the two events, the UCI reversed its decision and will not permit the team from starting due to its affiliation with participating team RadioShack, according to rule 2.2.001.
The team's directeur sportif Axel Merckx is currently discussing a possible solution with the UCI that might allow the team to start the Tour of Utah and USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
"This race was supposed to be the start of my second half of the season," Boswell said. "But, we aren't sure if we can do Tour of Utah and Colorado.We were supposed to but it is looking like that is not going to happen."
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.
