Wells, Wells, Lookie Here What I Found At Dante's

Cyclocrossing brothers Todd and Troy Wells had some interesting things to say on their blogs about last weekend's Portland races. Their posts also provide a small glimpse into life as a world class cyclist, including a post-race visit to Dante's in downtown Portland.

From Troy's blog "Tdub":

About Saturday's race ... "Portland is normally a good race for me but yesterday just didn't seem to be my day. I just couldn't get going. I was in suffering the entire race and going nowhere. I don't even think I was in the top 20. Every part of my body was hurting, but I hope I can turn it around today and put in a solid ride heading into nationals. ... it is still not raining here, which is amazing. Normally it rains from the time I get off the plane until I get back on in Portland."
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"Sunday night ended up being a fun night. Alison came down and watched the race and hung out. We had a large crew including Mcduff, Jpows, Timmy J, Treefarm, Kira, Salam, Simon, The Jacques-Maynes, and Meredith. We went to Treefarm's favorite place in Portland, Dante's. It is crazy there. You see some stuff you definitely don't see everyday, that's all I'm going to say. It was a lot of fun for everyone, including powers, even though at first he wasn't really feeling it. Todd and I flew out around 11 on Monday got back to dtown by 5."

Big brother Todd also discussed his weekend:

"I had a sweet white skinsuit that was covered with mud after about 1 minute of racing, and I spent the day with a look of agony painted on my face for the entire race. Not sure why it wasn't happening for me but it was just one of those days. Crashing into Wicks after he crashed at the start didn't help, and getting my bike stuck on Sheps as a result wasn't that great either. Neither made much of a difference though as I was destined to spend the day in the hurt locker."

But it was his mini rant about the USADA changes to its out-of-competition testing protocols that provided the most interesting look into an elite cyclists' life and the negative effects the dopers have on all cyclists. From Todd's blog:

"The big change for 09 is that you must provide USADA with a 1 hour window every day of the year for being tested. Now not only do you have to tell them where you are every day, but you must be at a certain location for 1 hour each day, so if they show up to test you during that hour and your dog got sick so you took him to the vet and didn't update your whereabouts form, you will get a missed test, of which you are only allowed 3 in an 18 month period. You can change your hour for that day anytime previous to it, but if you are constantly changing your time and/or location you will be targeted for additional testing b/c you will be deemed trying to avoid the testers.

"Now if you work a normal job you know where you will be most of the time for at least 5 days of the week, but I'm betting most people in this testing pool don't work a normal job. Do you know where you will be every hour of every day 3 months in advance? And would you remember to update all this information anytime you may wake up early and go for coffee instead of being at home waiting to be tested by USADA out of competition, which by the way, happens about 1 or 2 times a year?

"There has to be an easier way to do this. I would rather have a tracking device injected into my body like some Will Smith cyber movie so they can track me all the time then try to predict where I am going to be hour by hour 3 months in advance or remember to update it if it changes but not too often or I will be targeted.

"Whaaahwhaaah, things can always be worse.

Things can always be worse, true, but Wells' post reveals that the dopers have become a cancer that's infiltrated the life of every rider, clean or dirty. You have to wonder if overzealous efforts by the USADA are futile or if they really will lead to a cure."

USGP Day 2: 'Tree Farm' On Fire, Johnson Cruises To Overall, Nash Gets The Double And The Series

The weather on Day 2 of the Crank Brothers US Gran Prix of Cyclocross Portland Cup Presented by Stanley was, to say the least, a bit wetter than Day 1, but the racing was just as fierce.

RELATED: Preview / Day 1 Results / Day 1 Report / Day 2 Results

ELITE WOMEN, Day 2

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Beijing Olympian Katerina Nash (Luna) overcame the mud on Day 2 to sweep the Portland Cup. Nash was gone from the gun and never looked back. Her weekend effort was enough to seize the Elite Women's overall prize from teammate Georgia Gould.

Gould, who also rode in last summer's Olympics, was never far behind, taking second both days and slipping to second overall.


Sue Butler (Monavie/Cannondale) enjoyed a podium finish in front of the home crowd, coming in third on Sunday, but she just missed an overall podium spot.


Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing P/B Seven Cycles) and Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles) had to deal with the mud and Nash's take-no-prisoners pace. Emmet finished sixth Sunday, and Bruno-Roy followed in seventh.

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ELITE MEN, Day 2


Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale) was first up the newly configured run-up at the Portland International Raceway course, but he had to settle for fourth on the day, knocking him from the overall podium.


Beijing Olympic mountain biker Todd Wells (GT Bicycles) got a better start Sunday. He finished second on the day and third overall.


The cream of the American cyclocross crop had already exploded the field by the beginning of the second lap.


Oregon homeboy Ryan "Tree Farm" Trebon (Kona) shook off his Saturday slip and put the hammer down for an impressive win that left a long train of pain behind him. But it wasn't enough to seize the overall.


National Champion Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale) took over the series lead with a Saturday win, then sealed it by hanging on for third Sunday.


Trebon may have had to settle for second overall, but he walked away (literally) with the giant check for the day's most aggressive male rider. When you cash that check, does the bank pay you off in large bills?

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USGP Day 2 Results: Trebon, Nash Victorious; Johnson, Nash Take Overall

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Elite Men's Overall Podium: Ryan Trebon, Tim Johnson and Todd Wells.


Katerina Nash won the Elite Women's overall by sweeping the Portland races. Nash's pair of weekend wins left the race for the overall a dead heat with her Luna teammate Georgia Gould. Judges gave the three-time Czech Olympian the overall crown because she won the final race.

