A late-winter storm that dumped a layer of snow in and around the Portland area Sunday morning prompted promoter Jeff Mitchem to cancel the second race of the Banana Belt series scheduled for Henry Hagg Lake.
Instead, we have this classic video from the 1988 Giro's legendary Stage 14 slog over the snow-covered Gavia Pass.
Andy Hampsten, riding for the 7-Eleven squad, topped the pass with Dutchman Erik Breukink and survived the bone-chilling 25k descent that followed. Hampsten finished second on the stage behind Breukink, but his heroic effort pushed him to the top of the overall standings on his way to becoming the first (and only) American to win the Giro d' Italia.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Women's Prestige Series Includes Oregon Race
Promoters of the Women's Prestige Cycling Series announced today that Oregon's Cascade Cycling Classic will be the final event of the 2009 series schedule.
The Bend area stage race, which runs July 22-26, is one of two new events added for this year's series. The Joe Martin Stage Race, May 7-10, has also been included.
"The Cascade Cycling Classic, which is a new addition to the series, will make an excellent grand finale," said series director David LaPorte. "It’s an epic stage race with challenging mountain climbs that will really sort out the final (series) standings. And, coming right before the USA Cycling National Championships held in the same location, all the top teams can be expected to attend."
Riders in the series compete in four different divisions: individual, best young rider, best sprinter and top teams. Leaders in the first three classifications will wear leader’s jerseys provided by Champion Systems, one of the series sponsors.
Kat Carroll (Aaron’s Pro Cycling), took the individual and sprinter’s jerseys in 2008, while her teammate Alison Testroete took the best young rider’s jersey. Aaron’s Pro Cycling also won the top team prize in 2008.
The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, which began in 2004, promotes women’s racing by providing a spotlight that the women don’t have to share with men. The series highlights events that have made the major commitment to women’s racing.
2009 Women's Prestige Cycling Series Scedule
March 26-29 - Redlands Bicycle Classic
May 7-10 – Joe Martin Stage Race
June 10-14 - Nature Valley Grand Prix
July 22-26 – Cascade Cycling Classic
Visit http://www.WomenCyclists.com for more information.
The Bend area stage race, which runs July 22-26, is one of two new events added for this year's series. The Joe Martin Stage Race, May 7-10, has also been included.
"The Cascade Cycling Classic, which is a new addition to the series, will make an excellent grand finale," said series director David LaPorte. "It’s an epic stage race with challenging mountain climbs that will really sort out the final (series) standings. And, coming right before the USA Cycling National Championships held in the same location, all the top teams can be expected to attend."
Riders in the series compete in four different divisions: individual, best young rider, best sprinter and top teams. Leaders in the first three classifications will wear leader’s jerseys provided by Champion Systems, one of the series sponsors.
Kat Carroll (Aaron’s Pro Cycling), took the individual and sprinter’s jerseys in 2008, while her teammate Alison Testroete took the best young rider’s jersey. Aaron’s Pro Cycling also won the top team prize in 2008.
The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, which began in 2004, promotes women’s racing by providing a spotlight that the women don’t have to share with men. The series highlights events that have made the major commitment to women’s racing.
2009 Women's Prestige Cycling Series Scedule
March 26-29 - Redlands Bicycle Classic
May 7-10 – Joe Martin Stage Race
June 10-14 - Nature Valley Grand Prix
July 22-26 – Cascade Cycling Classic
Visit http://www.WomenCyclists.com for more information.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
2009 Northwest Racing Preview
Below is the Extended-Play version of my northwest race preview on VeloNews.com
With a grassroots movement that continues to flourish, a handful of pro races to show off and national championships in two separate disciplines being fought out on its turf, the Pacific Northwest looks to be a hotbed of cycling again in 2009.
The local peleton shifted into high gear March 1 when the nearly 30-year-old Banana Belt Series hit the roads around Henry Hagg Lake about a half hour west of Portland. Banana Belt promoter Jeff Mitchem said he expects anywhere from 350-500 participants for each of the three series races, depending on the weather. The first race of the series lived up to expectations, bringing in nearly 500 riders despite being what Mitchem described as the “grimiest Banana Belt on record.” The cooler temps and constant drizzle didn’t tamp down enthusiasm among local racers to lift the pace.
“(Sublime Sublimity) was a small bunch and everyone was pretty relaxed, even glad to see each other,” Portland racer Ian Leitheiser (Cyclepath) said of a February road race near the small town of Sublimity. “Banana Belt time is different, though. Bigger field, less attrition and 50 guys thinking they can win the bunch charge to the line. Less warm and fuzzy.”
Although economic belt-tightening at the corporate level has taken its toll on top-tier events, racing at the grassroots level continues to thrive, as was recently noted in a story on VeloNews.com by associate editor Patrick O’Grady. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association membership is up more than 15 percent over this time last year, according to OBRA Executive Director Kenji Sugahara. That’s up from the 12.4 percent increase from 2007 to 2008, which saw OBRA issue 3,900 season licenses and 3,898 one-day licenses. David Visintainer, President of the Washington State Bicycle Association, said his state has registered nearly 200 more riders than at this point last year.
