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Photo by Sam Harrel

Reese Hanneman got tired of seeing local cyclists finish behind better organized riders from Anchorage in the multi-stage Tour of Fairbanks.

So the talented cyclist, a recent Lathrop High School graduate, approached veteran rider Fred Harbison this spring with an idea.

“Reese came to me and said, ‘What do you think about a team?’ and I said ‘Sure,’” related Harbison, who then went pedaling for sponsors.

With the assistance of Raven Cross Country, Smith Air Services and the Fairbanks Cycle Club, Raven Racing was born. Suddenly the 20-member squad, with slick new jerseys, has become the face of competitive cycling in Fairbanks.

Its mission: not only to reclaim the Tour of Fairbanks (by dethroning three-time champ Matt Novakovich of Anchorage’s The Bicycle Shop) but to represent Fairbanks at a handful of other events this summer around Alaska and in the Yukon.

“With the team we can go into the races with a little more strategy,” said Hanneman, a standout Nordic skier who has dramatically improved his form on two wheels this season.

Raven Racing will get its first test tonight in the opening stage of the Tour of Fairbanks, a hill climb that starts at 7 p.m. at the Ester Fire Department. Teams from Anchorage, Juneau and Whitehorse are also signed up.

The Tour continues through Sunday, with a road race on Friday, a road race and team time trial on Saturday, and concludes Sunday with another road race.

Raven Racing consists of a blend of young riders (such as Hanneman, David Norris and Tyson Flaharty) and veterans (like Manx Quayle and the currently injured Melissa Lewis). Coaches Eric Breitenberger and Jeff Oatley will offer tactical guidance.

“They can teach the younger guys what the best thing to do is,” said Hanneman, who along with Flaharty may be capable of contending in the overall standings (called GC, or General Classification) but will require assistance from teammates.

Raven Racing’s summer agenda also includes the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay (148 miles from Haines Junction to Haines, which Fairbanksans have won several times), the Tour of Anchorage, the Tour of Whitehorse and the Fireweed 400.

While the team concept has so far been loose (some members meet a couple times a week for optional rides, where they might practice riding in a pace line), the benefits of greater cohesion are already becoming evident.

“In the past we’ve sort of scrambled to put a team together (for races),” Harbison said. “(With Raven Racing) it builds a much better sense of camaraderie.”

Fred Raymond, owner of the bike and ski shop Raven Cross Country, did not hesitate to participate. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he raced bikes in Fairbanks for about a decade.

“Somebody’s got to help get racing going here and it seemed like the thing to do,” Raymond said of his sponsorship.

Raymond, however, had not anticipated the team’s name.

“I didn’t ask for that and I was a little embarrassed about that,” Raymond said while working on a bike at his shop last week. “I was kind of surprised.”

Now it’s up to Raven Racing to surprise the competition in Fairbanks and beyond.