Coker picks off blustery PIR Tuesday night win

After hovering near the top podium spots in nearly every Tuesday night race so far this spring, Aaron Coker (HP Chiropractic/Hammer Nutrition) finally ascended to the top rung at a dry-but-windy edition of the weekly series.

The Men's Pro/1/2/3 field covered nearly 31 miles in just under 70 minutes for an average speed of more than 26 mph. The clockwise course sent riders headlong into a stiff wind for the length of PIR's exposed, extended straightaway.

The Land Rover-ORBEA riders were out and at the front as usual in their blazing yellow kits, although they may have been laying off the high-end efforts after their exploits in Silverton Sunday afternoon.

A crash in the first few laps of the race knocked the group out of rhythm momentarily, but the wind more than anything else seemed to dampen efforts to get away and make it stick. The bunch was in no mood to fool around, quickly reeling in the few serious breakaway attempts.

At the end of the night, Coker topped PIR ironman Christian Tresser, a perennial Tuesday night podium placer who also finished second in the Masters 1/2/3 race Monday night and leads the Masters May series overall. Hammer/CMG Racing's Marcel deLisser was third, ahead of Portland Bicycle Studio's Molly Cameron and Therapeutic Associates' David Root.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
PIR Tuesday Night Series, May 19

Cat. 4/5 - 31 finishers
1. Trask, Andrew (Team cthulu) 15
2. Weber, Johannes F.B. (Ironclad Performance Wear) 15
3. McDade, Stephen (Beaverton Bicycle Club) 12
4. Reagan, Edward
5. Anderson, Steven (Fred Meyers) 7
Cat. 3/4 - 48 finishers
1. Condron, Kevin (Gentle Lovers) 20
2. Leritz, Aaron (Team S&M) 13
3. N/A number on wrong side
4. Monnig, David (Ironclad Performance Wear) 10
5. Osolin, Christopher (Mopha) 9
Cat. Pro/1/2/3
1. Coker, Aaron (HPChiro/Hammer Nutrition) 18
2. Tresser, Christian (Cyclepath Racing) 14
3. DeLisser, Marcel (Hammer/CMG Racing Team) 12
4. Cameron, Molly (Portland Bicycle Studio) 10
5. Root, David (Therapeutic Assoc.) 8