Cherry Blossom Classic On VeloNews.com

(UPDATE: Complete Cherry Blossom Classic Photo Galleries Are Now Posted Online HERE. All Stages include Pro/1/2 Men, Pro/1/2/3 Women and Masters. Stage Three includes Cat. 3 Men. Stage Four includes finishes for Cat. 3 & Cat. 4 Men.)

The complete Gorge Delights Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic wrap-up can now be found at VeloNews.com.

Cycling Action photo galleries from the 2009 Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic will be posted HERE soon. Due to the obvious time constraints of photographing and reporting three different groups in four races over three days, most galleries are limited to pro/1/2 men, pro/1/2/3 women and masters men. Saturday's Cherry City Criterium also includes the men's Cat. 3 field. Congratulations to Breakaway Promotions and Sorella Forte for an absolutely fantastic inaugural Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic. Hope to see you all there again next year! In the meantime, enjoy this highlights slideshow:

Van Uden, Bailey, Hagen Pick Cherry City Wins

THE DALLES -- Land Rover-Orbea tuned their team game to perfection in the men's pro/1/2 race of the Cherry City Criterium, launching Roman Van Uden across the line ahead of Hagens Berman's lead-out train and Bissell's pros. Steven Beardsley (Gentle Lovers) snuck into the mix for second. Joshua Liberales (Ten Speed Drive) outfoxed the field for third.

The third stage of the Cherry Blossom Classic featured a four-corner 1K crit in downtown The Dalles. Sunny skies and summer-like temps greeted riders, who had been challenged by bitter temps and sustained winds in Friday's stage 1 road race. Saturday evening's criterium was shortened from 50 minutes to 35 after the start was delayed by a crash on the last lap of the Women's Pro/1/2/3 race that required medical attention for several riders.

With a shortened race on tap, the field showed little tolerance for escape attempts -- not that it discouraged people from trying. But the inevitable field sprint of the shortened stage played out in an exciting finale.

Although they had two riders in the top-two spots overall, the boys from Bissell were outnumbered against the powerful (and well-stocked) Land Rover-Orbea and Hagens Berman lead outs.

"It was really a full team effort for the last few laps," Van Uden said of his win. "Evan (Elken) was my last man out there. He took me through the last two corners and I came right off his wheel."

Portland's Gentle Lovers grabbed some limelight when Steven Beardsley worked his way to the front by jumping into the Hagens Berman train.

"I actually cut into their lead-out about the first guy through," he said. "The Land Rover-Orbea guys came up beside them and I saw Roman (Van Uden) there. I knew he was their guy to sprint so I jumped on his wheel."

Unfortunately for Beardsley his spot turned out to be just one wheel too far back in the bunch as Elken launched Van Uden across the line. Van Uden said his team put him in the right spot at the right time.

"Steven Beardsely was right there, but he had some issues taking the last corner too tight and skipped out his wheel," Van Uden said. "Even he said afterward you had to be second wheel to win the race. And that's where I was."

Stage 3
1. Roman Van Uden (Land Rover-Orbea)
2. Steven Beardsley (Gentle Lovers)
3. Joshua Liberales (Ten-Speed Drive)

Men Pro/1/2 Overall
1. Paul Mach (Bissell) 4:01:49
2. Jeremy Vennell (Bissell) +1:44
3. Nick Clayville (Hagens Berman) +3:31

Women Pro/1/2/3

Stage One winner Patricia Bailey (Wines of Washington) was first through the last corner of the Women's Pro/1/2/3 race and held her advantage to the line over the fast-charging Heather Albert (Riverstone Women’s Racing Team). Overall race leader Robin Secrist (Veloforma) was third.

The race was marred by a terrifying last-corner crash that sent four riders to the local hospital. Early reports indicate everyone is OK.

In a race typified by short-lived attacks that were quickly swallowed up by the motivated field, Bailey knew she'd need to be first out of the last corner to win a field sprint.

"In the earlier races, no one changed position coming out of the last corner," Bailey said. "So I decided to (attack) on the back side of the course into the wind. Team Group Health girls did a great job of keeping the pace up, and that was really, really helpful."

Stage 3
1. Patricia Bailey (Wines of washington)
2. Heather Albert (Riverstone Women’s Racing)
3. Robin Secrist (Veloforma)

Women Pro/1/2/3 Overall
1. Secrist 3:47:59
2. Albert +:31
3. Bailey +59

MASTERS 40+50+

Hood River speedster Karsten Hagen's love of wine propelled him to a win in the Masters 40+50+ race. The ZteaM rider got a gap while winning a bottle of wine in a prime with about eight minutes to go and decided to take it all the way to the line. The field finished nipping at his heels, led by Wines of Washington riders Joe Baratto and Mark Hinman.

Hagen (pictured in ZteaM blue) seemed determined to make something happen in the race, initiating the fist move of the day with ZteaM comrade Clint Chase, and then jumping into just about every attack for the rest of the day. But it was his love of wine that motivated what turned out to be the winning move.

"I tried to win a bottle of wine and just kept going," Hagen said. "I saw I had a gap and just opened it up and gave it everything I had."

Hagen, who finished third in the combined field at February's Jack Frost Time Trial, put his skills to use staying away from the field.

