Cyclists Descend On Prairie Grove

SUNDOWNER ESTATES STAGING POINT FOR RACES

PRAIRIE GROVE — More than 140 collegiate cyclists from seven states participated in the Arkansas Classic earlier this month, with staging for two of the events held at Sundowner Estates subdivision in Prairie Grove.

The Arkansas Classic was held March 7 and 8. The first races were individual time-trials held along U.S. Highway 71. From there, riders moved to Prairie Grove to prepare for the next two events.

On March 7, racers started at Sundowner for a course from Prairie Grove to Hogeye with a choice to loop out and climb Hells Kitchen before finishing up at Prairie Grove. Depending on the course chosen, cyclists raced anywhere from 37 to 77 miles in this road race.

The next morning, riders raced a 1-mile looped criterium, with the course mapped out within Sundowner subdivision. Cyclists compete by category, with collegiate riders participating in Class D,C,B or A, A being the highest collegiate group. Non-collegiate riders competed in Masters A and B and this year, for the first time, the race had a category for junior cyclists ranging from ages 10 to 18.

The Arkansas Classic was organized and coordinated by University of Arkansas Cycling Club. The U.A. club competes in the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference, along with clubs or varsity teams from Texas, Louisana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Jacque Payne, South Central conference coordinator, said the collegiate division for the 1-mile criterium lasted 45 minutes, with most participants completing 16 laps during that time. The average lap time for women was just under 3 minutes and she said the men would probably finish a 1-mile lap in 2 1/2 minutes.

Collegiate racers accumulate points from events and the rider with the most points at the end of the season is considered conference champion. This person receives an automatic invite to the Collegiate National Road Championship, which will be held in North Carolina in May this year. Conferences also are allowed to send 12 other racers to the national championship.

In addition to cyclists from South Central conference, the Arkansas Classic also included participants from the Midwest Cycling Conference, which includes schools in Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Flora Yan, with the University of Texas at Dallas, in the lead here, is the conference leader for South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference with USA Cycling. She won a criterium race recently when collegiate riders raced on a one-mile course held in...