The Women's Challenge bicycle race (originally known as the Ore-Ida Women's Challenge as the lead sponsor was the

Ore-Ida Ore-Ida is an American brand of potato-based frozen foods currently produced and distributed by Kraft Heinz's, H.J. Heinz Company Brands LLC. based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ore-Ida's primary production facility is located in Ontario, Oregon, ...

brand of frozen potato products) was held annually in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

in southern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, beginning in 1984 until its demise in 2002. Later primary sponsors were

PowerBar PowerBar is an American brand of energy bars and other related products including sports drinks, gels, and the ''Pria'' bars targeted at women. The former company had been established in 1986, being then acquired by Nestlé. History The PowerBa ...

and Hewlett-Packard. During much of its 19-year history, it was the most prestigious women's cycle race in North America. From 1995, when it first obtained sanctioning from the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues raci ...

(UCI), the international governing body for cycling, it developed into one of the strongest races in the world, attracting numerous World and Olympic Champions. Prior to that, in 1990, the UCI had refused to sanction the event, citing as their reason the "excessive climbing, stage distances, number of stages, and duration of event." The race that year, Idaho's centennial, began in northern Idaho at Sandpoint, was 17 stages and , and was won by

Inga Thompson Kristin Inga Thompson (born January 27, 1964) is a retired road bicycle racer. She competed at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics with the best result of eighth place in 1988. She won silver medals at the world championships in 1987, 1990 and 1991, ...

. The fifth stage through Lewiston ended with the climb up the Spiral Highway, a twisty rise of . The following year (1991) marked the debut on the international scene of a team representing Lithuania, which had just recently declared its independence and was still awaiting recognition as a country. Professionals were allowed to compete beginning in 1993. The race, which was run almost entirely by volunteers, set a very high standard in terms of technical administration and conduct of the race itself. Jim Rabdau, the race founder, served as chief organizer of the race throughout its entire history. By the late 1990s, the race was able to attract sufficient sponsorship money to offer the richest prize fund ever in women's cycling and, for a while, was the richest prize fund race in North America, men's or women's. At its peak, it offered $125,000 in prizes. However, cuts in sponsorship forced a reduction in prize money to $75,000 in its last year (2002) and no title sponsor could be found to replace the outgoing sponsor for the following year, forcing the cancellation of the race. Race organizers cited a downturn in the economy as the reason. One of the stages crested

Galena Summit Galena Summit is a high mountain pass in the western United States in central Idaho, at an elevation of above sea level. The pass is located in the Boulder Mountains, in the northwest corner of Blaine County, within the Sawtooth National Recre ...

at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

on Highway 75, the Northwest's highest highway pass.

Women's Challenge winners

References

External links

Official Site of event
(contains info on why event ended)
Cycling News article on 2002 event
{{coord, 43.870, -114.713, type:pass, display=title Women's road bicycle races Cycle races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1984 1984 establishments in Idaho 2002 disestablishments in Idaho Women's sports in Idaho