Saturday, July 11, 2009

OBRA Track Championships underway this weekend at Alpenrose



Alpenrose Velodrome is hosting the 2009 OBRA Track Championships this weekend through Sunday.

Friday's kilo and 500 meter competition saw Team Beer's Zac Kovalcik take the Senior Men's kilo crown, followed by Beaverton Bicycle Club's Aaron Harrison. Jen Featheringhill (Bike Central) won the Senior Women's 500 meter event, finishing ahead of Brihop's Amelia Bjesse-Puffin and Emily Charboneau.

Competition continues Saturday with 200 meter time trials, sprints and keirin. Sunday will conclude the championships with 3km pusuits, 4km pursuits and points races.

RESULTS
OBRA Track Championships
Alpenrose Velodrome, July 17

KILOMETER

Senior Men
1. Kovalcik, Zak (Team Beer) 1:12.00
2. Harrison, Aaron (BBC) 1:13.44
Cat 3 Men
1. Kim, John (BBC) 1:13.54
2. Bergquist, Curtis (Meg's Maniacs) 1:14.94
3. Deardorff, Chris (Word-RCB) 1:15.58
Cat 4 Men
1. Bigwood, Robert (Portland Velo) 1:17.43
2. Thiele, Jim (Team Rose City) 1:19.60
3. Hansen, Jake (Word-RCB) 1:20.00
Cat 5 Men
1. D'Elia, Matt (Portland Velo) 1:20.05
2. Deiss, Julian 1:20.90
3. Charboneau, Clayton (Brihop) 1:20.94
500 METER
Senior Women
1. Featheringill, Jen (Bike Central) 38.85
2. Bjesse-Puffin, Amelia (Brihop) 39.65
3. Charboneau, Emily (Brihop) 41.76
Women Cat 4
1. Knoblock, Anna (Bike Central) 41.42
2. McGraw, Laura (Veloforma) 42.47
3. Cartwright, Liz (BBC) 44.52

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Phillips leads Cat 4 Women's series after six races

The competition in the 2009 Veloforma Norman Babcock Cat 4 Women's Series presented by Garmin will be heating up in the High Desert Road Race at this week's omnium in Bend.

With six of 10 races in the books, Poplollies' Kalli Phillips leads the competition with 236 points. Hammer Velo's Alice Chang follows just 22 points behind at 214, and her teammate Lindsay Kandra sits third at 160.

The series honors the late Norman Babcock, of Eugene, a strong supporter of women's cycling who passed away in 2008. It features 10 events in various road racing disciplines during the 2009 season with a goal of offering women opportunities and encouragement to try various kinds of road racing.

The top overall finisher in the race series will win a new Veloforma women's road frame, while the second-place finisher will take home a Garmin EDGE 705. Other prizes will be provided by Ironclad, Bob's Red Mill, Luna and others.

SERIES STANDINGS
(After six races)
1. Kalli Phillips (Poplollies) 236
2. Alice Chang (Hammer Velo) 214
3. Lindsay Kandra (Hammer Velo) 160
4. Anna Vaughn (Hammer Velo) 146
5. Leia Tyrrell (CAPA Cycling Team) 128
6. Lisa Reeve 116
7. Elena Larson (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8) 110
8. Rachel Hoar 100
9. Madison MacKenzie 100
10. Lindsay Fox (Team Oregon) 100

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

REMAINING SERIES RACES
July 12 / High Desert Road Race (Bend)
July 18 / Vancouver Criterium (Vancouver, WA)
Aug. 15 / OBRA Criterium Championships (Albany)
Aug. 28-30 / Eugene Celebration Stage Race - Final GC (Eugene)

The top 10 finishers at each event receive series points, following this scale:

* 1st=100 * 2nd=70 * 3rd=50 * 4th=40 * 5th=36 * 6th=32 * 7th=28 * 8th=24 * 9th=20 *10th=16

Rathe picked to represent U.S. at Junior World Championships

USA Cycling recently tapped Portland's Jacob Rathe as one of four riders chosen so far to represent the United States at the Junior Men's World Championship Road Race Aug. 9 in Moscow, Russia.

