Saturday, August 8, 2009

Hegyvary takes Portland Twilight Criterium in front of boisterous crowd



(Please check back later for the complete Cycling Action photo gallery for this race)

Washington’s Adrian Hegyvary blew into town with several of his Hagens-Berman teammates and stole the show from the local stars at the 8th Annual Subaru Portland Twilight Criterium Saturday night.

Crowds jammed the sidewalks of Portland’s North Park Blocks to watch racers tackle the technical six-corner course on 8th and 9th avenues between Couch and Flanders.

Hegyvary, a Cat 1 rider for the powerful Seattle-based amateur team, has made a habit of winning races in Oregon this season. He took two stages of April’s Cherry Blossom Classic in The Dalles, a pro/am race won by Bissell Pro Cycling Team’s Paul Mach. Hegyvary was one of the most aggressive amateur racers at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in Hood River – also won by Mach – ending up in race-shaping, daylong breakaways on at least two stages.

He wasted little time letting the rest of the field know he meant business again.

”I got a call-up at the last minute,” he said. “So I figured since I was on the front the best would be to just go from the gun. We had a bunch of teammates here, so I figured if I couldn’t stick it, then that would be a good way to get the race started. We do better if the race is a little faster, especially on short course like this.”

But Hegyvary was in for a tough battle with Land Rover-ORBEA fielding top guns Evan Elken, who had been on the podium twice before at this race, and Roman Van Uden, winner of the criterium at Tour of the Gila, heading up a small contingent for the Portland-based UCI pro team. Gentle Lovers also fielded a small group of riders to support sprinter Steven Beardlsey’s podium ambitions. Team Oregon, HPChiro/Hammer Nutrition, Veloce/Felt, Hammer/CMG Racing, Cyclepath and most of the other Oregon teams also had riders in the bunch.

When Hegyvary attacked on the second lap, Elken, Van Uden and Beardlsey were immediately in tow. The breakaway stayed off the front but failed to build a significant lead. Portland Bicycle Studio’s Molly Cameron soon bridged to the group, which by now was just dangling off the front of the field.

“I kept wanting to drive it to get the gap up so we wouldn’t have to worry so much,” Hegyvary said, “But it was tough getting guys to work a little bit.”

With the break tantalizingly close to the field, the makeup of the group began to change as riders bridged and then dropped, flatted or sometimes crashed. But Hegyvary, Elken and Beardsley remained steadfastly at the front, trying to cash in on their daylong efforts.

“At the start I thought it was going to stick; about 20 minutes in," Hegyvary said. “But there just wasn’t enough cooperation. We would roll through, but we weren’t pulling hard enough. So it wasn’t really until the last couple of laps that I really thought we’d stick it.”

Coming into the last laps the lead group contained Elken, Beardsley, Hegyvary, Team Oregon’s Chris Swan and one of Elken’s Land Rover-ORBEA teammates.

That’s when Hegyvary’s Hagens-Berman teammate Sam Johnson made a desperate solo bridge to the breakaway group on the second-to-last lap and immediately went to the front to set up his teammate in the sprint. Hegyvary jumped two corners before the finish and comfortably held off Elken and Beardsley, who finished within inches of each other for second and third, respectively.

“I went on the outside, and then Sam kind of eased off a little bit so the gap opened up,” Hegyvary said. “That was awesome. That was a good move.”

CAT 3 RACE


A major crash split the field in the Cat 3 race and sent one rider to the hospital with a punctured lung. It also seemed to keep any significant breakaways from forming as riders concentrated on the wealth of primes being dished out to keep the pace high.

