Our juniors were greeted with sunshine and warm weather in Cascade Locks—two rare occurrences in what I think might just be the rainiest part of the Columbia River Gorge—for round one of the 2026 Junior Cyclocross Series (JCS) courtesy of Cyclocross Crusade.
Familiar to anyone who’s had the opportunity to race it, the course had a bit of single track, lots of rocks (visible this year due to relatively dry conditions), the biggest run-up in OBRA Land and plenty of sand. The dry weather made the sand especially challenging this year with the lines changing lap after lap, with no consistent riding lines developed. For those with the eyes and awareness to take advantage of this dynamic part of the course, there were lots of opportunities to make up time, and/or save energy. During the morning races, I joined some of our young racers in tempting some of their parents and peers with an assortment of hand-ups. Before we knew it, it was time to get the JCS properly started.
Unsurprisingly, things were competitive from the start. An assortment of goodies from Yakima for the new Hot Lap contest for the fastest first lap spiced this up a bit (thank you, Marie!), but I do suspect it made only a fractional difference in the early efforts expended. The winners of the Hot Lap clearly didn’t burn themselves out, as both ended up winning their categories overall, with Bjorn Swanson (Dirty Fingers) and Gabby Linn (Mettle Cycling) nabbing the honors.
Bjorn was joined by Garrett Hawes (Corvallis Junior Cycling) in second and Zach Tristan (Grouptrail p/b Ciclo Wealth) in third on the Open 15-16 podium. He must not have been satisfied with a single win on the day, as he hopped back out onto the race course to join in the Category 3 Open race shortly after finishing—one of our many juniors who doubled up! Gabby bested Bella LaDolce in the Women’s 13-14 race and has thus earned the right to wear one of the new Castelli leader jerseys next week.
Jumping down in age groups to the Women’s 11-12 race, Vivi McManuis (Team Booger) and Bobbi Buswell (Team Booger) were locked in a tight battle during the first laps, but Vivi opened a gap on lap three and left no doubt who would be atop the podium by cutting nearly 90 seconds off that time for the fourth and final time around the course. Phoebe Hogue (Team Booger) and Willow Buswell (Team Booger) were in a similarly compelling competition for the final podium slot, with Phoebe winning out courtesy of a fast last lap of her own.
The Open 11-12 race saw Cyrus Brown (Fast Fun Nice Racing p/b Steeplejack) open a lead over Luka Dedrick (Grouptrail Cycling p/b Ruckus Composites) and maintain an impressive level of consistency in his laps and line choice to hold on for the win; Everett Hawes (Corvallis Junior Cycling) regained some time after a rough first lap, but ultimately ended his day in third.
Dylan Glazer (Team Booger) put in a dominant ride to finish ahead of his teammate Carter Hayden in the Open 13-14 competition. Eli Baraff (Grouptrail Cycling p/b Ciclo Wealth) found an extra gear or two in the last ten minutes of racing, but still couldn’t manage to reel Carter in.
The final competition of the day saw a well-earned victory for Wyatt Russell (A&B Bike) in the Open 9-10. I’m not sure exactly how, but I do imagine the dirt jumping he does—far beyond my own skillset—played a role in the win! Nicolas Rinaldi Ceroni (Biciclista) and Jude Smith joined Wyatt on the podium in second and third, respectively.
Unfortunately, I will miss the next two rounds—at Heiser Farms and Willamette Superchamps—but have secured more-than-capable substitutes, including Summer Newlands and Taylor Pasquariello. Summer is my friend and teammate, and possibly the best bike handler I know. Ask her for some tips! Taylor is a fixture in our community and pet lover. They’ll be under the same OBRA tent where you usually find me, and I’ll be sure to emphasize the importance of supplying our junior racers with hand-ups before, during and after their races!
A few updates and reminders. First, our photographers are working hard to provide photos of both race and overall series podiums as soon as possible. Hot Lap prizes are also being distributed just after the races. Second, our end-of-season celebration with medals, prizes, a raffle and jerseys (for those who haven’t already claimed theirs) will be concurrent with Cyclocross Crusade’s annual bash. Details TBA!
Think you finished well in the individual race or series standings? We encourage junior racers and their parents to stick around after the race to wait for results. Either myself or a parent volunteer have physical spreadsheets to quickly confirm where things stand. This will help us award leader jerseys and grab podium photos.
Thank you to our OBRA promoters, our sponsors Castelli, Yakima, BikeTiresDirect, and Sellwood Cycle Repair, and most of all, the parents of our junior racers—we could not do any of this without you. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to me with questions or feedback!
—Robin
OBRA and the 
