This week the team will again be split across the country in two vastly different but equally respectable races, the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. BISSELL’s 5 man team at Mt. Hood consists of Burke Swindlehurst, Paul Mach, Omer Kem, Graham Howard, and Morgan Schmitt. The roster for Philly includes Ben Jacques-Maynes, Andy Jacques-Maynes, Tom Zirbel, Kirk O’Bee, Jeremy Vennell, Frank Pipp, Cody O'Reilly and Peter Latham.
The 5 stage Mt Hood Classic begins with an opening prologue on Wednesday, June 3rd. The short 3.1 mile course coupled with a downhill sloping course will create a blistering pace where each rider will push himself to the max. The next day’s 85 mile road race will challenge the riders with 8500 feet of elevation gain. The race starts flat, climbs high to the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort, and snakes back down to the Upper Hood River Valley. The 2nd time trial of the Classic comes on Friday. This 18.5 mile course includes a mixed bag of terrain including flats, two categorized climbs, and a finishing 4 miles of rollers. The 5 days of racing is capped off with a punishing 92 mile road race on Sunday. The final stage includes 10,500 feet of elevation gain and a grueling final 2 mile climb with an average grade of 10% up to Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort. This is a tough but scenic stage race which will test the riders, and our BISSELL climbers are up for the challenge!
The 156 mile Philadelphia International Championship takes place on Sunday, June 7th and is a different kind of beast. The race is the longest running single-day road race in the US and attracts top international teams including 3 pro tour team, 2 pro continental teams, and 4 national teams. The epic day holds 10 laps of a 14.4 mile circuit which includes the dreaded Manayunk Wall followed by 3 finishing laps of Lemon Hill and Logan Circle.
The team will be providing twitter updates at both of the races and we encourage you to follow the team on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bissellcycling
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