Having already notched top-10 finishes this season in European stage races against world-class competition as part of the USA Cycling Junior National Team, Rathe (Hammer/CMG Racing) was a natural pick for the Moscow squad. He'll join Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Hot Tubes), Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Hot Tubes) and Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas/Hot Tubes) in the red-white-and-blue kit on the Russian roads in August.

Rathe said the race has been a target the entire season, and he hopes his preparation will put him in position to get another good result.

"I should be going really good," he said. "After my long trip over there this spring I rested, and now I'm going again."

The 18-year-old rider, who graduated from Lincoln High School in January and plans to attend Portland State University this fall, said he believes his experience at the World Championship Road Race last year in Capetown, South Africa, will give him a little edge.

"I've done many other junior races of that caliber," he said. "But a one-day World Championship race is definitely unique."

With four spots already filled, USA Cycling has the option of choosing two more riders for the worlds team, but it could also decide to stick with the four already going.

Rathe leaves for Europe July 26 and will compete in a Belgian stage race before heading to Moscow for worlds. But first he and his Hammer/CMG teammates will compete in the Tour of the Red River Gorge July 14-17 in Lexington, Kentucky. The invitation-only UCI 2.1 Junior 17-18 elite race draws the nation's best competition and possibly some of the European talent Rathe could face in Moscow.

The United States has had limited success in this event in the past. Greg Lemond won the gold in 1979, Jeff Evanshine hit the top podium spot in 1991, Mariano Freidick grabbed silver in 1993, but the podium's been clear of the stars and stripes ever since.

Unlike the results from five or six years ago, when U.S. teams simply hoped to survive races with elite international juniors, Rathe and the rest of the USA Cycling Junior National Team have been in the thick of action in some of Europe's most prestigious junior races. A top 10 finish -- maybe better -- isn't out of the question.

But even after finishing second to teammate Austin Arguello at the June 8 Mt. Tabor Senior Men's race -- reverse of the order Arguello and Rathe finished the previous week -- the confident-yet-earnest Oregon rider was hesitant to predict whether he'd be peaking at the right time to hammer the world's best juniors in Moscow.

"Well, I'll know when I am," he said.

Hammer repeats one-two Tabor finish; Petross takes Senior Women's race



The Hammer/CMG Racing Team repeated its one-two finish of a week ago at Mt. Tabor. But this time teammates Austin Arguello and Jacob Rathe switched positions, with Arguello taking the final uphill sprint just ahead of his teammate.

The team of elite juniors wasted little time setting the tempo in the race scheduled for 15 laps. Repeatedly sending riders up the road, the five-rider team's plan was to make the usual suspects on Gentle Lovers, HPChiro, Rapha Racing and Cyclepath work to chase down the rabbits.

As the group approached the closing laps pretty much intact, any teams hoping for victory tried to set up lead outs for the final charge up the volcano. But nothing they mustered proved superior to Hammer's plan. The 100 points for the win should launch Arguello into the series lead with just one race remaining. He started the day just 40 points behind Gentle Lovers' Steven Beardsley, who earned 36 points for his fifth-place finish.

The Senior Women's race brewed itself into a tight overall battle with one week remaining after Portland Velo's Kaytee Petross pulled off her first win of the series, while overall leader Sam Yeo finished in eighth and earned just 24 points. But Yeo's effort proved just enough to hold onto her lead with a 242-point total. Petross, who started the day 78 points down on the overall leader, gained the maximum 100 points for her winning day, and climbed into second with 240 points.

