Tour of Walla Walla this Weekend

WAITSBURG - The rural roads of Walla Walla and Columbia Counties will again host hundreds of competitive cyclists this weekend during the 18th annual Tour of Walla Walla Bicycle race. Races will start and finish at Waitsburg on Friday afternoon and Sunday.

Race organizers point out that the road race portions of the Tour are primarily participant events, but spectators are invited to watch from a safe vantage point. Support vehicles will accompany the racers, and sections of highway will be closed while riders proceed during some of the races. Drivers are asked to use extreme caution when driving on or near the race course.

Friday's first stage race will be the Waitsburg Road Race, with the first riders heading out at 3:45 p.m. This stage will feature only men in Pro 1,2 and 3 categories and the Masters category. Category 1 and 2 men will start at 3:45 p.m., Cat. 3 men will start at 3:50, and Masters men at 4 p.m. Racing is expected to conclude at around 7 p.m.

Riders will park and check in at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds and then line up on E. 10th St. The course begins with a climb up the Middle Waitsburg Road hill. The first time up the hill will be a neutral ride and the race will actually begin at the top of the hill.

Riders will proceed south to Ferris Road, where they will turn west. At the Lower Waitsburg Road, the course turns north, runs briefly on Highway 12 westbound, and then takes Bolles Road eastward back to Waitsburg. Riders will race south through downtown Waitsburg on Main Street, then turn east on 8th Street and South on Coppei Ave.

Category 1 and 2 men will make three laps of the course, for a total distance of 62 miles. Category 3 and Masters men will complete two laps, and about 42 miles.

On Saturday, the Tour features two stages. In the morning, a Time Trial will be held in Walla Walla, covering a 9.1 mile course that begins at Walla Walla Community College. Riders will start individually, beginning at 7 a.m., and race against the clock. The course heads east on Mill Creek Road, turns south on 5 Mile Road and then turns west on Russell Creek Road.

The Walla Walla Criterium will be held Saturday afternoon and evening in Downtown Walla Walla. The criterium course is a 1.1 mile loop in the heart of downtown. Races will last anywhere from 25 to 55 minutes, depending on categories.

Sunday's Kellogg Hollow Road Race stage will begin and end in Waitsburg, but takes place primarily on Columbia County roads. Riders again will stage at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds, with the first race beginning at 8 a.m.

Races begin at 8, 8:10 and 8:20 a.m. for men's category 4 and 5, and women's category 4 racers. Men's 4 riders will make two laps, and women's 4 and men's 5 riders will make one lap.

Men's Pro 1 and 2 riders will start at noon, make three laps, totaling 91 miles. Masters, men's Cat. 3 and Women's Cat. 1,2 and 3 starting at 12:15, 12:30 and 12:40 respectively. All of those riders will complete two laps, for 64 miles.

Riders will proceed in a neutral ride north through downtown Waitsburg and across the Touchet River Bridge. Racing will begin as riders head north on McKay Alto Road after crossing the railroad tracks.

The course turns west onto Whetstone Road and begins a 27 mile loop. It follows Thorn Hollow Road eastward before turning north onto Eager Road and then following the Whetstone westward to Kellogg Hollow Road, where it again turns north. When riders reach the McKay Alto turnoff, they will head south until they reach Whetstone Road, where they will begin the second loop. The race will finish on McKay Alto road, about 3 ½ miles south of the Whetstone turnoff.

The Tour of Walla Walla is sponsored and organized by Allegro Cyclery in Walla Walla. Bicycle Barn is also a sponsor.