Team Oregon’s Adam Edgerton used the cash (and crash) distractions to his advantage, pressing a gap with IJM.org’s Aaron Shaw when the group sat up after contesting a prime. With just a handful of laps remaining Edgerton coaxed Shaw onto his wheel as the pair took off on a closing flyer that gave them plenty of room to spare over the charging field. Shaw took Edgerton in the sprint for first place after the Team Oregon rider mistook the number of laps remaining and didn't realize he was on the last lap. Matt Wulp won the field sprint for third.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 Portland Twilight Criterium
Aug. 7


Pro/1/2
1. Adrian Hegyvary (Hagens-Berman)
2. Evan Elken (Land Rover-ORBEA)
3. Steven Beardsley (Gentle Lovers)

Cat 3
1. Aaron Shaw (IMJ.org)
2. Adam Edgerton (Team Oregon)
3. Matt Wulp
4. Sylvio Brave (IJM.org)
5. Tom Ghilarducci (bicycleattorney.com)

Friday, August 7, 2009

Star Crossed online registration opens

Registration opened today for the popular twilight Star Crossed cyclocross race Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond, Wash.

Star Crossed was the nation’s first twilight cyclocross race, dating back to 2002. Now it marks the beginning the U.S. cyclocross season as the first stop on the 2009 North American Cyclocross Trophy.

The UCI-ranked event takes place under the lights at King County’s Marymoor Park on a fast and spectator-friendly course. The festival atmosphere features great racing, DJ spun tunes, a Deschutes Brewery beer garden and Cascade Bicycle Studio door prizes, according to the event website.

Racers can register online HERE.

Visit the Star Crossed website HERE.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Oregonian features Rathe's latest report from Moscow

Portland junior racer Jacob Rathe is in Moscow preparing to compete in the UCI Junior World Championship Road Race on Sunday, Aug. 9, with the USA Cycling Junior National Team that include's Bend's Ian Boswell.

The team has been in Moscow for several days with coach Ben Sharp getting to know the course for the road race and time trial. The U.S. juniors are staying in a massive hotel with the riders from 40 other national teams and will race on a 13.5 km downtown Moscow circuit that was designed for the 1980 Olympics.

From Rathe's oregonlive.com post:
"It's a long way to the top. My hotel room is on the 27th floor. The elevator stops at every other floor, usually to an empty hallway. A big beastly Russian is towering over me, several others stare blankly at the elevator door. My fellow American teammates feel a similar intimidation by the size of these athletes. We'd rather not make them mad."
Read Rathe's entire oregonlive.com post HERE.

The Junior Men's road race begins Sunday at 3 a.m. Pacific Time (2 p.m. in Moscow). You can follow national team coach Ben Sharp's Twitter updates from Moscow @ http://twitter.com/bensharp13

Related:
"Bend's Boswell picked for USA Cycling's junior worlds team"

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Bigger, badder Cross Crusade is back on with return of the Grunge

As expected, rumors of the Cross Crusade's death were greatly exaggerated. Portland's weekly cyclocross series will start Oct. 4 at Alpenrose Dairy and wind up Nov. 15 at Barton Park.

Highlights this year include the "Border Clash Weekend" to decide the The Grail Della Grunge with Washington's best 'crossers. Race 1 of the border battle will be in Tumwater, Wash., Oct. 10, with race 2 the following day in Rainier. And, of course, the USGP will be back Dec. 5 and 6 to close out the local cross season, with the national championships the following week in Bend.

Should be a big season of cyclocross ahead. For more info check out the following release from the Cross Crusade crew, or check out the official website HERE.

SCHEDULE
Oct. 4 CC #1 Alpenrose Dairy, Portland, Oregon
BORDER CLASH WEEKEND*
(Oct. 10 Airport Golf Center, Tumwater Wa. Grunge #1)*
Oct. 11 CC #2 Rainier High School, Rainier Oregon Grunge #2
Oct. 18 CC #3 Sherwood Equestrian Park, Sherwood, Oregon
Oct. 25 CC #4 Washington County Fairgrounds, suburbia
HALLOWEEN FEST WEEKEND
Oct. 31 CC #5 Clatsop County Fairgrounds, Astoria, Oregon
Nov. 1 CC #6 Clatsop County Fairgrounds, Astoria, Oregon
Nov. 8 CC #7 Portland Intl. Raceway, Portland, Oregon
Nov. 15 CC #8 Barton Park, Barton, Oregon

The Crank Brothers US Gran Prix of Cyclocross will return to PIR, Dec. 5 & 6, 2009. The USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships will be produced by the Cross Crusade in Bend Oregon, Dec. 10-13, 2009.