RESULTS
Mt. Tabor Wednesday Night Series
Portland, July 8

Fixed Gear
1. Fabrizias, Erik
2. Brush, Walton
3. Hofland, Erik
Cat 4 Women
1. Lifsey, Margi (Bridgetown Velo)
2. Clark, Anna (Ironclad Performance Wear)
3. Armstrong, Alana (Sorella Forte)
Masters Women
1. Bothe, Elaine (Sorella Forte)
2. Ellis, Sallyanne (Hammer Velo)
3. Leitheiser, Ann (Cyclepath Racing)
Senior Women
1. Petross, Kaytee (Portland Velo)
2. Sanborn, Melissa (Vanderkitten Racing)
3. Reeve, Lisa
4. Brubaker, Tina (Veloforma)
5. Tyrrell, Leia (CAPA Cycling Team)
Cat 5 Men
1. Seward, Ryan (CAPA Cycling Team)
2. Buruett, Denny
3. Reinhart, Eric
Cat 3 Men
1. Liverman, Ryan (Veloce/Felt)
2. Brush, Walton
3. Dunn, Jeremy
Cat 4 Men
1. Hemming, David (Rapha Racing)
2. Salcome, Jake (RideMore)
3. Gilmore, Leland (River City Bicycles)
Masters Men
1. Browning, John (Cyclepath Racing)
2. Haverty, Chris (Bridgetown Velo)
3. Schwaeber, Steve (Veloce/Felt)
Senior Men
1. Arguello, Austin (Hammer/CMG Racing Team)
2. Rathe, Jacob (Hammer/CMG Racing Team)
3. Hepner, Evan
4. Keogh, Quinn (HPChiro/Hammer Nutrition)
5. Beardsley, Steven (Gentle Lovers)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Kruger's Farm no longer allowed to host bike races



The Multnomah County Land Use Planning Department ruled this week that Kruger's Farm Market, host of the popular cyclocross and kermesse series on Sauvie's Island, will no longer be allowed to provide a venue for the races, according to a report on bikeportland.org.

From the bikeportland.org post:
A decision made public today by Multnomah County Planning Director Karen Schilling, states that, “Weddings, bike races, birthday parties, corporate picnics, and group gatherings are not allowed as part of this decision.”

Kruger’s Farm Market sits on an Exclusive Farm Use zone and farm owner Don Kruger has added many activities to the land that are not agricultural in nature. One of those uses that came under scrutiny by the county were bike races.
Read the full bikeportland.org report HERE.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tresser tops Pro/1/2/3 field at PIR Tuesday nighter

RESULTS
PIR Tuesday Night Series
July 7

Cat 4/5 - 22 finishers
1. Reinhart, Eric 16
2. Green, Geoffrey (Capitol Velo) 14
3. Eriksen, Steven (CAPA Cycling Team) 13
4. Anderson, Eric (Pacific Power Blue Sky) 8
5. Pugh, Lance (Beaverton Bicycle Club) 7
Cat 3/4 - 46 finishers
1. Rembisz Aaron 15
2. Walp, Matt 15
3. Dezellem, Dave (Ironclad Performance Wear) 10
4. Brownfield, Matt (Team Oregon) 9
5. Smith, Ryan (Ironclad Performance Wear) 9
Cat Pro/1/2/3 - 56 finishers
1. Tresser, Christian (Cyclepath Racing) 25
2. Rathe, Jacob (Hammer/CMG Racing Team) 19
3. Tuckerman, Aaron (Land Rover/ORBEA) 11
4. Holland, Steven R (Finnegans Toys/Discover Chiropractic) 10
5. Littlehales, Todd (Rapha Racing) 10

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Watch le Tour, drink good beer and fight cancer the entire month of July

The Laurelwood Brewing Company and the Land Rover-ORBEA Cycling Team have banned together for the month of July to join the global fight against cancer.

Throughout the entire month, the Laurelwood Brewing Company will donate a set amount per customer to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

So now you can watch the Tour de France, cheer on your favorite riders and help put a stop to cancer; the more you frequent, the more Laurelwood Brewing donates.

Try these locations: NE 51st and Sandy Blvd., NE 40th and Sandy Blvd., NW 23rd and Kearney.

Check out the flier for more information.

Skerritt unbeaten at PIR short track; Pennington takes women's race

Three weeks into the Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series at Portland International Raceway, and Shannon Skerritt (Vanilla Bicycles) has yet to lose a race. The three-time short track champion has been putting on a clinic for the competition, making the Pro Men's series look like a battle for second at this point.

Skerrit won Monday night's race in front of River City Bicycles' Davy Yeater, Portland Bicycle Studio's Doug Wilmes, bicycleattorney.com's John McCaffrey and Revolver Cascadia's James Crowe

Unlike the men's race, where Skerritt has dominated, the Pro/1 Women's race has featured a different winner each week. This week's race went to Alice Pennington (Veloforma), who finished ahead of Sara Johnson (Velo Bella), Megan Weaver (River City Bicycles), Christy Love and Audrey Brown (Team S&M).

