Highly skilled cyclists from around the region will gather in Durango this weekend, as the

Collegiate cyclists from the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference will experience one of the schedule’s toughest weekends of racing before the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Asheville, North Carolina, in mid-May.

“It’s a great chance for us to showcase the great venue Durango is for something like this,” Fort Lewis College cycling director Dave Hagen said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Not everywhere can provide an in-town criterium race like we’ll have. It’s special for our team and the rest of the conference seems to enjoy coming here.”

Fort Lewis women’s star Sofia Gomz-Villafañe will race for the Skyhawks. Jenna MacPherson and Emily Abraham are also among FLC’s top riders. On the men’s side, watch for strong performances from Fort Lewis’ Payson McElveen, Cormac McGeough, Ian McPherson and Stephan Davoust.

The Squawker Classic action won’t be limited to college riders, as there are also USA Cycling categories for the individual time trial, criterium and road race events.

The action will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday with the 19-mile Team Time Trial. The Durango Performance Center Neighborhood Criterium will follow at 11:30 a.m. with the final group going off at 4:40 p.m.

Racing will conclude Sunday with the grueling Carver Brewing Co. Road Race around the Fort Lewis College campus.

The college portion of the event will feature Division 1 teams from University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado State University, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado School of Mines, Metro State University and University of Wyoming.

For the Four Corners region there are also USA Cycling categories for the Individual Time Trial, Criterium and Road Circuit race.

Saturday’s Morehart Murphy Team Time Trial will be comprised of four-person collegiate teams and individual racers. The competitors will start at the intersection of River Road and County Road 213 (La Posta) and go off in one-minute intervals before turning around 13 miles later in Bondad near U.S. Highway 550. Riders then will return back up to the finish at County Road 214.

The USA Cycling category individual time trial will start at 9 a.m. and will use the same course.

Saturday’s Durango Performance Center Neighborhood Criterium will return to its traditional neighborhood venue covering 4th through 6th Avenues and 7th through 10th Streets. Five collegiate and four citizen categories will speed around the course for varying amounts of time based on experience and ability. The start finish will be at 4th Avenue and 9th Street on a course highlighted by the hill on 6th Avenue, and a slight shakeup in the course this year will make for an exciting finish.

“We extended the sprint to the finish an extra block,” Hagen said. “That will give the riders an opportunity to make up ground down the stretch, which was hard to do in the previous setup.”

Sunday’s Carver Brewing Co. Road Race will be a major test for all who participate. The 8 a.m. trek will start on Rim Drive in front of the FLC Education Business Hall. Racers will travel clockwise on Rim Drive turn left on North Rim Drive passing Hillcrest Golf Course, then right on North College, through the roundabout, down Goeglein Gulch Road and right on East 8th Avenue back to Rim Drive.

Cyclists are able to register on-site before each event and can register for all events from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. before Saturday’s first race in the dirt lot behind Home Depot.

On-site registration for the criterium and road race will be at the corner of 4th Avenue and 9th Street from 10 a.m. until 15 minutes before the category’s start time. Sunday’s registration will take place at the Education/Business Hall parking lot at 7 a.m. until 15 minutes before the specific registrant’s race is scheduled to start.

The collegiate entry fee is $25 per event and $65 for all three races. USA Cycling collegiate licenses are required to race. USA Cycling entry fees are $30 per event and $75 for all three. Annual and one-day licenses will be available at registration on-site.

For more information about the Squawker Classic and registration for the events, go to www.usacycling.org/events.

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Traffic alert

Note: Road closures for the 2016 Squawker Classic cycling race.
Saturday, April 23
Time Trial (8 to 10 a.m.): There may be short delays on La Posta Road (County Road 213) to allow riders to start and turnaround.
Criterium from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: East 4th Avenue and East 5th Avenue will be closed between 7th and 10th streets and East 6th Avenue will be closed between 9th and 10th streets. Accordingly, 7th and 8th streets will be closed between 4th and 5th avenues and 9th and 10th streets will be closed between 4th and 6th avenues. There will be no parking on the course and any vehicles on the inside of the course will need to exit at 5th Avenue and 10th Street.
Sunday, April 24
Neighborhood Road Race (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.): Southbound Goeglein Gulch will be closed between the Fort Lewis Drive roundabout and 8th Avenue. 8th Avenue will also be closed between College Drive and the Rim Drive traffic signal. Rim Drive will be closed between stoplight and Education Business Hall parking lot as will the North Rim Drive from N. College to Hillcrest Golf Course both directions, except resident access.
Durango Herald