RAINIER -- Therapeutic Associates Inc's Lisa Turnbull outlasted the field up the finishing climb at the Senior Women's OBRA Road Race Championship Saturday to take the win in a close charge to the line.
Turnbull adds an OBRA championship jersey to the Oregon Cup Leader's jersey she currently wears. She won the sprint from a select group that paired itself down to 16 riders over three laps of the 16-mile course that will be used again next Saturday to decide another handful of champions.The group was temporarily slowed by a confused fawn in the road ahead that had slipped on the asphalt while trying decide if it wanted to cross or turn around. Other than that, the leaders plowed ahead unimpeded, shedding remnants of the starting field in their wake. But the group seemed to hold steady at 16 for the last half of the race.
“It seemed like less of a selection than usual,” Turnbull said.
The group approaching the finish line at the Rainier schools complex was more than twice the size of the lead group that contested last Sunday’s Silverton Road Race finale, where Turnbull finished third behind Sue Butler (MonaVie-Cannondale) and Teri Sheasby (Bend Bike & Sport).
Turnbull took advantage of having several teammates with her in the lead group this time.“I had a teammate working hard up front, so I got to sit near the front,” She said. “And then in the end I sat on whoever had legs until they got tired, and then I went on my own.”
Lindsay Kandra (Hammer Velo) finished second overall and won the Women's Cat. 3 Championship, which was scored separately. Tina Brubaker finished third overall and second in the Senior Women's Championship, followed closely by a group that contained Washington rider Patricia Bailey (Wines of Washington), Lindsay Fox (Team Oregon), Beth Burns (Veloce/Felt) and Stepahnie Chase (Veloforma).
Turnbull was happy with the result, but she still wouldn’t mind a rematch.
“We don’t get to rehearse,” she said, noting that the Senior Men get two chances at the course. “Next year I hope they consider adding two races for the women.”
Van Uden Serves Up Rehearsal Win
Roman Van Uden, who rode to the race from his home in Vancouver with his Land Rover-ORBEA teammates, also rode his way into the break and then out-rode that group up the final 200 meters to take the win in the five-lap, 80-mile men's race. Junior racer Wes Stein (Hammer/CMG Racing) added a lot of power to the breakaway and finished second ahead of Team Oregon's Kennett Peterson in third.A group of 11 formed eight miles into the race and eventually whittled itself down to eight as it built a lead that hovered around a minute-and-a-half before surging to four minutes in the final laps. Most of the top teams had at least one rider in the break; Paul Bourcier (Hutch’s), Dave Zimbelman (ZteaM), Todd Gallaher (Counterbalance), Brandon Dyer (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8), Mark Blackwelder (Gentle Lovers).
Peterson said he was a little surprised the leaders got away so easily.
“Roman (van Uden) attacked and Wes (Stein) followed,” he said. “We didn’t really go that hard, and all of the sudden we had 11, 12 guys up the road. It was a really slow breakaway; felt like a bunch of people had noodle legs. It was kind of frustrating, but we stayed away.”
Van Uden shared that assessment.
“The bunch really didn’t react at all, so we got away with a good gap,” he said. “I set it up by rolling to the front just for one of the hills and attacked. The road’s skinny enough that if three guys sitting up front don’t go anywhere, then you can get a bit of a gap and go away with it.” The leaders played a bit of cat and mouse on the last lap, but as the group approached the final kilometers intact, the uphill pitch at the bitter end dissuaded any long-lived solo fliers, setting up Van Uden’s powerful finishing kick.
“One of the older guys sort of tried to go with about a kilometer to go, which is a bit too early," he said. “But it gave me a good lead out and I got the position I wanted.”
Van Uden bided his time near the front but not quite on it until the time was right to strike.
“I was pretty tired by the end,” he said. “And I knew the uphill finish was going to be tough, so I waited as late as I could -- until about the 200 meter mark. I was following the young Hammer kid and I just came around him with about 75 meters to go. And it hurt.”
Blackwelder crossed the line fourth, ahead of Dyer, Bourcier, Zimbelman and Gallaher. Van Uden's Land Rover-ORBEA teammate Jim Camut and Nike Northley finished ninth and tenth.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Rehearsal Road Race/OBRA RR Championships
May 23, Rainier, Ore.
Senior Women Championship
1. Lisa Turnbull (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8)
2. Tina Brubaker (Veloforma)
3. Patricia Bailey (TRIA/Wines of Washington)
4. Lindsay Fox (Team Oregon)
5. Shari White (Team Castelli)
Women Cat. 3
1. Lindsay Kandra (Hammer Velo)
2. Beth Burns (Veloce/Felt)
3. Stephanie Chase (Veloforma)
Women Cat. 4
1. Anna Vaughn (Hammer Velo)
2. Kira Crawford (Ironclad Performance Wear)
3. Lisa Reeve
Tandem
1. Jim Fischer/Heather Paris (Pacific Power Blue Sky)
2. Allen Kraft/Ronny Brigham (North River Racing)
3. Ivan Meadors/Mike Adams (Finnegans Toys/Discover Chiropractic)
Juniors 10-12
1. Grant McElroy (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
2. Sam Rosenberg (Hutch's)
3. Hannah McDade (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
Juniors 13-14
1. Maris Eryn (ASC Racing)
2. John Sullivan (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
3. Walker Prettyman (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
Men Cat. 5
1. Jeff Curtes (Twin Six)
2. John Eckert (One Cup Cafe)
3. Andrew Buswell
Men. Cat. 4
1. Jeff Ballantine (Portland Velo)
2. Adam Edgerton (Team Oregon)
3. Phelan Kostur (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling Team)
Men Cat. 3
1. Brandon Fisher (Team S&M)
2. Kent Heli (Southtown Velo)
3. Jeff DeWolf (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8)
Men Pro/1/2
1. Roman van Uden (Land Rover-ORBEA)
2. Wes Stein (Hammer/CMG Racing)
3. Kennett Peterson (Team Oregon)
4. Mark Blackwelder (Gentle Lovers)
5. Brandon Dyer (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8)
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