Saturday, May 30, 2009

Land Rover sweeps Senior Men's podium at OBRA champs

(UPDATE, Sunday, 6:30 p.m. -- The complete Cycling Action OBRA Road Race Championship photo gallery is now posted online HERE).


RAINIER – Shadows of the 1986 Tour de France Lemond-Hinault summit finish fell over the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Senior Men’s Road Race Championship Saturday as Land Rover-ORBEA teammates Bobby Sweeting and Jim Camut crossed the line hand in hand after shedding the rest of the competition.

Sweeting, who got the win, broke away with Camut early in the first lap of the 80-mile race and held off the field to take the top two spots. Teammate Josh Bartlett won the sprint for third from a three-man chase group to cap the green-and-yellow squad's podium sweep.

“We were both on the rivet the whole time and just giving it everything we had,” Sweeting said of the winning move. “With a couple miles to go, when we knew we had it, we just said, ‘What do you want to do? Do you want to race for it?’ Jim was like, ‘No, let’s come across together and you can take it.’”

Camut, who won the Silverton Road Race May 17, said it was easy to decide how to end the race.

“It was a team effort,” he said. “So I thought it was probably appropriate we came over together. We worked really well together. That’s the advantage of having a teammate up there. You’re not trying to trick the other guy. We were both just going as hard as we could the whole time.”

Sweeting agreed, saying the pair’s selfless cooperation may have been the difference.

“When you’re not saving something for the end, and both guys are just maxed out, you’re going pretty good,” he said, although the pair’s pace didn’t leave them overconfident.

“I was worried pretty much the whole time,” Sweeting admitted. “The gap was really inconsistent. It got up to two minutes at one point, then back down to a minute. So I knew the guys in the field were attacking each other. I knew if something got away and a chase group got established with five or six guys, we could come back”

Attacks in the chasing bunch were shedding riders off the back, but none of the moves seemed to get much permanent traction until Team Oregon’s Kennett Peterson and Cyclepath Racing’s Aaron Sander got away with Bartlett with about one and a half laps to go.

“Aaron (Sander) had been up the road by himself for five or 10 minutes kind of riding tempo,” Peterson said. “Josh (Bartlett) attacked. I got onto his wheel and we bridged up to Aaron.”

Bartlett said his team had been attacking to try and get another group going but not actually bringing back the two leaders up the road. He found success with a lukewarm attack that bridged to Sander.

“It was one of those attacks that’s not really that hard,” he said. “You just go and no one follows you. We worked together pretty well pulling through. Toward the end I was like, ‘Sorry guys but I’ve got three field sprinters back in the group, I’m not going to pull though.’ It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it works.”

Bartlett’s chess move proved to be the advantage on the climb to the finish, as Sander dropped off the pace early and Bartlett sailed past Peterson to take the final podium spot by several bike lengths.

Peterson said he wasn’t sure what happened to Sander in the finale, but he had a pretty clear idea why he didn’t repeat his own performance last week at the Rehearsal Road Race when he snagged the final podium spot.

“(Sander) was on the front and then he was gone,” Peterson said. “And that’s right when I attacked. I attacked for a couple hundred meters and then sat up to let Josh pass me because I thought it would be smart to have his draft coming into the sprint. But that was a bad idea. I should have just kept going because he went straight by me. He had plenty of space for third place.”

Sander just managed to hold off Land Rover-ORBEA’s Evan Elken and a charging field for fifth.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 OBRA Road Race Championships
Rainier, Oregon - May 30, 2009