Increasing membership also seems to have driven up impatience to roll out the new season, and promoters in Oregon are happy to oblige. The Cherry Pie Road Race near Corvallis kicked off the Oregon season Feb. 15 and lured a record-breaking 532 riders in more than 12 age- and skill-graded categories onto the roads. The Sublime Sublimity Road Race followed the next weekend on Saturday, Feb. 21. The purists got a chance to show off their winter legs at the Jack Frost Time Trial the very next day on a 12.4-mile out-and-back course between Vancouver Lake and the Columbia River; while the knobby-tired crowd hit the singletrack at the inaugural Echo Red to Red mountain bike race in the northeastern corner of the state.
Washington kicked off its road season with the Frost Bite Time Trial Feb. 22. The Mountain bike season starts March 1 at Soaring Eagle Park.
The Echo Red to Red is just one of several news races on the calendar this year, and it marks the beginning of the Oregon Mountain Bike Series, a points competition involving 13 races from now until July 4. Back on the road, the Oregon Cup, a points-scored series of seven road events for Senior 1/2 men and Senior 1/2/3 women, begins with the Banana Belt #3 March 15 and wraps up July 12 at the High Desert Omnium Road Race. The series awards leaders’ and champions’ jerseys, with final prizes handed out at OBRA’s year-end banquet.
With their focus on the grassroots, both Washington and Oregon offer season-long series competitions for beginning and intermediate women. In Washington, the Garmin Women’s Cat 3 and Cat 4 competitions include 10 races that begin in March and end in August. The lucky winners of OBRA’s 2009 Veloforma Norman Babcock Cat 4 Women’s Series presented by Garmin will receive prizes including a Garmin Edge 705 GPS-enabled bike computer. Sara McCarthy, last year’s cat 4 series winner, won a sparkling new Veloforma frameset and fork.
Both state’s will also feature their annual best-rider competitions, including categories for best senior men and senior women overall. Oregon’s Ironman competition “is a 'just for fun' record of the number of events riders do,” according to the OBRA website. “There is no prize, just identification of riders who need to get a life.”
The Ironman contenders will have a few more chances to pad their resumes this year, as Oregon’s 2009 schedule also includes a few new road races. Chad Sperry, promoter of the popular Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and the Cascade Classic, is presenting the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic April 3-5 in The Dalles, located in the Columbia River Gorge about 1 ½ hours from Portland. This three-day, four-stage race, advertised as being on the “dry” side of Oregon, will feature some of the same roads as the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic – with a twist.
“We call it the anti-Mt. Hood Cycling Classic,” said Sperry, who’s been getting “slammed” with registrations for the stage race. “We boast temperate weather and courses that anyone from the fledgling Cat 4 racer to the seasoned veteran can do and enjoy. It’s also great early season prep for those brutal races later in the season like Mt. Hood, the Elkhorn Classic and Cascade Classic."
After the Cherry Blossom premieres, stage racing continues in Oregon with the Willamette Stage Race April 23-26 in Eugene. Although plans for May’s Oregon Pro Cycling Classic, an invitation-only pro race with NRC and UCI points, had to be postponed until 2010 after a title sponsor could not be found this year, the traditional Mt. Hood Cycling Classic will be back June 3-7, although it won't enjoy the National Race Calendar and UCI status that attracted so many pros last year. Other highlights: The Elkhorn Classic Stage Race, a three-day four-stage race in Baker City, Oregon, will run June 19-21. The race will feature equal prize money for the men’s and women’s fields, and the host town of Baker City is offering free host housing to any all-women teams. The downtown Portland Twilight Criterium will be back July 7. And, of course, the Cascade Classic, the granddaddy of Oregon stage races, will be back on tap July 22-25 with a full pro field expected.
Oregon’s road season peaks days later when Bend hosts the USA Cycling Junior, U23 & Elite Road National Championships July 28 - Aug 2.
In fact, USA Cycling will be handing out a lot of stars and stripes jerseys in the northwest this year. Bend will also host the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships Dec. 10-13, little more than three weeks after the finish of the eight-race Cross Crusade -- the nation’s most popular local cyclocross series that attracts more than 1,000 riders per race -- and just one week after the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross makes its annual weekend stop for the Portland Cup Dec. 5-6.
Washington also has its usual full schedule of racing on tap. The WSBA’s Visintainer highlighted the Frozen Flatlands in Spokane April 4-5, the Walla Walla Stage Race April 17-19, The Mutual of Enumclaw Omnium May 30-31 and the Kirkland Criterium Aug. 9.
The Washington road race state championship will be decided at the Glenwood Road Race May 2, part of a two-race weekend in the Nature Valley Qualifying Series. The Longbranch Road Race will follow the next day.
