Team Type 1 Women View Cascade As Tune-Up For Nationals

Bend, Ore. – The goals are simple for the Team Type 1 women’s professional squad for the 30th edition of the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Ore.

“We would really like a podium finish and a stage win,” Team Type 1 Director Jack Seehafer said. “More so, I want to see them have some fun and race aggressively.”

Team Type 1 will field a reduced squad for the six-day, six-stage National Racing Calendar (NRC) event and use it as a tune-up for the USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships, which take place in Bend next week.

The team’s five riders for the Cascade Classic are Jacquelyn Crowell, Morgan Patton, Alison Powers, Samantha Schneider and Kori Seehafer. Patton is one of two riders on the team who has Type 1 diabetes.

Powers and Team Type 1 are the season-long leaders in the NRC individual and team standings. Powers also leads the overall and sprint categories of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, a four-race event that also includes the Redlands Bicycle Classic, Joe Martin Stage Race and the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Though she is no stranger to Bend, this will Powers’ first time to race the Cascade Classic.

“When I competed with the U.S. national ski team, we had various camps in May in Bend,” Powers said. “I’m super excited for this race. It’s a strong field and it will be awesome practice for nationals. The time trial is pretty much on the national time trial course and the last stage is the same course as the national road race.”

This year’s race includes four road races, a time trial and a criterium. Tuesday is the 71-mile (114 km) Smith Rock Road Race, followed by the 78-mile (125 km) Three Creeks Road Race. Thursday’s Stage 3 time trial is on a 16-mile (25 km) out-and-back course featuring a seven-mile climb. Friday’s 71-mile (114 km) Cascade Lakes Road Race is followed by an hour-long criterium Saturday night in Downtown Bend. The final stage is the Awbrey Butte Circuit Race, a 66-mile (106 km) race that includes laps of a 17-mile (27 km) circuit.