Collision with auto ends New Zealand plans for Land Rover/ORBEA's Roman Van Uden

PHOTO: Roman Van Uden won OBRA's Rehearsal Road Race last May in Rainier.

Land Rover/ORBEA pro Roman Van Uden's racing season has been cut short by a traffic accident. While his American cohorts were recovering form a long domestic road season or gearing up for cyclcocross in the states, Van Uden returned to his home country of New Zealand and was preparing for the upcoming race season there, including the UCI Tour of the Southland.

But a collision with a car Friday, Sept. 25, sidelined the tall, powerful sprinter who won the Tour of the Gila criterium in front of Lance Armsstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and a talented field of America's best domestic racers.

Van Uden told his story to New Zealand's online cycling magazine, roadcycling.co.nz:

"On Friday the 25th of September, while going for a little late afternoon cruise in Auckland (some would call this period 'Rush Hour') my ride came to an abrupt end when a driver turned across my lane to enter a driveway.

"This accident was unavoidable as I was hidden behind a queue of traffic and a gap was left by another motorist for the car to enter the driveway. Traveling quite quickly, I had very little time to react and could not miss the car.

"I was launched off my bike and landed on a curb, slightly winded. I only suffered very minor grazing to my right elbow and knee but what at the time felt like a sprained wrist later turned out to be my second broken scaphoid of the year."

Read the complete story HERE.

Turnbull takes Road Race title at the line; Van Uden outsprints break group

(The complete Cycling Action Rehearsal Road Race photo gallery is now posted online HERE).

RAINIER -- Therapeutic Associates Inc's Lisa Turnbull outlasted the field up the finishing climb at the Senior Women's OBRA Road Race Championship Saturday to take the win in a close charge to the line.

Turnbull adds an OBRA championship jersey to the Oregon Cup Leader's jersey she currently wears. She won the sprint from a select group that paired itself down to 16 riders over three laps of the 16-mile course that will be used again next Saturday to decide another handful of champions.

The group was temporarily slowed by a confused fawn in the road ahead that had slipped on the asphalt while trying decide if it wanted to cross or turn around. Other than that, the leaders plowed ahead unimpeded, shedding remnants of the starting field in their wake. But the group seemed to hold steady at 16 for the last half of the race.

“It seemed like less of a selection than usual,” Turnbull said.

The group approaching the finish line at the Rainier schools complex was more than twice the size of the lead group that contested last Sunday’s Silverton Road Race finale, where Turnbull finished third behind Sue Butler (MonaVie-Cannondale) and Teri Sheasby (Bend Bike & Sport).

Turnbull took advantage of having several teammates with her in the lead group this time.

“I had a teammate working hard up front, so I got to sit near the front,” She said. “And then in the end I sat on whoever had legs until they got tired, and then I went on my own.”

Lindsay Kandra (Hammer Velo) finished second overall and won the Women's Cat. 3 Championship, which was scored separately. Tina Brubaker finished third overall and second in the Senior Women's Championship, followed closely by a group that contained Washington rider Patricia Bailey (Wines of Washington), Lindsay Fox (Team Oregon), Beth Burns (Veloce/Felt) and Stepahnie Chase (Veloforma).

Turnbull was happy with the result, but she still wouldn’t mind a rematch.

“We don’t get to rehearse,” she said, noting that the Senior Men get two chances at the course. “Next year I hope they consider adding two races for the women.”

Van Uden Serves Up Rehearsal Win

Roman Van Uden, who rode to the race from his home in Vancouver with his Land Rover-ORBEA teammates, also rode his way into the break and then out-rode that group up the final 200 meters to take the win in the five-lap, 80-mile men's race. Junior racer Wes Stein (Hammer/CMG Racing) added a lot of power to the breakaway and finished second ahead of Team Oregon's Kennett Peterson in third.

A group of 11 formed eight miles into the race and eventually whittled itself down to eight as it built a lead that hovered around a minute-and-a-half before surging to four minutes in the final laps. Most of the top teams had at least one rider in the break; Paul Bourcier (Hutch’s), Dave Zimbelman (ZteaM), Todd Gallaher (Counterbalance), Brandon Dyer (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8), Mark Blackwelder (Gentle Lovers).

Peterson said he was a little surprised the leaders got away so easily.

“Roman (van Uden) attacked and Wes (Stein) followed,” he said. “We didn’t really go that hard, and all of the sudden we had 11, 12 guys up the road. It was a really slow breakaway; felt like a bunch of people had noodle legs. It was kind of frustrating, but we stayed away.”

Van Uden shared that assessment.

“The bunch really didn’t react at all, so we got away with a good gap,” he said. “I set it up by rolling to the front just for one of the hills and attacked. The road’s skinny enough that if three guys sitting up front don’t go anywhere, then you can get a bit of a gap and go away with it.”

The leaders played a bit of cat and mouse on the last lap, but as the group approached the final kilometers intact, the uphill pitch at the bitter end dissuaded any long-lived solo fliers, setting up Van Uden’s powerful finishing kick.

