The High Desert Omnium race is emerging with a new look this year — a new sponsorship, and new courses.

The annual race staged in and around Bend consists of three events: a time trial, a criterium and a road race. The structure of an omnium race differs from a stage race in that cyclists can play to their own strengths by choosing the events they want to enter — one, two or all three — rather than completing each stage to advance to the next. Overall ranking is determined by points earned in each event. In case of a tie the winner of the road race, the last of the three races, is the omnium winner.

It may benefit a racer to earn points in all three events. But there is also strategy in saving energy by not participating in an event in which a racer does not expect to do well, explains Cate Hass, the race director and a member of the Bend Bellas women’s cycling group, which sponsored the High Desert Omnium from 2007 through 2011.

“If you like the road races and the time trial, but not the criterium, you can do that,” says Matt Lasala, president of the Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care Racing Team, which has taken on sponsorship of the race this year. According to Lasala, the High Desert Omnium — which started in 2003 as the High Desert Criterium — is the only race of its kind in Oregon.

“It’s a unique race,” he says, “and it showcases Central Oregon.”

The fate of this year’s race was up in the air for a time, when two of the three planned event courses became unavailable — one because a big track and field event had been scheduled at Bend’s Summit High School, another because Skyliners Road in west Bend was scheduled to be under construction.

“For a few months we thought we would just do a road race this year and scrap the omnium format,” says Hass. “It’s not easy coming up with new courses. But that’s where some BMC members stepped up.”

Lasala spent hours looking at a Google map of Bend, he says, “trying to figure out where you could have a fun, safe criterium course.”

The Bend Municipal Airport northeast of Bend looked promising — it had pavement and not a lot of traffic — and the landowner was receptive.

“Once that was settled we looked … for an 8- or 9-mile route close to the airport” for the time trial event, says Lasala.

The route they found — a 9.5-mile loop starting and finishing at the airport — was on a Deschutes County road. Waiting for the county permits to come through was one last prerequisite for holding the race.

“It’s a little stressful to finally get a course approved just a little over two weeks before the event,” says Hass. “It’s a lot of work to think about new courses and volunteer needs … but we’ve had a similar group of people working on the event for a few years. I’m not worried about it running smoothly.” (Volunteer needs, Hass explains, include setup and takedown, assistance at the registration table, handing out water to riders, flagging on roads and helping with parking.)

The new criterium course is “a flat course, about a kilometer loop,” says Hass, with “not a lot of tight corners.”

Hass expects to see new strategies emerge in the race as participants respond to the new course. The area is apt to be windy in the afternoon, which may, she offers, “make riding in a pack more efficient.”

This year’s time trial course is noticeably different from — and flatter than — the former route on Skyliners Drive.

“I think it will suit more riders,” Hass says. “Some people aren’t great at climbing, so I think they’ll appreciate the flat course.”

It is not really a matter of the course being easier, but a difference in how it will play out: “It’ll be fast,” Hass predicts.

Lasala says High Desert Omnium officials are happy with the new courses and hope to continue holding the events at those locations in future years.

Sunday’s road race will still start and end at Edison Sno-park, southeast of Mount Bachelor.

Race organizers are expecting a turnout similar to years past — 200 racers or so.

“Most of them are amateur. There are the two higher groups that can include some pro riders,” says Hass. Typically, those higher groups are made up of local pro riders. Hass says organizers decided to schedule the High Desert Omnium for shortly before the annual Cascade Cycling Classic stage race as “a warm-up for that high-profile event.”

Hass suggests that the race is also a good opportunity for amateur cyclists who enjoy racing and for those who want to try racing for the first time.

“We try to make it so that people are competing against others at the same ability level,” she explains.

“I think the reason (the High Desert Omnium) has continued to exist is that there is a high number of amateur bicycle racers in Bend and it’s also a great way to pull statewide,” Hass says.

The BMC Total Care Racing Team also is finding the race a good starting point for sponsoring an event. The team is made up of about 30 men and women and a couple of junior cyclists who compete at “master racer” level in a variety of cycling races: road, mountain bike and cyclocross. Only a few team members — including Lasala, who is a physician — are associated with Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care, sponsor of the racing team. The team is also sponsored by WebCyclery.

The racing team was already interested in hosting an event when the Bend Bellas decided to step out of that role for the High Desert Omnium.

“It was a turnkey operation that was ready to go … very appealing to us,” says Lasala. The team asked Hass to stay on as race director.

The BMC racing team hopes in the future to be able to use the High Desert Omnium to support competitive junior cycling (ages 12-17) — individual junior cyclists and possibly programs such as those offered by the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation and Bend Endurance Academy, which Lasala says have been “instrumental to show how much fun cycling and racing can be and get (kids) involved.”

That may not be possible this year, Lasala says, because race organizers have not been able to locate a financial sponsor. But in the future, he says, the racing team would like to use the High Desert Omnium to give back to the community and support young cyclists.

“They go through a lot of equipment,” Lasala observes. “They grow.”

High Desert Omnium

Who: Cyclists racing in a variety of competition categories, including Women 4/5, Men Cat 4/5, Masters 40+ Cat 3/4/5, Men Cat 3, Women 1/2/3, and Pro 1/2

When: Saturday, July 7, and Sunday, July 8

Where: Criterium and time trial stages Saturday at Bend Municipal Airport; road race at Edison Sno-park on Sunday. (Riders can choose to compete in one, two or all three races)

Cost: $20 to $55, depending on date of registration and number of events

Information: highdesertomnium.com