RESULTS
Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series
July 6, PIR

Singlespeed
1. Zlatnik, Pete (Portland Signal Cycles) 5
2. Gilmore, Leland (River City Bicycles) 5
3. Barker, Scott 5
4. Weaver, Ryan (River City Bicycles) 5
5. Bushnell, Spencer (Therapeutic Associates/GENR8) 5
Pro/Cat 1 Women
1. Pennington, Alice (Veloforma) 5
2. Johnson, Sara (Velo Bella) 5
3. Weaver, Megan (River City Bicycles) 5
4. Love, Christy 5
5. Brown, Audrey (Team S&M) 5
Pro Men
1. Skerritt, Shannon (Vanilla Bicycles) 6
2. Yeater, Davy (River City Bicycles) 6
3. Wilmes, Doug (Portland Bicycle Studio) 6
4. McCaffrey, John (bicycleattorney.com) 6
5. Crowe, James (Revolver Cascadia)6

Tyrrell continues PIR win streak, Olympian joins men's race

Capa Cycling Team's Leia Tyrrell continued her winning streak Monday night at PIR, taking her fourth consecutive Senior Women's race in the series. The streak easily earned Tyrrell the June overall prize and now puts her in the lead for the July series.

The Capa Cycling Team rider finished ahead of a trio of Ironclad Performance Wear riders, Anna Clark, Deann Krill and Lana Pressey. Bridgetown Velo's Jenn levo was fifth.

The Masters Men 1/2/3 field got a break with June series winner Christian Tresser, the Cyclepath Racing Team sprint specialist, absent from the Monday race. Veloce/Felt's Dan Quirk capitalized to take the first win of July in front of David Hopper (NoMad Sports Club), Kent Johnson (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling Team), John Mitchem (Guinness Cycling Team) and Dickie Mallison (Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop).

Two-time Olympian Bob Mionske joined the Masters 1/2/3 field, finishing 11th. Mionske represented the U.S. in the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea, where he made the winning break in the Men’s Individual Road Race, finishing in fourth place. In 1990, Mionske was the U.S. National Champion in the Men’s road race. Mionske made the United States Olympic team again for the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain, assisting teammate Lance Armstrong to a 14th-place finish. Mionske turned pro after the 1992 games, racing for Saturn for one season.

RESULTS
River City Bicycles Monday Night Race Series
Portland International Raceway, July 6

Novice Women
1. Lewis, Leigh 15
2. Kennedy, Ann (Team Guinness) 12
3. Bruening, Joy 10
Novice Men
1. Pickel, Sean 15
2. Sundberg, Kevin (Showers Pass) 12
3. Echerer, Brian (Butts on Bikes) 10
Masters Men 4/5
1. Smith, Chad (Team Oakland) 18
2. Hemming, David (Rapha Racing) 14
3. Anderson, Eric (Pacific Power Blue Sky) 10
Senior Women
1. Tyrrell, Leia (CAPA Cycling Team) 18
2. Clark, Anna (Ironclad Performance Wear) 15
3. Krill, Deann (Ironclad Performance Wear) 10
4. Pressey, Lana (Ironclad Performance Wear) 10
5. Levo, Jenn (Bridgetown Velo) 10
Masters Men 1/2/3
1. Quirk, Dan (Veloce/Felt 24
2. Hopper, David NoMad Sports Club) 15
3. Johnston, Kent (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling Team) 10
4. Mitchem, John (Guinness Cycling Team) 9
5. Mallison, Dickie (Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop) 7

Sunday, July 5, 2009

USA Cycling, Bissell battle for Alpenrose Six Day crown



With defending champions Steven Beardsley and Mark Blackwelder (Gentle Lovers) pulling out of competition on the first day, the out-of-town contingent representing USA Cycling battled the boys from Bissell in a week-long fight for the overall win at the Alpenrose Six Day June 29-July 4 in Beaverton.

Julian Kyle, a rider on Lance Armstrong's Trek-Livestrong Development Team (which also features world champion Taylor Phinney), teamed up with Rock Racing's Iggy Silva in the red-white-and-blue USA Cycling National Team kit. The pair finished ahead of Bissell Pro Cycling Team's Cody O'Reilly and David Klipper, who rides locally for the Guinness Cycling Team. Land Rover-ORBEA's Evan Elken and Mike Northey finished close behind in third.

