The Oregon Interscholastic Cycling League is opening its mountain bike season in Prineville Aug. 23-24.
The Butte, Scoot and Boogie Prologue event kicks off the league’s season. Racing is scheduled for most of the day Saturday, with an opportunity for teams to ride the course, which is located in the Barnes Butte Recreation area, on Friday afternoon and evening.
The Oregon Interscholastic Cycling League is divided into a northern and southern division with 10 teams in each division. A team from Prineville, called Prineville Composite, or PComp for short, joined the league three years ago with a three-person team. Last year the team had grown to nine competitors. Pcomp has seen continued growth, with 21 riders and nine certified coaches involved in the program this year.
In order to keep prices down for racers, several local businesses have helped sponsor PComp including Crooked Tails Veterinary Clinic, Good Bike Co., Ochoco Dental, ArcAsylum, New-Unknown, Sherptek and Edward Jones. There have also been some private donations that have helped bring mountain biking to the local community.
Riders range in age from sixth grade through seniors in high school, with multiple divisions based on both age and ability. On a typical race weekend, the Northern division will compete on either Saturday or Sunday, with the Southern division competing on the other day. PComp competes in the Southern division. Divisions alternate between competition days throughout the season. However, the opening weekend in Prineville is not going to be a typical race.
In most of the season riders race on laps of between three and four and a half miles in length, with the least experienced riders racing for one lap and subsequent divisions competing over from between two and four laps. However, this year the Oregon Scholastic Cycling League is beginning the season with a prologue, which consists of a single four-mile loop. Each team will have their own start time for their middle school riders and a separate start time for high school riders. Riders will leave the start one rider at a time, racing against the clock over a four-mile course. Once all of the riders from one team have left the starting line, the next team on the schedule will stage for their races.
Although the prologue will be used to help identify what division riders are capable of competing in, it is not intended to place riders into divisions. Instead, riders are placed in their divisions by their age, and how high they placed during the 2023 season. However, individual riders may be allowed to move up to higher divisions based on their showing in the prologue.
Teams are allowed to choose what order their team members leave the starting line in, a decision that requires strategy as faster riders typically leave the starting line later.
In order to help determine their strategy, PComp held a time trial earlier in August on the race course. The team has been training three times a week since July 1, so is anxious to finally be racing. Training has been both morning and evening on Tuesdays, and on Thursday evenings, although riders may well ride additional miles on their own.
Coaching certification is required in order to work with a team, with certification divided into three levels. Level one is a general volunteer or ride supporter, level two may be an assistant coach or a ride leader, while level three certification allows an individual to be an assistant coach or a head coach.
Teams are required to have no more than six riders per level one or level two certified coach and no more than eight riders per level three coach, ensuring that each athlete has plenty of individual attention and supervision.
Racing begins Saturday morning with Northern division teams taking the course. The Southern division is scheduled to begin racing at approximately noon, with racing continuing throughout the afternoon. Following the conclusion of Saturdays prologue individuals with the fastest times in their division will be recognized.
In addition to racing, there are other events scheduled for the weekend. There will be a root beer float social for the athletes sponsored by Prineville Composite from 6 to 8 p.m. near the pickleball courts in Ochoco Creek Park. In addition, there will be a skills clinic for girls and women on Sunday morning beginning at 8 a.m. with instruction in maneuvering through tight corners and rocky sections as well as other skills work.
Limited parking is available on site, however, race organizers have reserved parking at Barnes Butte Elementary for overflow parking.
The traditional course in Prineville runs up onto the side of Barnes Butte. However, the course for the prologue stays down on the flatter portions of the recreation area, starting near the parking area and finishing on top of the small hill just east of the parking area, on the former horse race track.
Spectators should be able to view racers from anywhere on the paved path that runs throughout the recreation area.
For more information about joining Prineville Composite, email team director and head coach Randy Winders at randywinders61@gmail.com. For more information about the Oregon Interscholastic Cycling League go to their website at oregonmtb.org.
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