THE GRAIL DELLA GRUNGE IS BACK AND SEATTLE CROSS RACERS ARE CHOKING ON THEIR CARMEL LATTES
The Grunge battles will be fought on one epic weekend: Oct. 10 in Tumwater, Wa., and Oct. 11 at Rainier High School.

SCHEDULE/CATEGORY CHANGES FOR DAY OF RACE
The Elite Women will race in the same time slot as the Elite Men. The Women's M35+ will be replaced by Women's Masters A and Women's Masters B. Women's M45+ will remain. (Fun Fact: The women's categories are the most consistent in the Crusade, and often have more competitors at the last race than the first!)

MANO A MANO/ TEAM VS TEAM
This year the Cross Crusade is introducing team competition... and with any luck, we may even know the results by Wed each week.... The top 8 results by members of each team across all categories will be scored each week. At the end of the series, the final tabulation will be made and a prize of indescribable value will be awarded to the best team. See the website for complete rules and a convoluted explanation of scoring.

TECH SUPPORT... or "hurry up, my race is staging"
The Cross Crusade is proud to have SHIMANO provide tech support for all races, in both the Expo area and the Pit. They will provide a professional level of service, so show respect.

LEARN TO BUNNY HOP THE BARRIERS
Or at least clear them without falling... Erik Tonkin will host his popular clinics Sept. 2nd, 9th, and 16th, 6-8pm at Alpenrose Dairy. Instructors include Erik and Rhonda Mazza, Jeffrey Struck, and Shannon Skerritt.

$50 BUCKS FOR 50+
The Masters 50+ Category will have betting pool, (no, its not Bingo) for all contenders or would be challengers for the three steps on the PO-dium. Series top 3 split the pot. See the website for rules. Other categories are encouraged to set up their own wagers!

FIRST ANNUAL "CRUSADERS GOT TALENT" VIDEO COMPETITION
The Directors of the Cross Crusade challenge all crusaders to create their own videos, showcasing their talents. Videos may be based on the reunion tour theme or any talent you may remotely possess. Videos will be posted to a YouTube “Crusaders got Talent” channel. All videos will be automatically entered into the competition and will be judged at a special gala screening. See website for rules and suggested prizes!

QUEST FOR THE GRAIL
New route, new quest, same old missing Grail. Find the Grail and win a trip to Tabor, Czech Republic to see the 2010 World Championships of Cyclocross! Or just find one of the other artifacts along the route, and be eligible for the CCXWC raffle.

Local media catch whiff of Oregon's competitive cycling scene

Euro star Chris Horner gets his fair share of media attention from Oregon's journalists, but the exploits of Oregon junior racers Ian Boswell and Jacob Rathe have grabbed the attention of the local media, who've recently caught on to just how hot Oregon's local competitive cycling scene really is.

Oregonian reporter David Stabler and photographer Torsten Kjellstrand spent some time with Rathe, his family and his coach to put together a nice feature article about the 18-year-old Lincoln High School graduate, who will compete with Boswell at the junior world championships in Moscow next week.

And local Fox outlet KPTV Channel 12 turned its teen spotlight on Rathe. If you haven't seen the coverage, check it out now and let these media outlets know you support more cycling coverage. Sponsors sure appreciate it.

