About the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge
Elite track cyclists will converge upon the outdoor track at the Alpenrose Dairy Velodrome for a three-day racing extravaganza. Don't miss this free event! Enjoy great food, exhilarating entertainment and the opportunity to shop for heavily discounted cycling attire not to mention world-class racing. See national and international athletes, Olympians, and local elite riders competing for track records and big cash prizes. Bring the kids and stay all day. The Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge is a wonderful family experience.
This event boasts one of the largest prize lists in North America. It is a great spectator event, and it is FREE for spectators!
Don't miss it!
2010 Registration Information2010 AVC Flyer (pdf)
Register Online at ORBIKE.comAVC Expo
The first ever AVC Bike/Gear Swap will be held Sunday, July 18 from 10am-3pm under tent at the Alpenrose Velodrome. Located right next to the racing action, individuals will have the opportunity to sell/buy gear. Tables are only $10 for the day and entry is free for potential buyers. Spots are limited, so reserve yours today by contact Steve Schwaeber at schwaebs at earthlink dot net.Featured Riders in 2009
Emile Abraham
Emile is returning to Portland after his initial visit in 2008. He'll be looking for better luck as he was one of the victim's in the big keirin crash that took out the entire heat. Emile is a great all-around rider who will be gunning for the omnium title. So far this year he has several wins on the road including a stage at the Tour of Poland in the Spring. He hails from Trinidad and Tobago and hopes to be a member of their 2012 Olympic team.
Events: points race, miss and out, keirin, scratch
Erica Allar
At 23 years of age, Allar has already distinguished herself in the world of cycling. She is a two-time Under 23 criterium National Champion (2006, 2007). In 2006, she was the Lehigh Valley Velodrome Rider of the Year. In 2008, she made her first visit to the Alpenrose Challenge, placing third in the omnium. Thus far during her 2009 season, she has two wins including one at Stage 3 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.
Allar will be competing in the endurance event (points race, scratch race and miss & out) of the Elite Women's events during the 2009 Alpenrose Challenge. She'll be one to watch not only at the AVC but in the future.
Events: all women's events
Jason Allen, Subway/Avanti
Jason is a professional who comes to Portland from New Zealand. He's been a member of the Kiwi worlds team in the past.
Events: points race, miss and out, keirin, scratch
Jame Carney, Salamander
Jame is a long time track veteran. He's a savvy competitor who knows when and where to be to get the win. He has represented the United States twice in the Olympics in 1992 and 2000. His amazing accelerations and playful nature make him a real treat to watch. At 40 years of age, he'll be teaching the young kids how track racing should be done.
Events: points race, miss and out, keirin, scratch
Adam Duvendeck, American Track Foundation
A two-time US Olympian in 2004 and 2008. He's one of America's best sprinters. He currently resides and trains in the Los Angeles area. This will be Adam's first and only race of the summer while he prepares for the World Cup competition that takes place during the winter. This will be his first trip to Portland.
View article posted in the Portland Tribune Thursday, July 9th
Events: kilo, keirin, team sprint, sprints, miss and out
Travis Smith, American Track Foundation
Travis Smith is a member of the Canadian National team. He has won a silver medal in the keirin and a bronze medal in the match sprint at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He is an 11-time Canadian national champion and holds records at several tracks. Before crashing at the world championships in 2007, Smith was ranked 5th in the world for the keirin. He was on track to represent Canada at the Bejing Olympics in 2008 but now has set his sights for 2012. Smith rode at last year's Alpenrose Challenge and is back for more this year. He will be competing in kilo, keirin, sprints, scratch race, team sprint and miss and out.
Dean Tracy, Land Rover/Orbea
Dean is a locally grown talent who currently trains at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He is sprinter who star has constantly been on the rise the past few years. He will be looking to defend his sprint title from 2008 and improve on his second place in the keirin.
