HANFORD -- Pros and amateurs, experts and novices, and adults and kids will have the opportunity to test their bicycling skills in the fifth annual Sentinel Criterium, which is scheduled for Sunday, March 30, in downtown Hanford.

The event begins at 8 a.m. with the first of a series of races. It will be climaxed by the 50-lap, 35-mile pro race, which is slated for 1:40 p.m.

At stake will be $5,000 in purse money and $2,000 in prime prizes.

Races will feature competitive cyclists in a variety of divisions, but there will also be five-lap public adult races as well as three-lap races for kids.

There will be more than cycling taking place. Other features will include a pancake breakfast served by the Hanford Breakfast Lions Club, carousel rides for kids, and vendor booths set up by local merchants. The Criterium is presented by Velo Promo -- a 29-year-old organization that stages cycling events throughout the state -- and Kings County Bicyclists.

The Kings County Bicyclists is a 10-year-old volunteer group that serves as the local bicycling advocacy organization.

In addition to coordinating the criterium, the Kings County Bicyclists support community projects, such as countywide bike lanes, bicycle safety, and healthy living through cycling.

A portion of the proceeds from the criterium will benefit the Hanford Soup Kitchen.

The cyclists will race on a 0.9-mile loop. The start/finish line is on Eighth Street, and the course also runs through Douty, Ninth, Harris, Seventh and Redington. Last year's event included 239 entrants competing in eight races.

Registration opens at 7 a.m., between Douty and Redington streets. It will close 15 minutes before each event's scheduled starting time.

The crtierium is one of a series of March cycling events in the Central Valley, with others taking place in Fresno, Exeter and Visalia. The Orosi Road Race, another Velo Promo event, will run one day before the Sentinel Criterium.

For race information on the criterium, call 925-7880 or visit www.kingcountybicyclists.org.

(March 18, 2008)