Prince George Cycling Club champions will be crowned Saturday.
But first they'll have race each other to the top to get there, as in a gruelling hill climb from North Nechako Road up Foothills Blvd. to East Austin Road.
The 5.56-kilometre climb with a total ascent of 205 metres on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. is part one of the club's four-race Cycle Logic Quadrilogy.
Part two, the criterium in West Beaverly, follows Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The 4.5-km time trial at Pineview elementary kicks off the day Saturday at 10 a.m., followed by the Alpine short road race at noon. Women will do two laps of the course for a total distance of 48 km, while the men will complete three laps for a total distance of 72 km.
"All the points contenders, the guys going for the club championship will be there," said race director Lanita Horning. "In years past, we've had either a trilogy and quadrilogy and over the last couple of years we've alternated between Foothills and Catherine Drive in Miworth for the hill climb. It's quite the challenge."
The contenders for the men's title include Kris Yip, Dan Bedard and Nathan Blok. The trio finished first, second and third respectively in PGCC's 93-km road race on June 7. Yip also won the Ruckus season opener in April and finished second in the Evolve 62-km race on May 10.
Bedard also has third and fourth-place finishes under his saddle, while Blok finished fifth in the season opener.
On the women's side, there's Wendy Fiala who's returned to road racing after a long absence away from the sport. Fiala captured the PGCC race on June 7, after a pair of third-place finishes earlier in the season.
"Wendy has her name on the trophy four times when she was known as Wendy Norquay in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992," said Horning. "She's the clear favourite. (With the men), Dan is the hill climber and Nathan is strong and an all-rounded athlete. The finish will be tight and it will be a good three days of racing."
The quadrilogy concludes the PG Cycling Club's season. On June 21, the club set aside the stop watches and organized its inaugural Gran Tour of Prince George, a 110-kilometre looped route around the perimeter of the city.
About 30 cyclists participated in the non-timed event as a way to get more recreational athletes involved.
"It went really, really well," said Horning, adding plans are already in the works for the same event in 2016. "The intention is to grow racing and to get everybody riding."
