Bend bunch decides king of the locals at Cascade Chainbreaker

(UPDATED 4:45 p.m. Monday: The complete Cycling Action photo gallery of the 2009 Cascade Chainbreaker is now posted online HERE).



BEND -- Central Oregon's well-stocked contingent of local heavy hitters came out to battle for the king-of-the-locals crown at the Cascade Chainbreaker Sunday in Bend. Chris Sheppard (Santa Cruz/Shimano/WTB/Fox) cruised to victory by just over a minute in front of Carl Decker (Giant) and Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete).

For the second week in a row, Decker rode a singlespeed in the Pro Men's event. He won last week's Mudslinger with a single gear. National Cyclocross Champ and Kona Factory Team rider Ryan Trebon, who returned to racing for the first time since injuring his knee and back in a crash at Sea Otter in April, finished 8th.

Rain in Bend in the days leading up to the event dampened the course just enough to hold down the dust and turn the powder into tacky perfection. The wind, cold and rain gave way Saturday to blue skies and summer temps. A record number 300+ riders from Oregon, Washington and Idaho hit the trails for the 12th annual race.

“Anytime we’ve had weather like this we know it’s time to play hookie from school,” said Sheppard, who moved to Bend four years ago from Canada.

Sheppard said he was a little surprised to find himself off the front building a nice lead after the morning’s initial start.

“I was drinking coffee at 7:15 this morning at (a friend’s) house,” he said. “And I felt really poorly. But I thought I’d just ride out and see what happens.”

The seasoned rider tested the waters on the local trails about halfway into the first lap with an effort that quickly began building a gap that hovered around a minute or more. Sheppard was first into the infield starting the second lap, followed by Peterson, Trebon, Decker, Brandt Brig (reboundspl.com) and James Williams (Cannondale). That pretty much set the order of the day, with some minor shuffling.

Feeling the strain of his recently re-aggravated lower back pain, Trebon dropped off the chase pace. Decker and Peterson swapped back and forth for most of the second lap, with Brig and Williams battling minutes behind.

“I had to make an emergency phone call to my physical therapist buddy yesterday when I got home from my ride,” Trebon said of his most recent hip and back pains. “I was just out there riding and it really flared up. It took about an hour to get home and it was the most uncomfortable ride ever. I was like ‘you gotta come over and help me out. I can’t even move right now.’”

With Trebon easing off the pedals and fading back to 8th, Decker, who spent his Saturday on a Super Moto bike on a track in Canby, made one last lone attempt on his singlespeed to bridge the gap to Sheppard. He dropped Peterson on the long, steep climb and decided to give it “the college try.”

“About a quarter of the way into the lap there’s kind of a false-flat climb and then it gets steep,” Decker said. “I had to ride hard up that just because of the gearing, and I think (Peterson) kind of came undone a little bit.”

Peterson, who moved to Bend from Ketchum, Idaho, last fall, said there was little he could do to stay with Decker’s charge up the climb.

"He was just gone," he said

Decker pulled back about half a minute from Sheppard but finished 62 seconds behind for second. Peterson followed more than three minutes behind Decker. Williams nipped Brig for fourth nearly three minutes later.

Butler returns to roost

Portland's Sue Butler (MonaVie-Cannondale) carried the flag for the western side of the state when she sailed through the course to win the Pro Women's race by nearly eight minutes over Karen DeWolfe (Team Dirt) of Corvallis and Megan Faris (River City Bicycles) of Portland. Bend's Sami Fournier (Organic Athlete) rounded out the Pro Women's field in 4th.

Butler's win was made all the easier because Alice Pennington, who she’s been dueling with for the past couple of races, was in Arkansas this week at the Joe Martin Stage Race with the Veloforma road team. Pennington finished second behind Butler at Bear Springs Trap but took the top prize at Mudslinger May 3.

Nevertheless, Butler had little trouble pushing herself through the super-fast course after charging away from the field early in the first lap.

"I looked around and said, ‘Where is everybody?’" Butler said of her early lead. "So I just kept going and raced against the clock and tried to pick off as many guys as I could."

