Women's Prestige Cycling Series concludes at Cascade Cycling Classic

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National Racing Calendar contenders convene at six-day event

Women's Prestige Cycling Series (WPCS) will conclude at the National Racing Calendar (NRC) series' BMC Cascade Cycling Classic held from July 19-24 in Bend, Oregon. Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad), who is currently leading both the NRC and WPCS, along with last year's event winner Mara Abbott (Diadora-Pasta Zara) will not but will be competing leaving the overall victory wide-open.

Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) will not be defending his title as his team upgraded to from a UCI Continental license to a Pro Continental license and it is no longer eligible to compete in non UCI-sanctioned stage races. Francisco Mancebo (RealCyclist.com) is leading the men's NRC standings and will no doubt put forth a strong performance during the six-day event.

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The WPCS included four of the top stage races in the country including the Redlands Bicycle Classic, Tour of the Gila, Nature Valley Grand Prix and Cascade Cycling Classic. HTC-Highroad squad has dominated the series' standings and is currently the overall team leader. Neben, who won two of the stage races, is currently leading the individual classification and her teammate Chloe Hosking is leading the sprint classification. Denis Ramsden (Juvederm-Specialized) is leading the young rider classification.

Neben's strong domestic performances have also earned her the lead in the NRC individual classification with 536 points. Janel Holcomb (Colavita-Forno D'Asolo), who recently won the Tour de Toona, is trailing behind in second place with 482 points and Erinne Willock (Tibco-To the Top) is in third with 355 points. Because Neben is not starting the final event, strong overall performances from Holcomb and Willock could bump them to the top of the leader board.

Colavita-Forno D'Asolo is leading the NRC team competition with 2449 points, while Tibco-To the Top is sitting in a comfortable second place with 1673 points and HTC-Highroad has 1260 points.

"I'm excited to be bringing such a strong team to the race," said Colavita-Forno D'Asolo Rachel Heal, who returns with half her team from the Giro Donne. "Obviously it would be great to have Cath Cheatley on the squad after her successes at the race last year, but her recovery from injury is going well, which we are happy to hear. Bringing the Tour de Toona and Giro d'Italia squads back together we have a huge depth of talent."

"With Janel Holcomb and Lauren Hall fresh off overall and stage victories at Tour de Toona and Andrea Dvorak showing some impressive climbing performances at the Giro d'Italia, I'm looking forward to some great racing here," she said. "We will race the race to win it, and if we move Janel back into the NRC lead it will be a huge bonus, she has been riding consistently well this year and is developing into a great GC rider."

One rider in attendance who is capable of winning the overall title is six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes (Cycling BC Team), who won the Tour of the Gila. Other contenders are former world champion Kristin Armstrong and Alisha Welsh (Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12), Andrea Dvorak (Colavita-Forno D'Asolo), US National Road Champion Robin Farina (Now-Novartis for MS) and Tara Whitten (Tibco-To the Top).

"Cascade will be about chasing an overall result and we run a typically aggressive style which bodes well for winning stages and we won't change that because we want to be out there to make our mark," said team owner Carl Williams.

"We are very excited with the line-up this year," said Molly Kelley of the Cascade Cycling Classic. "Having Tour veterans like Tony Cruz and Francesco Mancebo raises the calibre of the race. Probably the strongest team right now is Bissell and with the Jacques-Maynes brothers both racing, they will be contenders for the GC. Bend's own Ian Boswell will be here and always gets the local community excited. I think that he is going to do exceptionally well. Michael Creed is also coming who won the event a few years back."

"The courses are challenging, but they aren't so hard that you have to just fight to survive," Kelley said. "Riders need to be tactically smart in order to do well at this race. The race is dramatic up until the end with the final stage of the Awbrey Butte Circuit Race.
 

Kirsten Frattini
Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

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.

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