Redmond’s Star Crossed cyclocross race in the fall has become the traditional season opener for the national ‘cross scene. The course sends the country’s top pros in and around the Marymoore Velodrome under the lights.
“It’s a unique race because you have the lights, it’s at night and there’s a beer garden,” Visintainer said. “It’s more of an event as opposed to your typical ‘cross race. But under the night lights we get some pretty good crowds up there.”
And lest we forget our brakeless brethren, Oregon’s Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge will be back July 17-19. Racing at the steeply banked pint-sized outdoor bowl will begin May 1 and run through September, including the Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race May 9 and the Alpenrose Six Day June 22-27. Washington’s Marymoore Velodrome will host the Grand Prix Northwest Velodrome Championship July 31-Aug. 2. (Those dates may change because of a potential conflict that weekend with the road championships in Bend).
In team news, several Oregon clubs have taken their games to higher levels. Veloforma/Zym professional women’s team is looking to branch out from the Pacific Northwest and has its sights set on the 2009 NRC races.
“We plan to be at bigger races this year in preparations for our future,” said team owner Mark Duff. “This has been our goal from the beginning. In 2010 our goal is to add a European sponsor in order to help us set our sights on becoming a UCI team and having Europe on our racing schedule.”
On the men’s side, the Portland-based Land Rover/Orbea Cycling Team was recently given UCI status and plans to hit a full schedule of NRC and Pro Tour races in the United States and Canada. In the juniors, the Hammer/CMG Racing Team features four members of the U.S. Junior National Team on its six-rider roster.
The Pacific Northwest cycling scene continues to thrive, bringing in new racers every year at the grassroots level and producing a steady crop of riders prepared to succeed on the national and international stage. And it’s no wonder. When you mix in the many weekly series events on the track, road and mountain bike, there are almost too many racing days in the Pacific Northwest to count -- although with the enthusiastic organization and support that propels the cycling community here, you can bet somebody somewhere has that data on his or her spreadsheet.
With a grassroots movement that continues to flourish, a handful of pro races to show off and national championships in two separate disciplines being fought out on its turf, the Pacific Northwest looks to be a hotbed of cycling again in 2009.
The local peleton shifted into high gear March 1 when the nearly 30-year-old Banana Belt Series hit the roads around Henry Hagg Lake about a half hour west of Portland. Banana Belt promoter Jeff Mitchem said he expects anywhere from 350-500 participants for each of the three series races, depending on the weather. The first race of the series lived up to expectations, bringing in nearly 500 riders despite being what Mitchem described as the “grimiest Banana Belt on record.” The cooler temps and constant drizzle didn’t tamp down enthusiasm among local racers to lift the pace.
“(Sublime Sublimity) was a small bunch and everyone was pretty relaxed, even glad to see each other,” Portland racer Ian Leitheiser (Cyclepath) said of a February road race near the small town of Sublimity. “Banana Belt time is different, though. Bigger field, less attrition and 50 guys thinking they can win the bunch charge to the line. Less warm and fuzzy.”
Although economic belt-tightening at the corporate level has taken its toll on top-tier events, racing at the grassroots level continues to thrive, as was recently noted in a story on VeloNews.com by associate editor Patrick O’Grady. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association membership is up more than 15 percent over this time last year, according to OBRA Executive Director Kenji Sugahara. That’s up from the 12.4 percent increase from 2007 to 2008, which saw OBRA issue 3,900 season licenses and 3,898 one-day licenses. David Visintainer, President of the Washington State Bicycle Association, said his state has registered nearly 200 more riders than at this point last year.
Increasing membership also seems to have driven up impatience to roll out the new season, and promoters in Oregon are happy to oblige. The Cherry Pie Road Race near Corvallis kicked off the Oregon season Feb. 15 and lured a record-breaking 532 riders in more than 12 age- and skill-graded categories onto the roads. The Sublime Sublimity Road Race followed the next weekend on Saturday, Feb. 21. The purists got a chance to show off their winter legs at the Jack Frost Time Trial the very next day on a 12.4-mile out-and-back course between Vancouver Lake and the Columbia River; while the knobby-tired crowd hit the singletrack at the inaugural Echo Red to Red mountain bike race in the northeastern corner of the state.
Washington kicked off its road season with the Frost Bite Time Trial Feb. 22. The Mountain bike season starts March 1 at Soaring Eagle Park.
The Echo Red to Red is just one of several news races on the calendar this year, and it marks the beginning of the Oregon Mountain Bike Series, a points competition involving 13 races from now until July 4. Back on the road, the Oregon Cup, a points-scored series of seven road events for Senior 1/2 men and Senior 1/2/3 women, begins with the Banana Belt #3 March 15 and wraps up July 12 at the High Desert Omnium Road Race. The series awards leaders’ and champions’ jerseys, with final prizes handed out at OBRA’s year-end banquet.