Butler steadily built her lead over the fast, rolling course that featured a steady helping of short power climbs, one long, steady ascent and singletrack that ran along and traversed a winding dry creek bed.

"The course was a full-on pedal through," Butler said. "It’s just a fun course. It’s one of my favorite courses. (Chainbreaker) was my very first race ever in ‘03 as a beginner."

Butler’s next stop will be the May 31 Bump N' Grind in Birmingham, Ala., the third stop of the USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Mountain Bike Tour.

"We’ll see how that goes," she said. "I think my fitness is coming around a little bit and I’m feeling a little better."

The next race in the Oregon XC Series is the Spring Thaw May 16, part of the Spring Thaw Mountain Bike festival that weekend in Ashland.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Cascade Chainbreaker, May 10, Bend
Pro Men
1. Chris Sheppard (Santa Cruz/Shimano/WTB/Fox) Bend 2:22:39
2. Carl Decker (Giant) Bend 2:23:41
3. Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete) Bend 2:26:44
4. James Williams (Cannondale) 2:29:57
5. Brandt Brig (reboundspl.com) Bend 2:30:31
6. Brett Nichols Boise 2:30:59
7. Ben Thompson (Cannondale) Bend 2:31:47
8. Ryan Treban (Kona) Bend 2:32:48
9. Chris Brandt (Team Dirt) Eugene 2:37:17
10.Scotty Carlile (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8) Bend 2:39:03
Pro Women
1. Sue Butler (MonaVie-Cannondale) Portland 1:54:14
2. Karen DeWolfe (Team Dirt) Corvallis 2:02:04
3. Megan Faris Portland 2:06:28
4. Sami Fournier (Organic Athlete) Bend 2:25:07

Decker, Pennington take Mudslinger/OBRA XC Champs

(Photos courtesy of Oregon Velo.)

BLODGETT, Ore. -- OBRA racers flocked to Blodgett for the 2009 21st Mudslinger Sunday. This year's race marked the return of the Oregon State Championships for cross country as well as the fourth stop in the Oregon XC Series.

Carl Decker (Giant) became the first rider to win two Pro Men's series races this year with a close-but-decisive victory, and he did it on his singlespeed.

Veloforma's Alice Pennington (pictured) scooped the win and the championship from Sue Butler (MonaVie-Cannondale) in the Pro Women's race.

The win marked Pennington's second year in a row on top of the Mudslinger podium. The duo continued their battle from the week before at Bear Springs Trap on Mount Hood, where Butler snagged the win in the snow. This time Pennington came out on top, covering the course in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 56 seconds and proving she's still a force to be reckoned with. Butler finished more than three minutes later. Karen DeWolf of Team Dirt was third at 02:16:23, and Tina Brubaker (Veloforma) was fourth, nearly six minutes later.

The win gives Pennington a solid lead in the Oregon MTB XC Series ahead of Butler, Stephanie Blasi and Sami Founier.

The Pro Men began with a gradual climb to the top of Supertree trail. Shannon Skerrit (Gary Fisher/Bike Gallery) jumped early with Evan Plews (Capitol Subaru/ScottUSA) also eager to test his legs on the climb. Plews quickly dispatched Skerrit but was unable to open a definitive gap on a chase group of four, including Decker, Sean Babcock (Team S&M), Erik Tonkin (Kona) and James Williams (Cannondale). The quartet entered the first section of trail on Plews' wheel.

The group rode together with each rider taking turns at the front until they reached the stair-step climbs near the top of the course. Williams was the first to crack while Decker (pictured) and Plews forged ahead with Babcock just behind and Tonkin dangling by a few seconds. Plews opened another gap but was contained by Babcock at the end of the Collarbone Alley section.

Plews pushed the pace as the group completed Panama Canal trail and the end of the first lap, attacking the front again as the quartet began the climb back to the top of the course. That's when Decker countered and put the other three into trouble. Plews was the first to drop with Tonkin next and then Babcock after last Sunday's Bear Spring Trap winner made a valiant effort to hold on. Babcock never quit fighting and re-joined Decker as the singletrack trails began.