Events: keirin, team sprint, sprints, miss and out
Contact Information
Media/Race Information
Charlie Warner
C: 360-624-1801
Email: cwarner@obra.org
Host Housing
Meg Mautner
Email: mautner3@comcast.net
AVC Veloswap (Sunday, July 19 from 10am-3pm)
Steve Schwaeber
Email: schwaebs@earthlink.net
Thrill of Olympics still rings
The Portland Tribune, Jul 9, 2009
View Article on Portland Tribune's website
Nearly nine years later, the memories continue to raise an excited chill up Adam Duvendeck’s back –and past the tattoo of the Olympic rings he got just below his neck after competing for the United States in the 2004 Athens Games.
“For me, I don’t think anything will compare to that first time going to the Olympics,” says Duvendeck, a 37-year-old cyclist from Long Beach, Calif. “I was ecstatic about being there. I still get goose bumps thinking about walking in for the opening ceremonies.”
Duvendeck returned to the Olympics in 2008 –finishing eighth in the three-man sprint after placing 11th in Athens –and he might decide to make a run at the 2012 London Games.
“I’m taking it year by year,” he says. “It will depend on whether I feel like I have a shot at a medal, instead of merely going to go.”
For now, Duvendeck is in training mode, taking things relatively easy.
“The year after the Olympics is kind of a down year,” he says.
He’ll probably race only once this summer, and it will be at the 11th annual Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge July 17 to 19 in Southwest Portland.
The event, which has no admission charge, brings together more than 100 track racers and offers $12,000 in prize money. Duvendeck and teammate Travis Smith of Canada will be among the elite riders on hand.
“It’ll be my first time in Portland,” Duvendeck says. “Travis raced there last year and had a lot of great things to say about the event and the promoter. And it interests me to visit as many of the tracks in the U.S. as possible.”
Cooking at home
Duvendeck, who was born in Santa Barbara, Calif., overcame mysterious back pains last year to break the national record with his sprint team at the world championships in Manchester, England.
“Knowing that our Olympics spot was dependent on our performance there, I just sucked it up,” he says. “I did two or three weeks of rehab after that and haven’t felt anything since.”
Duvendeck began competing in mountain bike racing at age 13. He also played volleyball in high school – until the volleyball coach told him he should choose one sport or the other.
Duvendeck went on to win his first national championships as a 17-year-old junior rider.
“Obviously, I made the right choice,” he says.
At 5-11, 195 pounds, Duvendeck says he is built for sprint cycling.
“Compared to a Tour de France rider, we should be put in football gear rather than Spandex,” he says. “Most sprinters are around 200 pounds and have quite a bit of muscle. Strength training is a good 30 percent of what we do.”
After Athens, Duvendeck “semiretired,” and went back to school for two years, while coaching the UC Santa Barbara cycling team.
In 2006, though, he got the urge to try for another Olympic berth. He made his return with a bang, blowing away the competition in the national finals in the eight-lap, 2,000-meter keirin.
“That race tends to finish in a tight bunch, and I won with bike lengths to spare,” he says. “It was one of the defining moments of my comeback.”
Duvendeck also is known, especially to hungry friends, for the meals he cooks at home.
“I just love experimenting with food and bringing people together with great food and good wine, and telling stories,” he says.
When he lived at the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo., he watched cable TV cooking channels endlessly.
“The center was on the same, 14-day rotational food menu, and after a year or two, that can get repetitive,” he says. I would be dying to get out and go to my girlfriend's to whip up something different.
UPDATED - 2010 Alpenrose Flier has been updated
Portland, OR - The 2010 Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge Flier has been updated.
Update July 6 - Awards details added to schedule. Start time for Session 1 set to 1:00 p.m. (same as online schedule)
Update July 1 - The Elite Men's Miss & Out has been moved from Sunday's afternoon session (Session #6) to Saturday's morning session (Session #3). The Elite Men's Madison has been moved from Saturday (Session #3) to Sunday (Session #6).
Update June 28- There are now no category restrictions. Cat 3 women and below must qualify for the event by competing in the Women's Qualifier Race Friday night. Cat 2 men and below must also compete in the Men's Qualifier Race Friday night.
Online registration is also available at ORBIKE.com.