With their focus on the grassroots, both Washington and Oregon offer season-long series competitions for beginning and intermediate women. In Washington, the Garmin Women’s Cat 3 and Cat 4 competitions include 10 races that begin in March and end in August. The lucky winners of OBRA’s 2009 Veloforma Norman Babcock Cat 4 Women’s Series presented by Garmin will receive prizes including a Garmin Edge 705 GPS-enabled bike computer. Sara McCarthy, last year’s cat 4 series winner, won a sparkling new Veloforma frameset and fork.
Both state’s will also feature their annual best-rider competitions, including categories for best senior men and senior women overall. Oregon’s Ironman competition “is a 'just for fun' record of the number of events riders do,” according to the OBRA website. “There is no prize, just identification of riders who need to get a life.”
The Ironman contenders will have a few more chances to pad their resumes this year, as Oregon’s 2009 schedule also includes a few new road races. Chad Sperry, promoter of the popular Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and the Cascade Classic, is presenting the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic April 3-5 in The Dalles, located in the Columbia River Gorge about 1 ½ hours from Portland. This three-day, four-stage race, advertised as being on the “dry” side of Oregon, will feature some of the same roads as the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic – with a twist.
“We call it the anti-Mt. Hood Cycling Classic,” said Sperry, who’s been getting “slammed” with registrations for the stage race. “We boast temperate weather and courses that anyone from the fledgling Cat 4 racer to the seasoned veteran can do and enjoy. It’s also great early season prep for those brutal races later in the season like Mt. Hood, the Elkhorn Classic and Cascade Classic."
After the Cherry Blossom premieres, stage racing continues in Oregon with the Willamette Stage Race April 23-26 in Eugene. Although plans for May’s Oregon Pro Cycling Classic, an invitation-only pro race with NRC and UCI points, had to be postponed until 2010 after a title sponsor could not be found this year, the traditional Mt. Hood Cycling Classic will be back June 3-7, although it won't enjoy the National Race Calendar and UCI status that attracted so many pros last year. Other highlights: The Elkhorn Classic Stage Race, a three-day four-stage race in Baker City, Oregon, will run June 19-21. The race will feature equal prize money for the men’s and women’s fields, and the host town of Baker City is offering free host housing to any all-women teams. The downtown Portland Twilight Criterium will be back July 7. And, of course, the Cascade Classic, the granddaddy of Oregon stage races, will be back on tap July 22-25 with a full pro field expected.
Oregon’s road season peaks days later when Bend hosts the USA Cycling Junior, U23 & Elite Road National Championships July 28 - Aug 2.
In fact, USA Cycling will be handing out a lot of stars and stripes jerseys in the northwest this year. Bend will also host the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships Dec. 10-13, little more than three weeks after the finish of the eight-race Cross Crusade -- the nation’s most popular local cyclocross series that attracts more than 1,000 riders per race -- and just one week after the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross makes its annual weekend stop for the Portland Cup Dec. 5-6.
Washington also has its usual full schedule of racing on tap. The WSBA’s Visintainer highlighted the Frozen Flatlands in Spokane April 4-5, the Walla Walla Stage Race April 17-19, The Mutual of Enumclaw Omnium May 30-31 and the Kirkland Criterium Aug. 9.
The Washington road race state championship will be decided at the Glenwood Road Race May 2, part of a two-race weekend in the Nature Valley Qualifying Series. The Longbranch Road Race will follow the next day.
Redmond’s Star Crossed cyclocross race in the fall has become the traditional season opener for the national ‘cross scene. The course sends the country’s top pros in and around the Marymoore Velodrome under the lights.
“It’s a unique race because you have the lights, it’s at night and there’s a beer garden,” Visintainer said. “It’s more of an event as opposed to your typical ‘cross race. But under the night lights we get some pretty good crowds up there.”
And lest we forget our brakeless brethren, Oregon’s Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge will be back July 17-19. Racing at the steeply banked pint-sized outdoor bowl will begin May 1 and run through September, including the Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race May 9 and the Alpenrose Six Day June 22-27. Washington’s Marymoore Velodrome will host the Grand Prix Northwest Velodrome Championship July 31-Aug. 2. (Those dates may change because of a potential conflict that weekend with the road championships in Bend).
In team news, several Oregon clubs have taken their games to higher levels. Veloforma/Zym professional women’s team is looking to branch out from the Pacific Northwest and has its sights set on the 2009 NRC races.
“We plan to be at bigger races this year in preparations for our future,” said team owner Mark Duff. “This has been our goal from the beginning. In 2010 our goal is to add a European sponsor in order to help us set our sights on becoming a UCI team and having Europe on our racing schedule.”
On the men’s side, the Portland-based Land Rover/Orbea Cycling Team was recently given UCI status and plans to hit a full schedule of NRC and Pro Tour races in the United States and Canada. In the juniors, the Hammer/CMG Racing Team features four members of the U.S. Junior National Team on its six-rider roster.