Out-of-town riders also won the Women's A race, with Deana Eaton of La Jolla, Calif., joining Chicago's Valerie Brostrom on top of the podium. The BRIHOP team of Emily Charboneau and Emelia Bjesse-Puffin took second place. BRIHOP's Elena Larson joined Swarm!'s Megan Dean for third.

Meg's Maniacs' riders Curtis Bergquist and Patrick Jacks took the Six Day B race. Veloce's Charlie Warner and Team Beer's Nate Frenchen followed in second. Peter Drach and Portland Bicycle Studio's Ryan Kelly finished third.



(The complete photo gallery from the Friday, July 3, session is posted online HERE).

FINAL OVERALL RESULTS
Alpenrose Six Day,
June 29-July 4

Six Day Women
1. Eaton, Deana, La Jolla, Ca (Hawk Relay) 154
* Brostrom, Valerie, Chicago, Il (Bouldogue Tout Noir)
2. Charboneau, Emily, Portland, Or (BriHOP) 95 -4
* Bjesse-Puffin, Amelia, Portland, Or (BRIHOP/PSU)
3. Larson, Elena, Portland, Or (BRIHOP) 38 -4
* Dean, Megan, Los Angeles, Ca (Swarm!)
Six Day A
1. Kyer, Julian, Boulder, Co (TREK-Livestrong) 106
* Silva, Iggy, San Diego, Ca (Rock Racing)
2. Klipper, David, Portland, Or (Guinness Cycling) 79 -4
* O'Reilly, Cody Santa Barbara, Ca (Bissel Pro Cycling)
3. Elken, Evan, Lake Oswego, Or (Landrover/ORBEA) 73 -9
* Northey, Mike, Vancouver, WA (Landrover/ORBEA)
Six Day B
1. Bergquist, Curtis, Portland, Or (Meg's Maniacs) 80
* Jacks, Patrick, Aloha, Or (Meg's Maniacs)
2. Frechen, Nate, Portland, Or (Team Beer) 52 -2
* Warner, Charlie, Portland, Or (Veloce)
3. Drach, Peter, Portland, OR 123 -4
* Ryan, Kelly, Portland, Or (Portland Bicycle Studio)

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Junior Track Nationals: Day 3 features sprints and an Omnium silver medal



(A group of Oregon racers is competing at the USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships on the large wooden indoor LA Velodrome in southern California. Jon Prettyman, father of racer Joe Prettyman, sent Cycling Action this report from Day 3.)

By Jon Prettyman

Turning in the second fastest flying 200, Dan Birmin landed the second seed in the 17-18 sprint finals. Dan's legs looked on fire in the morning session, easily having enough spin in them to ride right through the quarter-finals with a fast win.

The semis and finals proved tougher for Dan, though. Using a best-two-out-of-three format, Dan wasn't able to hold off Colton Barrett from St Paul, MN, the eventual champion. In the finals for the bronze medal, Dan couldn't beat the top qualifier from the morning, Alan Ting from Sprint, TX. Dan walked away from nationals with two medals though, one for the sprints and one for the kieren.

Joe Prettyman found himself in a super-fast 30 lap points race qualifying heat. Unfortunately, the race was controlled by the sprinters and Joe found himself finishing strong on the final lap, but still out of the points. With eight other racers racking up points, Joe's day was done.

Grant McElroy easily won his qualifier for the longer 8K scratch race, getting a taste for the gold.

In the evening session, Grant set off with a plan to pace the leader in the omnium, Chazmichael Morales, holding his wheel for as long as possible. The race unfolded a bit differently, it appeared that Morales might have been either tired or hoping to help a teammate, his break never started. Gunnar Scheck broke first, Grant sensed it and took off on his wheel. Coming around Scheck on the final straight, Grant edged him out at the line to take the gold, earning himself a second place in the overall omnium. He will be coming home with a Gold medal (scratch race), Silver medal (Omnium), and two Bronze medals (TT and 1k scratch).

(Photos courtesy of Jon Prettyman).