Doubts about whether North America’s oldest professional stage race would return for 2018 were answered this week when the Cascade Cycling Classic announced it will be back under new management and with different dates on the calendar.
The Bend Bulletin reported this week that the race will return for a 39th run next year, moving from its traditional mid-July date to a new schedule from May 31 through June 3.
Former professional rider and two-time US pro road race champion Bart Bowen will take over management of the event from the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation, a non-profit group that operated the race as a fundraiser, according to the Bulletin.
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Bowen, who will also replace Chad Sperry’s Breakaway Promotions as race director, teamed up with Visit Bend to assume management of the event and keep the race afloat, according to the local newspaper's report.
The race’s future was called into question earlier this year over rising concerns about increased costs to produce the event and traffic conflicts in fast-growing Bend. The race’s former July dates also conflicted with the height of the city’s influx of tourists and other summer-time events, adding more stress to an already extended community.
“Had Visit Bend not stepped in, I believe the race would be gone,” MBSEF events director Molly Cogswell-Kelley told the Bulletin on Wednesday.
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