The Pacific Northwest cycling scene continues to thrive, bringing in new racers every year at the grassroots level and producing a steady crop of riders prepared to succeed on the national and international stage. And it’s no wonder. When you mix in the many weekly series events on the track, road and mountain bike, there are almost too many racing days in the Pacific Northwest to count -- although with the enthusiastic organization and support that propels the cycling community here, you can bet somebody somewhere has that data on his or her spreadsheet.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Miles, Sander Scoop Wins At Banana Belt Opener
WOMEN 1/2/3
Karey Miles (Therapeutic Associates Inc) won the women's race in a bunch sprint ahead of Cat 3 Beth Burns (Veloce/Felt) after the field stayed mostly together during the four-lap 44-mile Banana Belt opener. (The women’s pro/1/2/3 raced together, but Cat 3s will be scored separately).
Burns said there were "a few possible" break away attempts, but the field kept coming back together until the final sprint, where Miles and Burns battled to a photo finish.
"I don’t know who Miranda Moon is," Burns said of the finishing scramble, "but I knew to jump on Veloforma’s wheel, which I did. And then I heard someone yell ‘go Karey,’ and she took off so I jumped on her wheel. And then it was just her and I at the end. She just outstretched me there."
MEN Pro/1/2
Cyclepath played the team game to perfection in the men’s race and launched Aaron Sander across the line for the team’s first win of the season.
With about two and a half laps to go Sander, Jacob Rathe (Hammer/CMG) and Paul Bourcier (Hutch’s/OIC) bridged up to a three-man break group containing Sander’s Cyclepath teammate John Browning, Seth Hosmer (HPChiro Racing) and Evan Elken (Landrover-Orbea). "John was up front," Sander said. "Jacob and Paul attacked from the field. I got on their wheels and they pulled me up."
With two riders in a promising-looking break packed with riders from top teams, Sander’s Cyclepath teammates back in the bunch were obliged to make others do the work during the second half of the five-lap 55-mile race.
While the horsepower in the chase may not have reached maximum potential, cooperation in the break group helped the leaders build a lead of several minutes until their thoughts turned to the finish. That's when Sander took advantage of some cat-and-mouse games in the group.
"We worked together smoothly until half a lap to go when people started attacking, but we kept coming back together," he said. "On the final hill we stayed together. With about a kilometer to go Jacob and Evan seemed to be marking each other. I saw an opportunity with just under a kilometer to go, and I just went. They didn’t react right away and so I managed to stay away."
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Men Pro/1/2
1. Aaron Sander (Cyclepath Racing)
2. Seth Hosmer (HPChiro/Hammer Nutrition)
3. Evan Elken (land Rover/Orbea)
4. Jacob Rathe (Hammer/CMG)
Hotspot points
1. Elken, Evan
2. Sander, Aaron
3. Bourcier, Paul
Women Pro/1/2/3 (3s will be scored separately)
1. Karey Miles (Therapeutic Associates Inc.)
2. Beth Burns (Veloce/Felt)
3. Jen Akeroyd (Team Group Health)
 |
| Slideshow: 2009 Banana Belt #1 |
Check OBRA results HERE.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A Little Ride Down Memory Lane: 1986 Sandpoint Cycling Classic
Northwest cycling fans may get a kick out of this bit of memorabilia recently dug up by the Cycling Action research department, which is hard at work on the fifth floor of one of the more nondescript buildings at our vast world headquarters campus.
This dusty old article details the 1986 Sandpoint Cycling Classic, featuring international cycling star Phil Anderson along with a cast of legendary Oregon riders.
Maybe you've heard of Michael Sylvester? How about David Auker? Or maybe you remember little Kirk Willett, terror of the Junior 14-15 class? They're all here and more.
This bit of history will take you back to the days when Greg Lemond was preparing to win his first Tour de France, the newly required hardshell helmets resembled scaled down Styrofoam coolers, shifters were on frames and brake cables still proudly burst skyward from their levers like a downtown fountain trying to cool off kids in a heatwave.
Read on ...(click images for larger versions):
If you look closely at that picture, you'll see a fresh-faced neophyte racer from Missoula, Mont., by the name of Patrick Malach. If you look really, really, really closely, you can almost see some muscle tone in those legs ... almost!
.jpg)
This dusty old article details the 1986 Sandpoint Cycling Classic, featuring international cycling star Phil Anderson along with a cast of legendary Oregon riders.
Maybe you've heard of Michael Sylvester? How about David Auker? Or maybe you remember little Kirk Willett, terror of the Junior 14-15 class? They're all here and more.
This bit of history will take you back to the days when Greg Lemond was preparing to win his first Tour de France, the newly required hardshell helmets resembled scaled down Styrofoam coolers, shifters were on frames and brake cables still proudly burst skyward from their levers like a downtown fountain trying to cool off kids in a heatwave.
