Integrating cycling info in Google Maps

At this weekend’s National Bike Summit in the nation’s capital, Google is making a splash in the cycling world. The company will announce that they are integrating bike paths/directions into their wildly popular Google Maps service.

Apparently, this was the most requested feature by Google Maps users.

Hungry Dog Criterium Results

The rain fell on Sunday in Ahwatukee, but it couldn’t stop the Hungry Dog Criterium.

Races in 8 different categories took place, and got under way with the Juniors 12-14 and 15-18 divisions. Fourteen year-old Kevin Polley of the Landis Trek team took first place, while 11-year old David Polley, also of Landis Trek finished second and Victor Colex of Trib placed third in the 12-14 division.

In the 15-18 division, Nick Thorpe of Notre Dame Prep Cycling beat out the other 12 riders in the field for the win, while Owen Groves of Bicycle Haus finished second and Daniel Ecton of Strada Racing placed third.

In the next race of the day, the Men’s Category 5, Scott Skinner of AZ Masters broke the tape first, ahead of David Wilcox of Tribe Racing and Aaron Matos of Swiss-Jobing.

In the Men’s Cat 4 race, Jose Migoni of Tribe took the honors, while Team Progressive’s Jason Boley and David Craw of AZ Masters took second and third.

Men’s 30+ honors went to Craig Streit of Team Carlos O’Brien who finished ahead of Landis/Trek’s Danny Bennett and Mark Fosenburg of Team Honeywell.

Team Honeywell’s Chris Poole won the Men’s 40+ category, followed by RPM’s Joe Cunningham and AZPhalt Cycling’s Doug Powell.

The Mens’ 50+ victor was RPM’s David Bixby. Kenneth Doss of Bicycle Haus finished 2nd and Robert Tompkins of AZ Masters took third.

And finally, in the Men’s Category 3, Jeff Herra of Procon bested William Westfall and Ryan Bagley of Bicycle Haus to win the category.

Desert Classic Duathlon coming to the Valley

(Photo Courtesy of DesertClassicDuathlon.com)

The 2009 Desert Classic Duathlon is coming to McDowell Mountain park Sunday February 22nd. The race, set for 8 am, consists of a 3.5 mile run, a 21 mile bike race on a road course and finishes with a 2.7 mile run.

Along with the full Duathlon the event will include a juniors duathlon for participants ages 15 through 19 and a children’s duathlon for ages 7 through 14.. The junior duathlon consists of a 1.5 mile run, an 11 mile bike race and a 1.5 run. The children’s duathlon includes a 1/2 mile run, 5 mile bike ride and concludes with a 1/2 mile run.

Co-Race director John Lierle describes the event as “A unique duathlon venue that combines smooth trail runs with a challenging road bike course through the majestic sonoran desert. The Trisports.com Desert Classic Duathlon is a favorite of many professional triathletes who use the race as an early season test of their fitness. The race also draws a very strong field of top age-group athletes from across the U.S. looking for a warm weather destination where they can race and vacation.”

The race will serve as one of the two regional qualifying races for the 2009 World Duathlon championships, the other being the Apple Duathlon in Minnesota. The top three athletes in each age group will qualify for the world championships. Qualifying sports will include the top 6 in each age group if their finishing time is within 20% of the age group winner.

Proceeds from the Desert Classic go towards youth education programs in the Maricopa county Parks system. The race is put on by the Phoenix Triathlon Club, whose members serve as volunteers, and is sponsored by TriSports.com

For more information visit www.DesertClassicDuathlon.com.

The Phoenix Triathlon Club, which has produced the duathlon for ten years, is a 501(c)4 not for profit organization and one of the largest multi-sport clubs in the United States with a membership that ranks in the top 4% of U.S. triathlon clubs. The club is a growing community of friendly and cohesive triathletes whose members are motivated through pride and team spirit striving to provide excellence in member experience.

Charles Schwab/William Hamilton Swiss Criterium on tap for Saturday

Peoria Sports Complex is the sight for the Charles Schwab/William Hamilton Swiss Crit this Saturday, January 31.

There are races in several different age categories, and all races will be held on a flat three-turn counterclockwise course. The races begin at 7:30 AM, and the last race will get under way at 6:00 PM.

Peoria Sports Complex is located on North 83rd Avenue and Stadium Way, which is just south of Bell Road.

Online registration is available until 10:00 Phoenix time on Thursday, January 29 at www.sportsbaseonline.com. Day of race registration will be accepted as well, up until 30 minutes prior to races. Checks should be made payable to Swiss American Racing Team.

More information here.

Tortilla Flat Tuesdays

We know what you are thinking, but Tortilla Flat Tuesdays isn’t a new deal at Taco Bell or a Tuesday book club to discuss the finer points of John Steinbeck’s novels. Tortilla Flat Tuesdays is a weekly competition for the serious cyclist.

This USCF sanctioned event consists of two different groupings; an “A” group for all riders in Cat 1-3 and a “B” group for all women, juniors and Cat 4-5 cyclers.

The series is comprised of ten separate races (6 which already took place between May 20th and July 1st). The remaining races are set to take place every Tuesday between now and August 12th at 5:30 PM, with the exception of August 5th. The starting line for all races is the Mining Camp restaurant at the base of the Superstition Mountains. A $10 entry fee is due on the night of the race, $6 of which goes directly to the weekly cash prizes.

Competitors who finish in the top 3 of each group will earn cash prizes and USCF points. Top 3 finishers earn $50, $25 and $15 in the “A” group race while “B” group racers earn $30, $20 and $10, respectively. Points for each category will be awarded based on the top 8 finishes.

For more information, directions or details visit the official race website at http://www.azcycling.com .