![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Baker-City-Cycling-Classic-June-20-2025-Stage-1-303.jpg\")
<\/a>A solo rider in stage 1 of the 2025 Baker City Classic. Photo by Sean Benesh<\/p>\nThere\u2019s something about racing in\u00a0Baker City\u00a0that doesn\u2019t give you much cover. And I don\u2019t mean shade. I mean margin.<\/p>\n
For many parts of the course, there\u2019s no tree-lined protection.<\/p>\n
Just long stretches of routes like the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway and the Grand Tour Route, where you can see what\u2019s happening long before you can fix it.<\/p>\n
Which means you know you\u2019re in trouble before you\u2019re actually dropped.<\/p>\n
The wind can be constant. It doesn\u2019t roar. It just stays. Constant pressure on one side of your face. Jerseys snapping, but never violently. Enough to make the gutter feel safer than the draft.<\/p>\n
Wind doesn\u2019t care who you are. It\u2019s in your face.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what the\u00a0Baker City Cycling Classic\u00a0feels like to me.<\/p>\n
Raw.<\/p>\n
Real.<\/p>\n
Not dramatic.<\/p>\n
What Makes the Baker City Cycling Classic a Legitimate Stage Race Proving Ground<\/p>\n
I hesitate to call it \u201cEuro-style,\u201d because that phrase gets used loosely \u2026 usually by people who haven\u2019t pinned a number in Europe.<\/p>\n
But I understand what\u2019s meant.<\/p>\n
The courses don\u2019t gimmick you.<\/p>\n
The first road stage rolls longer than you think it should. Aid stations are efficient. Neutral support is there, but it\u2019s practical. If something goes wrong, you solve it quickly \u2026 or you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The time trial strips things down even further.<\/p>\n
Riders roll up quiet. Someone counts down from five in a voice that sounds more practical than ceremonial. Then it\u2019s just wind, pavement, and your own breathing.<\/p>\n
No teammates to hide behind there.<\/p>\n
By the afternoon, when the criterium circles downtown, the town feels different.<\/p>\n Barriers stacked along brick storefronts.<\/p>\n Cowbells echoing off old buildings just a little too long.<\/p>\n Locals who may not follow cycling year-round still understand that something real is happening on their main street.<\/p>\n The race doesn\u2019t feel imported from abroad. Locals feel this is \u201ctheir\u201d race, even though they\u2019re more at home at rodeos in blue jeans than ever thinking of donning a Lycra onesie.<\/p>\n However, this sense of ownership and pride matters \u2026 a lot, especially in a rural place.<\/p>\n Inside the Baker City Cycling Classic Stage Format<\/p>\n Stage racing is strange.<\/p>\n It asks you to come back the next morning and do it again. Which feels reasonable on Friday. Less reasonable when you\u2019re staring at hotel coffee Sunday morning trying to convince your legs this was a good idea.<\/p>\n Three days. Four stages.<\/p>\n Two road races that stretch you thin in different ways.<\/p>\n A time trial that reduces everything to watts and position.<\/p>\n A downtown criterium that doesn\u2019t care how tired you are.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t an easy stage. And there isn\u2019t one that lets you fake fitness.<\/p>\n Past overall champions include\u00a0Sepp Kuss, Tayler Wiles, Brianna Walle,\u00a0and\u00a0Cameron Jones.<\/p>\n You can treat that as prestige if you want.<\/p>\n I tend to treat it as evidence.<\/p>\n Riders who go on to bigger things often pass through environments like this first.<\/p>\n I like to think that courses like these don\u2019t create champions.<\/p>\n They reveal them.<\/p>\n Why the Baker City Cycling Classic Works in Eastern Oregon<\/p>\n Baker City isn\u2019t a cycling capital trying to prove something.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a small Eastern Oregon town that, for one weekend, rearranges itself around a stage race.<\/p>\n Hotels fill.<\/p>\n Restaurants extend hours.<\/p>\n Main Street becomes part of the course.<\/p>\n I spend a lot of time writing about rural communities that are figuring out how to build something durable without losing themselves in the process.<\/p>\n Events like this are part of that conversation.<\/p>\n Not pretending.<\/p>\n Just committed.<\/p>\n For teams looking for a legitimate alternative proving ground, especially those who don\u2019t need spectacle to validate their experience, this race deserves attention.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t market itself loudly with hype and outlandish claims.<\/p>\n Why? Because over three days, the stages don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n And eventually, neither do your legs.<\/p>\n The 2026 Baker City Cycling Classic returns this June with the same three-day, four-stage format that has quietly built its reputation.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re mapping out your calendar and looking for a stage race that is tough and rewarding, Baker City is worth a serious look.<\/p>\n And if you\u2019ve raced here before, you already know \u2026 the roads don\u2019t get easier just because you\u2019ve seen them once.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be smiling with camera in hand, sipping on a Diet Mountain Dew and leaning on my SUV, when you pass by.<\/p>\n See you there.<\/p>\n Event info: June 26-28 \u2014 Baker City Cycling Classic, Baker City, OR, Three days and four stages in beautiful eastern Oregon, with great support and unparalleled scenery. Over 8,000 ft of climbing over the three days in one of the country\u2019s most beautiful cycling regions. Pros and amateurs race the same courses and the women\u2019s and men\u2019s prize purses are matched by sponsor BELLA Main St. Market, Ace Bollinger, 509-679-5003, [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>, Brian Cimmiyotti, 541-371-3303, 509-374-8424, [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>, bakercitycyclingclassic.com<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (Visited 13 times, 13 visits today)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the Baker City Cycling Classic as a Proving Ground By Sean Benesh \u2014\u00a0Last year, I stood on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-730676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Baker-City-Cycling-Classic-June-21-2025-Stage-3-83.jpg\")
<\/a>Scenes from the 2025 Baker City Classic. Photo by Sean Benesh<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Baker-City-Cycling-Classic-June-22-2025-Stage-4-53.jpg\")
<\/a>Scenes from the 2025 Baker City Classic. Photo by Sean Benesh<\/p>\n