Read on ...(click images for larger versions):
If you look closely at that picture, you'll see a fresh-faced neophyte racer from Missoula, Mont., by the name of Patrick Malach. If you look really, really, really closely, you can almost see some muscle tone in those legs ... almost!
.jpg)
Pennington Ranked Third On Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar
Hood River's Alice Pennignton is currently tied for third on the 2009 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar.
After two of eight events, Pennington (Team S&M/Desalvo Cycles) follows leader Rita Borelli of Tallahasee, Fla., and Rebeccea Rusch (Specialized/Red Bull) of Ketchum, Iadaho.
Pennington finished second to Rusch at the calendar-opening Mas O Menos Feb. 15 in Terlingua, Texas, covering the 100k event in 5:7:26.00. Pennington did not compete at the series' second event, the 12 Hours of Santos Feb. 21 in Ocala, Fla.
The next event on the calendar will be the marathon race at the Spa City Extreme in Hot Springs, Arkansas March 7-8.
Women's Standings
1. Rita Borelli (Tallahassee, Fla.) 60 points
1. Rebecca Rusch (Ketchum, Idaho/Specialized-Red Bull) 60
2. Alice Pennington (Hood River, Ore./S&M-Desalvo) 40
2. Sandra Tomlinson (Jacksonville, Fla.) 40
3. Claire McKenna (Austin, Texas/Team Hammerhead) 30
3. Tracey Wallace (Lakeland, Fla./Team Florida) 30
Men's Standings
1. Bryan Fawley (Austin, Texas/Park Place Lexus) 60 points
1. Harlan Price (Philadelphia, Pa.) 60
2. Robert Lichtenwalner (Nazareth, Pa.) 40
2. J.T. Cody (San Antonio, Texas/Solar Eclipse) 40
3. Ernesto Marenchin (Stowe, Ohio) 30
3. Sean Sindt (Austin, Texas/Austin Flyers-Bicycle Sport Shop) 30
After two of eight events, Pennington (Team S&M/Desalvo Cycles) follows leader Rita Borelli of Tallahasee, Fla., and Rebeccea Rusch (Specialized/Red Bull) of Ketchum, Iadaho.
Pennington finished second to Rusch at the calendar-opening Mas O Menos Feb. 15 in Terlingua, Texas, covering the 100k event in 5:7:26.00. Pennington did not compete at the series' second event, the 12 Hours of Santos Feb. 21 in Ocala, Fla.
The next event on the calendar will be the marathon race at the Spa City Extreme in Hot Springs, Arkansas March 7-8.
Women's Standings
1. Rita Borelli (Tallahassee, Fla.) 60 points
1. Rebecca Rusch (Ketchum, Idaho/Specialized-Red Bull) 60
2. Alice Pennington (Hood River, Ore./S&M-Desalvo) 40
2. Sandra Tomlinson (Jacksonville, Fla.) 40
3. Claire McKenna (Austin, Texas/Team Hammerhead) 30
3. Tracey Wallace (Lakeland, Fla./Team Florida) 30
Men's Standings
1. Bryan Fawley (Austin, Texas/Park Place Lexus) 60 points
1. Harlan Price (Philadelphia, Pa.) 60
2. Robert Lichtenwalner (Nazareth, Pa.) 40
2. J.T. Cody (San Antonio, Texas/Solar Eclipse) 40
3. Ernesto Marenchin (Stowe, Ohio) 30
3. Sean Sindt (Austin, Texas/Austin Flyers-Bicycle Sport Shop) 30
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
APB All My Stuff: A Plea From Dave Zabriske
Venturing outside the normal Cycling Action haunts in and around NW Oregon, this has just come in via Garmin-Slipstream pro David Zabriskie's Twitter updates:
Find a more complete list of DZ's stolen stuff at VeloNews.com and maybe you can help take a bite out of crime.
It's true. VeloNews.com reported that Zabriskie's Utah home was burglarized while the Olympian was at the Amgen Tour of California. Here's a partial list of stolen items:# My house was broken into while at TOC. They took everything, a lot of bikes,cars, and you name it they got it. ...about 4 hours ago from web
# If anyone out there sees anything you think might be mine, let me know. Thanks...DZ ...about 4 hours ago from web
• Giro D Italia Race Medal (approx. 6" circumference)They took his Giro medal and Olympic ring? Bummer! On the other hand, it must be nice to have more than $100,000 worth of bikes in your garage. Let's hope he was insured.
• Olympic Seiko watch
• Beijing Olympic ring (silver) with initials "DZ" engraved ($4,000)
• Olympic Time Trial Bike, plus 12 other bikes (combined value of $100,000)
• Cervelo (black/red) bike frame - team issued ($5000)
Find a more complete list of DZ's stolen stuff at VeloNews.com and maybe you can help take a bite out of crime.