Near the top of the course Plews battled back ahead of Tonkin and closed to within seconds of the leaders only to lose time on the Root Down section. Tonkin rallied and was able to dipatch Plews when the Capitol Subaru rider stopped to pick up tools he'd lost on the first lap. Tonkin closed the gap on the leaders during the slog through the now-eviscerated Panama Canal and then dropped Babcock as he caught Decker on the rolling gravel road to the finish. Only then did the championship slip away from the Kona strongman as Decker rebounded and sprinted ahead for victory.

Decker covered the 24-mile course in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 37 seconds, with Tonkin trailing just 16 seconds behind. Babcock finished third less than a minute later, while Plews rolled in for fourth at 1:43:40. Williams rounded out the top five, crossing the line 4 minutes and 8 seconds after Plews.

The Mudslinger win gives Decker a boost in the Pro Men's series. Plews, Williams and Babcock came into the Mudslinger tied for the overall lead with 60 points. Spencer Paxon (S&M) followed with 40. Tonkin had 35 and Decker had 30.

The next race in the Oregon MTB XC series is the Cascade Chainbreaker May 10 in Bend.

Oregonians excel at 2009 Sea Otter Classic's weekend of racing

A strong contingent of Oregon racers left its mark at Laguna Seca Raceway during this weekend's Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, Calif.

Juniors Austin Arguello and Wes Stein (Hammer/CMG Racing) won both junior road races at the national-caliber event. Arguello won Friday's circuit race in a five-up sprint with his breakaway companions. Stein walked away with the win in Sunday's road race. Arguello finished 15th. Their Hammer/CMG teammate Marcel DeLisser finished 47th in the Friday Pro/1/2 road race won by Tour of California champ and Euro-pro deluxe Levi Leipheimer.

Portland's Kelly Benjamin (Colavita Sutter Home) won the Friday Women's Pro/1/2 criterium and finished fifth in Saturday's circuit race.

Hood River's Karsten Hagen has been tearing it up, finishing fourth in the Thursday 35/45+ criterium after making it into a five-rider break that gained more than 90 seconds on the chasers. He also nabbed a fourth-place finish in Friday's Masters 35+ 1/2/3 circuit race, finishing 2:30 behind the leader.

Land Rover-Orbea has been having a go in the pro men's races, placing sprinter Roman Van Uden in sixth place at Thurday's criterium. Evan Elken finished 14th. The team placed Van Uden, Elken and Carson Miller 20th, 21st and 22nd respectively in Saturday's circuit race, which saw their teammate Aaron Tuckerman help initiate the day's first serious move.

Bend's MTB Crowd Cashes In

On the mountain bike, the Bend delegation has been making its presence felt. Carl Decker (Team Giant), who recently won the Horning's Hustle Cross Country race in North Plains, won the Pro Men's event at Friday's Super D. Then Decker finished third in Saturday's Pro Men's Short Track event behind Olympian Todd Wells (Specialized). Bend resident and National Cyclocross Champion Ryan Trebon (Kona) finished sixth. Cody Peterson (Dedicated Athlete) finished 20th in the race. Portland's Erik Tonkin (Kona) finished 27th. Jason Sager (Jamis) finished 47th, and Steve Carwille came in 64th.

In the men's Pro cross country race Sunday, Decker finished ninth, Tonkin crossed the line 16th, Aaron Olson came in 17th, and Bend's Chris Sheppard (Jamis) finished 19th. Team S&M's Sean Babcock finished 29th, and Ben Thomson (Cannondale Factory Racing) came in 36th.

Portland's Sue Butler (Monavie/Cannondale) finished 20th in the Pro Women's Short Track race and 16th in Sunday's cross country race. Hood River's Alice Pennington (Veloforma) finished 20th in the Pro Women's XC race. Bend's Kirt Voreis took 15th in the Pro Men's Dual Slalom on Saturday and 19th in Sunday's SRAM downhill.