Jr. Women 15-16
1. Sara Slawta (Land Shark)
2. Fiona Graham (Specialized River City)
Masters Women 30-39
1. Anne Davis Usher (Bridgetown Velo)
2. Kelly McKean (Veloce/Felt)
3. Tessa Sugahara (Team Group Health)
Masters Women 40-49
1. Jenny Slawta (Land Shark)
2. Martha Walsh (ZteaM)
3. Debra Stolt-Krichko
Masters Women 50+
1. Mary Ross (Nomad Sports Club)
2. Helen Grogan Sunnyside Sports
3. Debra Windus (Finnegans Toys/Discover Chiropractic)
Jr. Men 15-16
1. Colby Wait-Molyneux (North River Racing)
2. Joe Prettyman (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
3. Andy Su (Hutch's/Clear Choice/Bend Dental)
Jr. Men 17-18
1. George Zack (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
2. Zack Bowden (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling)
3. Michael Burton (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling)
Masters Men 30-39
1. Mark Hibbard
2. Nick Skenzick (Hutch's-OIC)
3. David Gates (Bridgetown Velo)
Masters Men 40-49
1. Chris Haverty (Bridgetown Velo)
2. Mark Steger (Nike)
3. Matthew Slater (ZteaM)
Masters Men 50-59
1. Scott Seaton (Hutch's/ClearChoice/Bend Dental)
2. Peter Serrurier
3. Luis Valls (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling)
Masters Men 60+
1. Terry Brown (Nike)
2. Lance Brigman (Three Rivers Racing)
3. Ron Magnus (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling)
Senior Men
1. Bobby Sweeting (Land Rover-ORBEA Benefiting LAF)
2. Jim Camut (Land Rover-ORBEA)
3. Josh Bartlett (Land Rover-ORBEA)
4. Kennett Peterson (Team Oregon)
5. Aaron Sander (Cyclepath Racing)

Friday, May 29, 2009

Alpenrose Thursday Night Omnium results

MAY 28

Cat. 4
1. Brush, Walton (River City Bicycles) 21
2. Tardif, Adam 15
3. Wessel, Robin (Team Oregon) 8
4. Cowperthwaite, David (Team Oregon) 5
5. Blanton, William 3

Cat. 3 (B Field)
1. Nicoletti, Samuel (Gentle Lovers) 12
2. Pilz, David (Gentle Lovers) 12
3. Valentin, Greg (Gentle Lovers) 8
4. Bergquist, Curtis Aloha 7
5. Prettyman, Joe (Beaverton Bicycle Club) 7

Cat. 3 (A Field)
1. Kim, John(Beaverton Bicycle Club) 19
2. Hulick, Kevin (Gentle Lovers) 10
3. Birman, Dan (Beaverton Bicycle Club)7
4. Culpepper, Clint (Team Beer) 6
5. La Vigne, Justin (Team Oregon) 5

Women
1. Charbonneau, Emily (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8) 19
2. Bjesse-Puffin, Amelia (House of Pain) 12
3. Turnbull, Lisa (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8) 10
4. Hook, Camille 8
5. VanValkenburg, Heather (Land Rover/ORBEA)

Cat. 1/2
1. Blackwelder, Mark (Gentle Lovers) 12
2. Beardsley, Steven (Gentle Lovers) 11
3. Drake, Peter (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling) 10
4. Cameron, Molly (Portland Bicycle Studio)3
5. Kovalcik, Zak (Team Beer) 3

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Horner has 'stable fracture of the tibia,' still hopes to start Tour

Bend resident Chris Horner suffered injuries in his Giro d'Italia crash that are more serious than originally believed. The Astana rider and Lance Armstrong teammate reported today on his Twitter page that an MRI revealed he suffered a "stable fracture of the tibia," but he still hopes to start the Tour in July.

Horner crashed during a descent in the Italian Grand Tour's May 19 Stage 10. He finished the stage and had hoped to start the next day but awoke to terrible pain in his leg, making it too painful to walk. Horner quit the Giro and returned to Bend to recover and prepare for the start of the Tour De France July 5-27.

Horner reported Tuesday that his leg was sore during and after a two-plus-hour training ride and that he hoped to learn more today.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Browning wins PIR Tuesday Nighter

Cyclepath's John Browning took the overall Pro/1/2/3 win at the Portland International Raceway Tuesday Night Series, which covered 33 miles on the counterclockwise course in just over 70 minutes for an average speed of nearly 28 mph.

Racers, who faced a stiff headwind on the backside of the course but were pushed through the long finishing straight by a corresponding tailwind, circled 18 laps with three hot spot sprints. Land Rover-ORBEA showed up in full force and spent a lot of time on the front pushing the pace, but in the end Browning finished ahead of Evan Elken (Land Rover-ORBEA), John Leonard (Casa Bruno), Aaron Coker (HPChiropractic-Hammer Nutrition) and Cyclepath Racing's Christian Tresser, PIR's perennial front runner.