USGP PORTLAND CUP DAY 2

Elite Women Day 2
1. Katarina Nash (Kona)
2. Georgia Gould (Kona)
3. Sue Butler (Monavie/Cannondale)
4. Rachel Lloyd (California Giant)
5. Wendy Simms (Kona)
6. Kelly Emmett

Elite Men Day 2
1. Ryan Trebon (Kona)
2. Todd Wells (GT Bicycles)
3. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale)
4. Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale)
5. Troy Wells (Clif)
6. Barry Wicks (Kona)

USGP SERIES OVERALL

Elite Women
1. Nash
2. Gould
3. Lloyd

Elite Men
1. Johnson
2. Trebon
3. Wells

U23 Men
1. Nicholas Wayhall
2. Danny Summerhill
3. Adam McGrath

STAY TUNED FOR COMPLETE REPORT AND PHOTOS.

Nash Pulls Closer, Johnson Takes USGP Lead

Philosophers like to say that money is the root of all evil. But if you asked Ryan Trebon about that today, he'd probably tell you the root of all evil is at Portland International Raceway.

On a course that was mostly dry and very fast, Oregon's 6'5" Kona pro -- nicknamed "Tree Farm" -- took a header over a tree root in the last half lap of Saturday's Race #5 of the Crank Brothers US Gran Prix of Cyclocross. The slip may have cost Trebon the series.

After struggling all day in a two-on-one battle with the Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale dynamic duo of Jeremy Powers and national champion Tim Johnson, Trebon moved to the front on the last lap and started to wind up his finishing effort.

But he misjudged a hairpin curve nearing the final, paved finish-line stretch and slid out on an exposed tree root. Powers, trailing immediately behind, piled on.

Johnson, who managed to avoid the mess altogether, seized the opportunity and opened up enough of a lead to coast comfortably across the line for the win. Meanwhile, Powers was first back on the bike after the mash-up and cruised in for second, just ahead of a disappointed Trebon.

"We were going into one of those last 180s," Trebon said of his fall. "I picked a line to go on the inside. We were going pretty slow, I wasn't paying attention and I hit a root. I just kind of washed out and Jeremy fell over of me. Then I slid out again in the left-hand 180 right after the second pit."

Powers, who started the day second overall in the series behind Todd Wells and in front of Johnson, his teammate, also may have seen his chances for a series win go down when he fell over Trebon.

"That could have happened to any of us," Powers said. "It's so close to the end of the race, it's like, 'Oh, why is this happening right now,' but that's just racing and there's really nothing you can do about that. You're just out there giving 100 percent."

Johnson, the benefactor of the others' bad luck, said he was looking to set up Powers for the sprint before they fell.

"Jeremy has a really good finishing kick," he said. "So I wanted to make sure I got him onto the pavement in good position. So going into the last half lap I was going to get on the front and drill it as hard as I could. Right when I went inside Ryan slipped out and I got a little gap. That's all I needed."

Todd Wells, who was leading the series after winning Day 2 in Mercer, New Jersey, couldn't hang with Trebon, Johnson and Powers on the fast, dry course, about a third of which was paved. After a bad start Wells finished off the pace in fifth.

Johnson now leads the series with 173 points. Powers and Wells are right behind with 172 points each. Trebon is in fourth with 141 points. Jesse Anthony is in fifth with 136.

The series overall standings will be scored on a best-five-of-six system, and Johnson and Trebon have already dropped one score because of missed races, which means Johnson's one-point series lead over Wells and Powers is actually quite a bit larger than it appears.

PHOTOS


Powers pushed the pace early and often, tearing apart the field and shedding everyone but Trebon and Johnson.


Wells, wearing the white jersey of the overall series leader, had a bobble at the start but fought his way to fifth. He ended up losing the jersey to Johnson.


Trebon couldn't escape the the Cyclocrossworld.com/
Cannondale one-two punch of Johnson and Powers.


Sporting the stars and stripes kit of the national champion, Johnson stayed in contact and capitalized when Trebon and Powers went down on the last half lap.

Gould Going For Repeat, But Nash Not Out

In the Elite women's race, series leader Georgia Gould (Luna) joined teammate and runner-up Katerina Nash, Rachel Lloyd (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized), Sue Butler (Monavie/Cannondale.com) and Wendy Simms (Kona) to form a five-up group that quickly pulled away from the rest of the field.

Butler and Winfield soon fell off the pace and battled each other all the way to the finish, leaving Lloyd to fend off the two Luna riders on her own. The three riders swapped leads at the front, with Nash and Lloyd seemingly pushing the pace.

Lloyd had no answer when Nash attacked on the last lap. Gould let her teammate ride away to a comfortable win and then polished off Lloyd at the finish by a handful of seconds.

Gould, who won the 2007 series, leads the overall this year with 234 points. Nash is solidly in second with 210. Lloyd remains in third with 172 points, while Butler moved up to fourth with 121.

Under the best-five-of-six scoring system that will determine the series winner, Nash could pull off the overall win from her teammate — but she’ll need some help. She has to win again Sunday and then hope another rider can knock her teammate into third or worse. If the race finishes Sunday with Nash and Gould in first and second, respectively, the Luna pair will be tied on points.

PHOTOS


Nash rode at the front for most of the race and was rewarded with a Day 1 win.


Georgia Gould rode to a cool second and kept her series lead.


Lloyd tried pushing the pace but couldn't shed Nash or Gould from the exclusive group.


Butler initially made the lead group but had to settle for fourth.


Simms battled Butler but ended up fifth.