Online exclusive: Portland State Student has national cycling success

Earlier this month, Portland State University’s Stephen Bedford took third place on Sunday at the Collegiate Nationals Division 1 Criterium in Madison Wisconsin. Bedford finished behind winner Adam Liebovitz of the Marian University cycling team and second place finisher Nicholas Inabinet from Apalachian State University.

The Viking cycler made a three-man breakaway from the group late in the race with Greg Christian from Michigan State and Inabinet. However, Liebovitz caught up to the three leaders when there was only 12 seconds left in the race. Eventually, 10 riders caught up to the leaders, but didn’t make it soon enough. The three leaders were 26 seconds ahead of the rest of the crew, which gave them an advantage to keep pumping. This made it hard for the group behind, and eventually the leaders came to a 16-second gap going into the final lap. Liebovitz’s Marian team gathered at the front and from there it was a four-up fly into the finish, with Leibovitz taking the win. Inabinet peddled to second and Bedford reached third place, ahead of Christian. The race had 50 participants total from around the country, and it took 75 minutes to complete.

Bedford, a 33-year old student from Beaverton, is majoring in geology at Portland State as he trains for his cycling competitions. He competes through the Oregon Bicycling Racing Association.

The Collegiate Cycling is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale. USA Cycling is the official cycling organization covering all cycling events, such as mountain biking, track, road, cyclo-cross and BMX. There are over 4,500 student athletes, and 300 collegiate clubs and teams, with Portland State being one of the many. Collegiate Cycling is the division of USA Cycling that is responsible for organizing competitive bicycle racing in 11 different collegiate conferences. Collegiate Cycling also covers all four USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships: Track, Mountain Bike, Cyclo-cross and Road, and recognizes collegiate teams and athlete achievements with the Stenner and Kuck scholarships.

With Portland State being in such a cycling friendly area, there are many students who use their bike regularly, whether it’s getting to school, or taking a nice ride on the trails. Many people think of Lance Armstrong when the topic of competitive cycling comes up, but Collegiate Cycling is active in many different fields and in all regions of the country. Portland State is unique, because people bike daily around the city, competitively, and leisurely on trails. With so much emphasis on biking in the Northwest, Bedford and many other Portland residents will keep on peddling into the future. ?