In the Cat. 3/4 race, Liberty Cycle's Stephen Fitzgerald took the top prize ahead of Kevin Condon (Gentle Lovers), Jeff Nelson (Yakima Bike Vigilantes), Gary Allen (Liberty Cycle) and North River Racing's Dean Anderson. Beaverton Bicycle Club's George Zack won the Cat. 4/5 race, ahead of Johannes Weber (Ironclad Performance Wear), Mark Biedrzycki (Portland Velo), Patrick Jason (Webcyclery.com) and Andrew Trask (Team cthulu).

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
PIR Tuesday Night Series, May 26


Cat. 4/5 - 32 Finishers
1. Zack, George (Beaverton Bicycle Club) 17
2. Weber, Johannes F.B. (Ironclad Performance Wear) 13
3. Biedrzycki, Mark (Portland Velo) 10
4. Jackson, Patrick (WebCyclery.com) 9
5. Trask, Andrew (Team cthulu) 8
Cat. 3/4 - 59 Finishers
1. Fitzgerald, Stephen (Liberty Cycle) 15
2. Condron, Kevin (Gentle Lovers) 14
3. Nelson, Jeff (Yakima Bike Vigilantes) 12
4. Allen, Gary (Liberty Cycle) 10
5. Anderson, Dean (North River Racing) 8
Cat. Pro/1/2/3 - 68 Finishers
1. Browning, John (Cyclepath Racing) 15
2. Elken, Evan (Land Rover/ORBEA) 12
3. Leonard, John (Casa Bruno) 12
4. Coker, Aaron (HPChiropractic/Hammer Nutrition) 11
5. Tresser, Christian (Cyclepath Racing) 10

Steger, Miles top PIR Monday night fields

Mark Steger (Nike) returned to PIR for another win Monday night, following up on his victory last week in the Masters Men 1/2/3 race. Steger finished ahead of ZteaM's Kartsen Hagen, Portland Velo's Brian Ratliff, Cyclepath's Christian Tresser and Vanilla Bicycles' Shannon Skerritt.

Karey Miles (Therapeutic Associates Racing/GENR8) took her first Monday night win of the season in the Senior Women's race. Miles finished ahead of Land Rover-ORBEA's Heather VanValkenburg, Wenzel Coaching's Kendra Wenzel, Wines of Washington rider Pam Massey and Sorella Forte's Anne Linton.

RESULTS
PIR Monday Night Series, May 25


Novice Women - 13 finishers
1. Hackenberg, Emily (ZteaM) 15
2. Gibbs, Zan (Sorella Forte) 12
3. Shepard, Amy 10
4. Pranian, Katy (Sorella Forte) 8
5. Kennedy, Anne (Team Guinness) 7
Novice Men - 16 finishers
1. Hagmeier, david 15
2. Wolf, Jeff (Organic Athlete) 12
3. Stewart, Donovan (Portland Velo) 10
4. Pool, Eric 8
5. Payson, Matt 7
Masters Men Cat. 4/5 - 33 finishers
1. Desmond, Richard (Team Oregon) 15
2. McDade, Stephen (Beaverton Bicycle Club) 14
3. N/A
4. Aldersebaes, Dave (Ironclad Performance Wear) 10
5. Rich, Tim (Team Rose City) 7
Senior Women - 23 finishers
1. Miles, Karey (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8) 21
2. VanValkenburg, Heather (Land Rover-Orbea) 14
3. Wenzel, Kendra (Wenzel Coaching) 10
4. Massey, Pam (Wines of Washington) 8
5. Linton, Anne (Sorella Forte) 7
Masters Men Cat. 1/2/3 - 43 finishers
1. Steger Mark (Nike) 15
2. Hagen, Karsten (ZteaM) 12
3. Ratliff, Brian (Portland Velo) 10
4. Tresser, Christian (Cyclepath Racing) 10
5. Skerritt, Shannon (Vanilla Bicycles) 8