LINKS:
Rathe prepares to lead U.S. juniors team to Moscow, The Oregonian, July 31.
KPTV High School Spotlight on Jacob Rathe, KPTV Channel 12 video

Miller battles Tuckerman for first August PIR Tuesday win



RESULTS
PIR Tuesday Night Series
August 4

Cat 4/5 - 23 finishers
1. Gilman, Matt (Capitol Velo) 16
2. Emerson, Mike (Capitol Velo) 12
3. Kessler, Chris (Ruckus Test Team) 10
4. Roberts, Justin 8
5. Drake, Kevin 7


Cat 3/4 - 54 finishers
1. Weber, Johannes F.B. (Ironclad Performance Wear) 24
2. Spahr, Trevor (Ironclad Performance Wear) 22
3. Shingleton, James (Capitol Velo) 18
4. Garbellano, Jeremy (Guinness Cycling) 13
5. Allen, Gary (Liberty Cycle) 12

Pro/1/2/3 - 58 finishers
1. Miller, Ben (Guinness Cycling) 17
2. Tuckerman, Aaron (Land Rover/ORBEA) 15
3. Leonard, John (Rapha Racing) 15
4. Hepner, Evan 13
5. Ryan, Kelly (Portland Bike Studio) 6



JULY OVERALL SERIES RESULTS

Pro/1/2/3
1. Holland, Steven (Finnegans Toys/Discover Chiropractic) 35
2. Hamilton,Chris (Rapha Racing) 29
3. Gates, David (Bridgetown Velo) 20
Cat 3/4
1. Harwood, Jeff (Ironclad Performance Wear) 25
2. Creem, Joshua (Portland Bicycle Studio) 25
3. Smith, Ryan (Ironclad Performance Wear) 19
Cat 4/5
1. Riehl, Damian 30
2. Anderson, Eric (Pacific Power Blue Sky) 22
3. Murphy, Kyle 16

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Skerritt completes near sweep, Brubaker takes last women's PDX short track



Shannon Skerritt (Vanilla Bicycles) added an exclamation point to his domination of the Portland Mountain Bike Short Track series Monday night, winning the final race of the season and capping a run that saw him top the podium in each race he finished.

Tina Brubaker showed up for the Pro/Cat 1 women's race to take her first win of the series. Brubaker led from the start and finished comfortably ahead of Susan Sherman (Showers Pass), Abby Jenkins (Bridgetown Velo), Marila Alvares (Bike Gallery) and Susan Grandjean (Showers Pass).

Skerritt won six of the seven races in the summer series, falling victim to a mechanical last week that opened the door for Portland Bicycle Studio's Doug Wilmes, a consistent podium finisher, to finally reach the top spot.

But Skerritt suffered no bad luck at the series finale, charging out of the BMX gate area for the hole shot and charging into the lap 1 detour through the western edge of the infield. Skerritt put the race out of reach quickly and left the others to battle for second. Wilmes topped the field for the runner-up spot, finishing ahead of James Crowe (Revolver Cascadia) and River City Bicycles riders Davy Yeater and Tim Butler.

RESULTS
Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series
PIR, Aug. 3

Singlespeed
1. Furniss, Jacob (Revolver Cascadia) 5
2. Gilmore, Leland (River City Bicycles) 5
3. Bravard, John (Cyclepath Racing) 5
4. Barker, Scott
5. Pereira, Tony (Team Beer) 5

Pro/Cat 1 Women
1. Brubaker, Tina 5
2. Sherman, Susan (Showers Pass) 5
3. Jenkins, Abby (Bridgetown Velo) 5
4. Alvares, Marila (Bike Gallery) 5
5. Grandjean, Susan (Showers Pass) 5

Pro Men
1. Skerritt, Shannon (Vanilla Bicycles) 6
2. Wilmes, Doug (Portland Bicycle Studio) 6
3. Crowe, James (Revolver Cascadia) 6
4. Yeater, Davy (River City Bicycles) 6
5. Butler, Tim 43 (River City Bicycles) 6

Complete OBRA results are HERE.







