ELMA – Some 300 bicyclists ranging in age from 10 to 65 converged upon Satsop Business Park Saturday, May 1, for the 2012 Vance Creek Road Race. And it was one of Thurston County’s own – Jennifer Burtner from the Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Cycling Team of Olympia – who won the women’s elite contest.
Dave Stephens of Ontario won first place in the elite men category for the second year in a row.
The event was comprised of 11 separate races including juniors, elite categorical, masters and women. The races range from 13 miles to 93 miles and feature a 13-mile loop beginning under the shadow of the cooling towers of the never-finished nuclear power plant. This was the 13th year the event was stage at the Satsop Business Park.
“The Vance Creek Road Race has become a Northwest cycling classic and draw riders to the area from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Canada,” said Erik Anderson, the event organizer.
“The venue at the Satsop Business Park and the course roads create an exciting experience for participants that’s hard to find in other areas of the region,” he said.
Satsop Business Park is a 1,700-acre mixed-use business and technology park located in scenic Grays Harbor County in Southwest Washington just 30 minutes from Olympia and the I-5 corridor. It is home to more than 30 businesses, offers 440 acres of developed, pad-ready land and buildings supported by super-sized infrastructure and surrounded by 1,200 acres of sustainable managed forestland.
The Park is managed by the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority, a public corporation whose mission is to create new jobs and investment for the region. More information on Satsop Business Park can be found at www.Satsop.com.
