Team Oregon was founded in the Fall of 200 by John Beckman and John Tess. Beckman was transitioning from a National level rider into a professional cycling coach. While common today, this was an innovative career in the 1980s. Tess was the owner of Portland’s Lightning Speed Cyclery. The team was a vision to combine the resources of a professional cycling coach and a high-end bike shop to develop up and coming junior riders and elite riders regionally and at National championship events. Early supporters of the team were Lightning Speed, Raleigh, Nike, Suntour, and Jim Meier Volkswagen. The team’s first press conference was held at the Bike Gallery.

 

The team was founded with a core belief in structured training. Beckman led the group in structured training sessions, both indoors and out. Lance Coffel assisted with training in the gym. The year was 1998, and it was common for Beckman to be seen motorpacing clients around the Portland countryside.  The team built a dominant junior program regionally and traveled nationally to championship events.

 

 

 

By 1990, the team had been handed over to Mike Murray of Oregon Bicycle Racing Association fame. Mike took over the organization of the club and John Walpole, a veteran category 1 racer from England, had emerged as the team director. Tom Durkin later came aboard as junior team coach. During the 1990s, Team Oregon was a mainstay atop the Oregon podium. The tam continued to develop the regions young talent with riders like Nathan Coffey, Jim Anderson, and David Johnson racing for the USA Cycling regional team and Nina Strika as a dominant rider in the women’s field.

In 1995 the team was awarded the “Club of the Year” award from USA Cycling. This is given in recognition of being the most successful team in the United States each year. It is a prestigious award and Team Oregon is the only Oregon team to receive this distinction. 

 

By the late 1990s, Bill Cass had taken over directing the team. The team continued to grow in size and remained a prominent local team. In the late 1990s a new member of the team appeared with immense talent. This was a young rider from Beaverton named Larssyn Staley. She became a top junior talent in the nation focusing on track racing. Larson later went on to win a junior WORLD Championship in the points race in 2003. Larssyn went on to race professionally in Europe from 2004 to 2008.

 

The team continues to build and progress. The 2009 Team Oregon will see another transition. The team will be managed by Jim Anderson, Phil de la Motte, and Russell Cree. Anderson and Cree raced on Team Oregon as young riders in the late 90s, going on to spend a decade racing at the Category 1 level. Now, Anderson is a local event promoter and teaches cycling education classes for BikeSmart Portland. Cree is a professional cycling coach, bike fitter, physiologist, and Physical Therapist for Upper Echelon Fitness. This business also is a sponsor of the team. Adding structured training and resources to the team. Todd Duncan is the junior team director. The team has a clear history of junior and elite development and will continue on this mission in the future. The team continues with open membership for all levels of riders. We welcome you to get involved in this exciting cycling organization.