At least 600 riders — a combination of juniors, masters, elite and professionals — will be in Napa Sunday for the 33rd annual Cherry Pie Criterium, a popular winter-time event that kicks off the year’s cycling season.

Bicycle racers from throughout Northern California and Nevada will be participating in the criterium, presented by the Eagle Cycling Club of Napa and sanctioned by USA Cycling.

Races are held on a one-mile closed loop on the streets at the southern end of the Napa Valley Corporate Park near The Meritage Resort. The start/finish line is on Napa Valley Corporate Drive near the Grape Crusher statue, which is accessible from Soscol Ferry Road.

Racing starts at 8 a.m. with the pro class being the final race at 3 p.m. Timed races last from 20 minutes to one hour depending on the category and skill level of the riders.

The Eagle Racing Team of Napa will be represented by about 30 of its members, including the team’s top rider, Dustin Deide, a club captain and a Category 2 cyclist.

Spectators will be able to see a good portion of the course. There’s one moderate hill at the start/finish with a 180-degree turn at the top of the hill.

“That’s a pretty fast and tight turn,” said Kevin Joell, a race official with the Eagle Cycling Club. “To watch 100 riders go through that, at a fairly decent speed, for how thick that pack is, that’s impressive.”

There are also three 90-degree turns and one looping turn.

Amateur and pro riders will compete for prize money, and the top three placers in each category receive a cherry pie.

“That’s kind of a tradition of our race,” said Joell. “It’s very popular with the racers. That dates back to when we started this race and it was on President’s Day weekend.”

Adjacent streets will be closed and there will be traffic detours.

The key to winning in a criterium is having a team that works well together, said Joell.

“It really is a team sport, having teammates in the race with you to work together,” Joell said. “It’s really hard to see as a spectator the tactics that are occurring.

“It’s very tight and fast racing, there’s not a lot of room for error. It takes a lot of strength and good sprinting skills to win in a criterium, but the biggest advantage is going to the guys that have a strong team in their category.”

The Cherry Pie has its largest pre-registration ever, with 542 riders already signed up with six more days to go until race day. There’s online pre-registration at BikeReg.com and also same-day registration at 7 a.m.

“There are huge numbers of people that want to get in and race,” said Joell. With dry and clear weather in the forecast, the field could approach 700.

Juniors — both boys and girls — in the 10-12 and 13-14 age groups start off the criterium with a 20-minute race at 8 a.m. Juniors ages 15-16 and 17-18 follow with a 30-minute race at 8:30 a.m. The field for each junior race, limited to 50 riders, is already full.

“It’s very encouraging to see that kind of participation,” said Joell.

It’s the opening race of the regional point series for juniors.

Elite 4 and Elite 3 races, both 40 minutes in length and limited to 100 riders, follow at 9:10 and 10 a.m. The Elite 5 race at 10:50 a.m. is 30 minutes in length and has a 50-rider limit.

The biggest fields are the masters categories, made up of riders age 35 and older.

A masters 45-and-over and 55-and-over race for categories 1 through 4 starts at 11:30 a.m. and goes for 40 minutes. The field limit is 100.

Next is a women’s 4, women’s 35-and-over race at 12:20 p.m. It’s 40 minutes and is limited to 100 riders.

The master’s 35-and-over for categories 1 through 4 begins at 1:10 p.m., lasts 45 minutes and is limited to 100 cyclists.

The women’s pro for categories 1, 2 and 3 follows at 2:05 p.m. It’s a 45-minute race and has a limit of 100 riders.

The final race is the elite pro for categories 1 and 2 at 3 p.m. It’s 60 minutes and is limited to a field of 100.

David Vitoria, a Swiss rider with BMC Racing Team, won last year’s Elite Pro 1-2 Category. Dean LaBerge of Napa won a third straight master’s men 35-and-older 1, 2, 3 race.

Cyclists will be on similar competition road bikes — made of carbon fiber, aluminum and steel — that are used by riders in the Amgen Tour of California and Tour de France. The bikes have 20 speeds with 10 gears in the back and two in the front.

“It gives you a tighter combination between gears,” said Joell.

Sponsors include Napa Valley Bike Tours, Downtown Joe’s, BikeReg.com, CytoMax, Napa River Velo, Bicycle Works, Wenzel Coaching, Ritchey Bike Components, KVYN 99.3 FM, and The Meritage Resort at Napa.

There is no charge for spectators. There is parking on Soscol Ferry Road.

For more information, call 251-9789 or visit www.

eaglecyclingclub.org.