“One of the older guys sort of tried to go with about a kilometer to go, which is a bit too early," he said. “But it gave me a good lead out and I got the position I wanted.”

Van Uden bided his time near the front but not quite on it until the time was right to strike.

“I was pretty tired by the end,” he said. “And I knew the uphill finish was going to be tough, so I waited as late as I could -- until about the 200 meter mark. I was following the young Hammer kid and I just came around him with about 75 meters to go. And it hurt.”

Blackwelder crossed the line fourth, ahead of Dyer, Bourcier, Zimbelman and Gallaher. Van Uden's Land Rover-ORBEA teammate Jim Camut and Nike Northley finished ninth and tenth.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Rehearsal Road Race/OBRA RR Championships
May 23, Rainier, Ore.

Senior Women Championship
1. Lisa Turnbull (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8)
2. Tina Brubaker (Veloforma)
3. Patricia Bailey (TRIA/Wines of Washington)
4. Lindsay Fox (Team Oregon)
5. Shari White (Team Castelli)
Women Cat. 3
1. Lindsay Kandra (Hammer Velo)
2. Beth Burns (Veloce/Felt)
3. Stephanie Chase (Veloforma)
Women Cat. 4
1. Anna Vaughn (Hammer Velo)
2. Kira Crawford (Ironclad Performance Wear)
3. Lisa Reeve
Tandem
1. Jim Fischer/Heather Paris (Pacific Power Blue Sky)
2. Allen Kraft/Ronny Brigham (North River Racing)
3. Ivan Meadors/Mike Adams (Finnegans Toys/Discover Chiropractic)
Juniors 10-12
1. Grant McElroy (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
2. Sam Rosenberg (Hutch's)
3. Hannah McDade (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
Juniors 13-14
1. Maris Eryn (ASC Racing)
2. John Sullivan (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
3. Walker Prettyman (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
Men Cat. 5
1. Jeff Curtes (Twin Six)
2. John Eckert (One Cup Cafe)
3. Andrew Buswell
Men. Cat. 4
1. Jeff Ballantine (Portland Velo)
2. Adam Edgerton (Team Oregon)
3. Phelan Kostur (Fred Meyer/Lakeside Cycling Team)
Men Cat. 3
1. Brandon Fisher (Team S&M)
2. Kent Heli (Southtown Velo)
3. Jeff DeWolf (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8)
Men Pro/1/2
1. Roman van Uden (Land Rover-ORBEA)
2. Wes Stein (Hammer/CMG Racing)
3. Kennett Peterson (Team Oregon)
4. Mark Blackwelder (Gentle Lovers)
5. Brandon Dyer (Therapeutic Associates Cycling/GENR8)

Land Rover-ORBEA headed south for Joe Martin Stage Race

(Photo courtesy of Brian Hodes / veloimages.com)

Fresh off its biggest win of the season in front of Levi and Lance at the Gila criterium in New Mexico, the Portland-based Land Rover-ORBEA Professional Cycling Team is headed to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Joe Martin Stage Race May 7-10.

Twenty-year-old Roman van Uden of Aukland, New Zealand, shocked the domestic cycling world May 2 when he avoided several late-race crashes to win the Silver City Criterium of the Tour of the Gila, a race that included the big-name Astana Euro pros and a talented domestic pro field.

"This is a huge win for the young Land Rover-ORBEA squad," said team co-founder Norrene Godfrey, "especially in our first year as a professional cycling team."

Van Uden, who also won the Cherry City Criterium stage of the Cherry City Classic in The Dalles in April, explained his win as a combination of skill and luck.

"I got into a good position," van Uden said. "Guys were riding pretty fast at the front, crashes took out Levi and a few other guys and I snuck through, so we had gaps forming behind. A rider shot through the front trying to get away a bit with half mile to go and then sat up, and I snuck around him outside on the very last corner. He sort of opened a gap and it gave me enough room to take the win."

After the race, Armstrong complimented the Land Rover-ORBEA squad on its professionalism as the team handed out LIVESTRONG wristbands to the crowd and to all the kids who participated in the kid’s event. The team has two core missions, raise funds and awareness for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and help develop young cycling athletes into the next generation professional. Each year the team raises funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and each year the team gives away it’s spot in the Seattle LIVESTRONG Challenge to a cancer survivor.

After Joe Martin, the team will be leading a LIVESTRONG Block Party ride in Portland on May 24. Racing continues at the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship in Philadelphia on June 7 and the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minneapolis June 11–14.

Land Rover-Orbea's Van Uden wins Tour of the Gila Criterium

Land Rover-Orbea's Roman van Uden won the Stage 4 Silver City Criterium at the Tour of the Gila Saturday in New Nexico. Van Uden slipped through a series of crashes in the final laps that blocked out many of the top contenders.

The 20-year-old who rides for Portland's professional cycling team hung on to snatch the win in front of quickly closing Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita). Levi Leipheimer nearly crashed after rolling a tire but managed to retain his overall lead. Lance Armstrong finished 11th.

Van Uden also recently won the Cherry City Criterium stage (pictured) of Oregon's Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic in The Dalles April 4.

VeloNews.com has a complete report.