Rally Cycling arrived in Redlands, California on Tuesday for the 25th edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic. Held at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, there is no shortage of diverse stages during the week to suit every type of rider.
The race follows the team’s recent success in New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila where Sara Poidevin finished second overall and won the best young rider classification. Rally Cycling will start Sara Bergen, Allison Beveridge, Kelly Catlin, Gillian Ellsay, Kirsti Lay, Katherine Maine, Abby Mickey, and Sara Poidevin.
The race runs from May 2 – 6 and opens with an eight-mile time trial around Big Bear Lake. Stage two features the infamous climb to Oak Glen summit during the 66 mile queen stage. Stage three the riders face 14 laps of the Highland circuit race for a total 41 miles. The downtown Redlands criterium is on tap for stage four and the race concludes with the historic 68 mile sunset loop road race.
After spending the winter months and early spring competing for Canada at the Track World Championships and Commonwealth Games, the current Canadian road champion Allison Beveridge takes to the line for Rally Cycling for the first time in 2018.
Allison Beveridge on returning to road racing
“I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to my teammates. I have Rob Britton and Kirsti Lay now in Calgary (along with Poido, but she’s always out climbing mountains) and just being reunited with them makes me miss the dynamic that Rally Cycling has. It really is a special team to be a part of and I’ve missed the girls a lot. Seeing all the photos from Gila, they just seemed to be enjoying life on and off the bike!
“I hope that the team can contend for both stages and GC! We definitely have a strong team for the GC but we have a couple of options for our climbers and strong all-rounders. Having Ina Teutenberg and Zach Bell with us, we’ll always have the goal of being up there for each stage.”
Redlands Bicycle Classic Roster
Sara Bergen
Allison Beveridge
Kelly Catlin
Gillian Ellsay
Kirsti Lay
Katherine Maine
Abby Mickey
Sara Poidevin