Monday, August 3, 2009

Steger, Reeve start August Monday PIR series with wins

RESULTS
River City Bicycles Monday Night Race Series
Portland International Raceway, Aug. 3

Novice Women
1. Lewis, Leigh 15
2. Henricks, Roslyn 12
3. Thompson, Lynn 10
4. Medellin, Allison 8
5. Stenhouse, Yvonne 7
Novice Men
1. McBride, William 15
2. Cox, James 12
3. Bauch, Todd 10
4. Wilson, George 8
5. Cady, Josh 7
Masters Cat/4/5
1. Kowalsky, Greg (Team Oregon) 18
2. Aldersebaes, Dave (Ironclad Performance Wear) 15
3. Timmerman, Edward 13
4. Berndardt, Eric 11
5. Polonsky, Jon 8

Senior Women
1. Reeve, Lisa 19
2. Moss, Jan (Team Group Health) 16
3. Armstrong, Alana (Sorella Forte) 13
4. Pressey, Lana (Ironclad Performance Wear) 9
5. Larson, Elena (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8) 7
Masters Cat/1/2/3

1. Steger, Mark (Nike) 18
2. Drake, Peter (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling Team) 12
3. Warner, Charles (Veloce/Felt) 11
4. Larson, Dan (Half Fast Velo) 10
5. Martin, Joe (Veloce/Felt) 9



Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Myers makes stir with post announcing Cross Crusade demise



OBRA member and Cross Crusade board member Jonathan Myers made a stir Monday when he posted a note to the OBRA chat list announcing the dissolution of the popular weekly cyclocross series for the upcoming 2009 season.

Myers claimed enthusiasm among organizers was low and the group had decided to move on to pursue other goals.

However, as noted by bikeportland.org editor Jonathan Maus, the subtly humorous tone of Myers' announcement suggests it could just be the first shot in the marketing campaign for this year's series.

Until further word comes in, you can decide for yourself by reading Myers' complete OBRA post below:
"As anyone who has been involved in organizing a bicycle race knows, it can be both time consuming and difficult even when it is fun and rewarding. The Cross Crusade has grown from a very small series originally put together by Rick Potestio and Russ Humberston over 15 years ago to a very large series organized by a much larger team of people. As time demands have grown for the organizers, particularly over the last few years it has become harder and harder to put on the type of event that we believe the racers of Oregon deserve.

"Over the last few weeks the organizers have met to put together the plans for the 2009 Crusade. But, during those meetings it became clear that the energy and passion were just not there to continue. So, it is with disappointment but also with some relief we are announcing the dissolution of the Cross Crusade.

"While this may be the end of the series, the people must go on. All the organizers have plans for the future that they have been looking forward to pursuing for many years.

"Brad Ross, our race director has decided to re-enter the corporate world and is taking a position as the Director of Corporate Nomenclature for a prominent local sporting goods company.

"Rick Potestio is working on a treatment for a new television program call Arch-i-talks. This program will focus on low cost ways of turning your 1970’s ranch into a post modern dream home. You would be amazed what PVC cladding and cinder blocks can do these days.

"Russ Humberston has rediscovered a love of music playing Guitar Hero on Xbox 360 with his children. He will be joining his brother’s band as a part time guest member. He does not have any formal training, but he believes the video game has given him all the skills to succeed.

"Rich Slingby has always had a deep interest in winter snow and ice sports. With the Winter Olympics coming to the Northwest, Rich has dedicated himself to earning a spot on the US Curling team. His use of a Swiffer Sweeper may revolutionize the sport.

"Jon Myers will be taking a job as Barry Wick’s body double for low priority and distance photo shoots. Barry does not have time to fulfill all his media requests and since Jon is almost as tall, has somewhat similar hair and rides Kona bicycles, it is a natural fit.

"Andy Wilson has been inspired by Kopi Luwak, the civet produced coffee bean from SE asia. He is working on a new product based on nutria and a new secret coffee bean sourced from the deep jungles of Brazil. Look for it at gourmet coffee houses this fall.

"Doug Moak is putting together a whole new bike race series call the Krozz Kruzade. Many of the themes of this new series are based on Doug’s study of Czechoslovakian Philosopher Emanuel Rádl. Look for details soon.

"Thanks for all the memories and fun times.

"Released by board member Jon Myers for the entire Cross Crusade Organization."