Craig Named to Pan American Cross Country Team
Bend's Adam Craig will be one of 20 riders representing the United States at the 2009 Pan American Mountain Bike Championships, March 20-23 in Santiago, Chile.
Craig will be joined in the Elite Men's Cross Country category by Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.), Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.) and Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.), according to USA Cycling.
Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.), ranked 14th in the world and second among Americans, earned an automatic nomination but declined his invitation.
Elite Men’s Cross Country
Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.)
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.)
Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.)
Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.)
Elite Women’s Cross Country
Georgia Gould (Boulder, Colo.)
Mary McConneloug (Fairfax, Calif.)
Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo.)
Willow Koerber (Asheville, N.C.)
U23 Men’s Cross Country
Tad Elliott (Durango, Colo.)
Mitchell Peterson (Sandy, Utah)
Macky Franklin (Taos, N.M.)
U23 Women’s Cross Country
Chloe Forsman (Tucson, Ariz.)
Craig will be joined in the Elite Men's Cross Country category by Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.), Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.) and Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.), according to USA Cycling.
Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.), ranked 14th in the world and second among Americans, earned an automatic nomination but declined his invitation.
Elite Men’s Cross Country
Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.)
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.)
Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.)
Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.)
Elite Women’s Cross Country
Georgia Gould (Boulder, Colo.)
Mary McConneloug (Fairfax, Calif.)
Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo.)
Willow Koerber (Asheville, N.C.)
U23 Men’s Cross Country
Tad Elliott (Durango, Colo.)
Mitchell Peterson (Sandy, Utah)
Macky Franklin (Taos, N.M.)
U23 Women’s Cross Country
Chloe Forsman (Tucson, Ariz.)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Inaugural Red To Red Kicks Off Oregon MTB Series; Plews Caps Weekend Double
Salem's Evan Plews continued to display his early season form, pulling off a weekend double by taking the Inaugural Red To Red MTB cross country race Sunday in Echo one day after he bested the Pro/1/2 field at the Sublime Sublimity Circuit Race.
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Sunday's win completes a February hat trick for the 32-year-old Capitol Subaru Cycling rider, who earlier this month lapped Tinker Juarez on his way to winning the KONA 24 Hours In the Old Pueblo near Tucson.
Oregon Mountain Bike Series Director Mike Ripley said 175 people showed up for the first cross country race of the OBRA season in Echo, a small Northeast Oregon community tucked in the rolling hills between Hermiston and Pendleton.
"The rain hit early and then stopped for the neutral mass start as riders positioned themselves on this bump fest up and down the treeless landscape," Ripley said via e-mail.
The difficult, long course tested riders with 3,500 ft. of climbing. Flirting with freezing temps early, conditions improved as the precipitation stopped and the temperatures moderated slightly. The late-winter chill only added to the already challenging course.
"The course was very difficult," Plews said. "Never up or down for long and especially never straight or smooth. It was so demanding that many of us were struggling just to stay on the singletrack and keep the locals in sight."
While Plews may have struggled early, Matt Russell (Capitol Subaru Cycling), Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete) and James Williams (Cannondale) built a sizable gap at the front of the race. But Plews eventually caught the three leaders just as they exited the last loop of singletrack onto the short gravel/paved road back to the finish line in town.
"We each took a pull," Plews said, "but I was able to drop Cody and James with about 1k to go and managed a close but decisive victory."
MTB series director Ripley said Capitol Subaru Cycling from Salem and Pistis from Southern Oregon appeared to take the early series lead in the team chase, and Sunnyside Sports will be up there as well.
Capitol Subaru Cycling placed four riders in the top 10 in the pro category. David Hill placed second in the 45+ Cat 1 and Kurt Haas held on for 3rd place in the singlespeed race to round up three podiums for the team, which finished second in last year's series.
Official series points and results will be posted at www.oregonxcseries.org sometime later this week or early next week, according to Ripley. The next race of the Oregon MTB Cross Country Series will be the Hornings Hustle April 5 outside of North Plains.
PRO MEN
1. Evan Plews (Capitol Subaru Cycling)
2. Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete)
3. James Williams (Cannondale)
4. Matt Russell (Capitol Subaru Cycling)
PRO/1 WOMEN
1. Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
2. Jacqueline Cohen (Sagebrush Cycles)
3. Kari Studley (Velo Bella)
4. Erin Ford (Disco Velo)
Complete OBRA results HERE.
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Sunday's win completes a February hat trick for the 32-year-old Capitol Subaru Cycling rider, who earlier this month lapped Tinker Juarez on his way to winning the KONA 24 Hours In the Old Pueblo near Tucson.Oregon Mountain Bike Series Director Mike Ripley said 175 people showed up for the first cross country race of the OBRA season in Echo, a small Northeast Oregon community tucked in the rolling hills between Hermiston and Pendleton.
"The rain hit early and then stopped for the neutral mass start as riders positioned themselves on this bump fest up and down the treeless landscape," Ripley said via e-mail.
