Tour of Walla Walla This Weekend

WAITSBURG – The 20th annual Tour of Walla Walla cycling stage race will begin early Friday in Waitsburg. More than 100 professional and amateur cyclists from throughout the northwest are expected to take part.

The time trial stage will begin Friday morning. In that event, participants start one at a time and race against the clock. The 6.8-mile time trial course begins on Cemetery Road in Waitsburg and follows Wilson Hollow Road for 3.4 miles out and back. The time trial is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. until about noon. And then lower category riders will race between 4 and 5 p.m.

Friday afternoon’s feature will be the Waitsburg Road Race. Riders will gather downtown and then ride up the Middle Waitsburg hill in a neutral ride. The start/finish line is at the top of the hill. Riders will proceed south on the Middle Waitsburg to Ferris Road, and then turn west, continuing to the Lower Waitsburg Road where they will turn north. The course will follow Bolles Road back into downtown Waitsburg. Four categories of riders will start between, 3:45 and 4:05 p.m. Racers will ride two or three laps (42 or 62 miles) depending on category.

The criterium stage will begin Saturday morning in downtown Walla Walla, with racing to be completed late that afternoon.

The final stage will be the Kellogg Hollow Road Race on Sunday. Riders again gather in downtown Waitsburg, and this time head north to McKay-Alto Road. They will proceed into Columbia County, following a loop east along Whetstone Road and then over Thorn Hollow Road, turning north on Eager Road. The loop connects with Whetstone Road again and continues to Kellogg Hollow Road, where riders head north to McKay Alto Road, turning south and returning to the start of the loop.

Seven categories of riders will take part in this stage. Three lower categories will start between 8 and 8:20 a.m. and will ride either one or two loops. The remaining riders will start between 12 and 12:40 p.m. and will ride either two or three loops.