"I kept looking back because I was fairly sure they were going to catch me, and they finally did right at the line there," he said. "I'm a good time-trialer, and that helped, because I did not want to be in a field sprint."

Stage 3:
1. Karsten Hagen (ZteaM)
2. Joe Baratto (Wines of Washington)
3. Mark Hinman (Wines of Washington)

Masters 40+50+ Overall
1. David Zimbelman (ZteaM) 3:33:21
2. Todd Gallaher (Counterbalance) +:08
3. Mike McManus (Finnegans Toys/Discover Chiropractic) +:11

Bissell Sending Pros For Cherry Blossom; Kem's First Race Since Cali Crash

(Be sure to check back with Oregon Cycling Action for daily reports on Cherry Blossom Classic stages.)

The Pacific Northwest's elite cyclists will converge on The Dalles Friday for the start of the inaugural Cherry Blossom Classic, and they'll face a four-man squad from one of the country's top domestic teams, according to a preliminary list released on the race website. Pro mountain biker and reigning U.S. National Cyclocross Champion Ryan Trebon is also registered, along with his KONA Factory Racing teammate Erik Tonkin.

The race starts Friday morning with the Colmbia Hills Road Race. Riders face two stages Saturday, the 8-Mile Time Trial in the morning and the Cherry City Criterium in the afternoon and evening. The race wraps up Sunday with the Columbia Gorge Road race.

The Bissell Pro Cycling Team has four riders registered for the race: Jeremy Vennell, Morgan Schmitt, Paul Mach and Salem's Omer Kem. This will be Kem's first race back since sustaining serious injuries in a Tour of California crash.

Oregon's Hammer/CMG Racing Team, a powerful squad of juniors has five riders registered, although Piece of Cake winner Jacob Rathe will be in Belgium competing this week.

The Land Rover-Orbea team has seven riders registered, including Oregon's own Evan Elken. The team, which benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation, is fresh off a swing through California that included racing Sand Dimas and Redlands.

Washington's Hagens Berman squad has eight riders registered, including Piece of Cake runner-up Nick Clayville. Veteran Washington strongman Kenny Williams (1st Rate Mortgage) is also registered.

Team Group Health and Hagens Berman are well represented in the women's pro/1/2/3 field. Riders from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, Illinois and Alabama are registered so far.

Registration Opens For The Dalles' Inaugural Cherry Blossom Classic

The "sunny" side of Oregon will get a chance to shine this spring when The Dalles hosts the inaugural Cherry Blossom Classic, a three-day, four-stage contest that runs Friday, April 3, through Sunday, April 5.

Organized by Breakaway Promotions and Sorella Forte, the race could provide a relatively warm, dry reprieve from northwest Oregon's annual spring slogs. Promoters say the area boasts an average April rainfall of just half an inch and an average daily high temperature of 64 degrees.

"The Dalles truly is the Banana Belt of the region," according to the race website. "There are no guarantees when it comes to weather, but odds are you are going to like what the region has to offer."

The region also can offer some great courses, which furnish both breathtaking views and lung-crushing climbs.

STAGES
Featured in the 2006 and 2007 editions of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, the Columbia Hills Road Race will start the fun Friday:

The largest climb is the Kelly Cut-Off Road at five percent for 1.5 miles. The biggest challenge is typically the wind, which at times can blow hard across the treeless landscape and whip through the canyons. This year’s course will be modified from previous years with the elimination of Crash Canyon (saving that venue for the time trial), shortening the entire loop to a 20 mile circuit.

Riders will start Saturday's double-header with the 8-Mile Crash Canyon Time Trial:

In the 2007 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic this section of road received its now infamous name when the very narrow, winding road combined with a huge pro men’s field to send several riders to the local hospital. As a time trial course it offers a beautiful and quiet venue where riders ascend a gradual two percent grade up to the turn around. Then it's all downhill to the finish. Fast times are expected on this smooth course.

Saturday's racing will continue with the Cherry City Criterium in downtown The Dalles.

A fast, flat rectangular course with no significant elevation gain or loss and wide roads will make this an all out drag race. Great asphalt and tons of space to move. The biggest challenges could be the strong head winds on the back stretch and finishing stretches.

Featuring 6,420 feet of climbing for the pro 1/2 men and 4,280 for everyone else, Sunday's Columbia Gorge Road Race promises to end The Cherry Blossom Classic on a high note:

This road course first debuted in the 1999 Oregon State Road Race Championships and quickly gained popularity. The race gets down to business early with a significant climb just three miles in. Once you hit the summit, it's a long fast decent into the small town of Mosier on the Columbia River. The route then joins the world famous Mt. Hood Cycling Classic time trial course running on the Historic Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway, descending the spectacular Rowena Loops (pictured above) on the way back to the start/finish line in The Dalles. The pro 1/2 men and masters men will race 66 miles. All other categories will do 44.

CATEGORIES
Pro 1-2 Men, Masters Men, CAT 3 Men, CAT 4 Men
Pro 1-3 Women, CAT 4 Women/Masters Women (scored separately).

Registration opened Jan. 12. Register by Feb. 25 and receive a $10 discount. Field limits are mandatory. Register online HERE.