The difficult, long course tested riders with 3,500 ft. of climbing. Flirting with freezing temps early, conditions improved as the precipitation stopped and the temperatures moderated slightly. The late-winter chill only added to the already challenging course.
"The course was very difficult," Plews said. "Never up or down for long and especially never straight or smooth. It was so demanding that many of us were struggling just to stay on the singletrack and keep the locals in sight."
While Plews may have struggled early, Matt Russell (Capitol Subaru Cycling), Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete) and James Williams (Cannondale) built a sizable gap at the front of the race. But Plews eventually caught the three leaders just as they exited the last loop of singletrack onto the short gravel/paved road back to the finish line in town.
"We each took a pull," Plews said, "but I was able to drop Cody and James with about 1k to go and managed a close but decisive victory."
MTB series director Ripley said Capitol Subaru Cycling from Salem and Pistis from Southern Oregon appeared to take the early series lead in the team chase, and Sunnyside Sports will be up there as well.
Capitol Subaru Cycling placed four riders in the top 10 in the pro category. David Hill placed second in the 45+ Cat 1 and Kurt Haas held on for 3rd place in the singlespeed race to round up three podiums for the team, which finished second in last year's series.
Official series points and results will be posted at www.oregonxcseries.org sometime later this week or early next week, according to Ripley. The next race of the Oregon MTB Cross Country Series will be the Hornings Hustle April 5 outside of North Plains.
PRO MEN
1. Evan Plews (Capitol Subaru Cycling)
2. Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete)
3. James Williams (Cannondale)
4. Matt Russell (Capitol Subaru Cycling)
PRO/1 WOMEN
1. Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
2. Jacqueline Cohen (Sagebrush Cycles)
3. Kari Studley (Velo Bella)
4. Erin Ford (Disco Velo)
Complete OBRA results HERE.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Moon, Hosmer Win Frigid Jack Frost Time Trial
UPDATED BELOW
Veloforma's Miranda Moon (pictured) and HPChiro Racing's Seth Hosmer endured an increasingly bitter February breeze Sunday to best the women's and men's fields of the Jack Frost Time Trial.
Contested in Washington on the spit of land between Vancouver Lake and The Columbia River, the early season form-tester avoided rain but not the chill, especially as the afternoon wore on.
In the women's field, the top-four riders overall also won their individual categories. Moon (Cat 1/2 winner) topped the field with a time of 30:09.84 over the 12.4-mile out-and back course. Mary Ross (Masters 50-59 winner), riding for Nomad Sports Club, covered the course in a blistering 31:15.16 as the second woman overall. Karey Miles (Cat. 3 winner), a rider for Therapeutic Associates Inc., was third overall with 31:21.79. The aptly named Brenda Spinney (Cat 4 winner) was the fourth fastest woman of the day with a time of 31:26.06.
In the men's field, Hosmer was the first Men's Cat 1/2 rider of the day, starting around 9:50 a.m., and set the standard that held for the rest of the day with a winning time of 25:46.45. Z Team's David Zimbelman (Masters 50-59 winner) came across the line second overall at 26:23.75. His teammate Karsten Hagen (Masters 40-49 winner) finished third overall with a time of 25:30.41.
Complete OBRA results HERE.
SLIDESHOW:
Veloforma's Miranda Moon (pictured) and HPChiro Racing's Seth Hosmer endured an increasingly bitter February breeze Sunday to best the women's and men's fields of the Jack Frost Time Trial.
Contested in Washington on the spit of land between Vancouver Lake and The Columbia River, the early season form-tester avoided rain but not the chill, especially as the afternoon wore on.In the women's field, the top-four riders overall also won their individual categories. Moon (Cat 1/2 winner) topped the field with a time of 30:09.84 over the 12.4-mile out-and back course. Mary Ross (Masters 50-59 winner), riding for Nomad Sports Club, covered the course in a blistering 31:15.16 as the second woman overall. Karey Miles (Cat. 3 winner), a rider for Therapeutic Associates Inc., was third overall with 31:21.79. The aptly named Brenda Spinney (Cat 4 winner) was the fourth fastest woman of the day with a time of 31:26.06.
UPDATE: Monday, 4:22 p.m.MEN
An alert reader notes: "May I point out that the Woman Master 40-49 winner was Sandy Earl, the current record holder for the Davis 12 hour Time Trial and the Davis 24 Hour Time Trial (among other records)? Seems she can ride fast for 1/2 hour also!
In the men's field, Hosmer was the first Men's Cat 1/2 rider of the day, starting around 9:50 a.m., and set the standard that held for the rest of the day with a winning time of 25:46.45. Z Team's David Zimbelman (Masters 50-59 winner) came across the line second overall at 26:23.75. His teammate Karsten Hagen (Masters 40-49 winner) finished third overall with a time of 25:30.41.
Complete OBRA results HERE.
SLIDESHOW:
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| 2009 Jack Frost Time Trial |
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