WSBA Releases 2009 Race Schedule

The Washington State Bicycle Association has posted a preliminary 2009 race schedule.

Racing is scheduled to begin Sunday, Feb. 22, at the Frostbite time Trial. The Ice Breaker Time Trial will follow the next Sunday, March 1. Mass-start road racing begins the next weekend with the Mason Lake Road Race #1 on Saturday, March 7, and Tour de Dung Race #1 on Sunday, March 8.

See the WSBA preliminary 2009 race schedule HERE.

USA Cycling Names Portland's Sue Butler To Women's World Championship Squad

Portland race fans got an early Christmas present when local pro Sue Butler made the list of USA Cycling's choices for the United States National Team at the 2009 Cyclocross World Championships.

Five riders were named to each of the elite women’s, U23 men’s and junior men’s squads based on competitive performances over the course of the last year. The elite men’s nominations will be announced Jan. 14 following the next round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Belgium.

Butler (pictured), who rides for Monavie-Cannondale.com, earned one of the three discretionary nominations to the five-member elite women’s team. She will be joined by Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Spike), Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna), Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif./California Giant-Specialized) and Laura Van Gilder (Cresco, Pa./C3-Sollay).

The World Championships will take place in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, Jan. 31-Feb. 1.

U23 Men
Nick Weighall (Millcreek, Wash.)
Nicholas Keough (Sandwich, Mass.)
Daniel Summerhill (Englewood, Colo.)
Bjorn Selander (Hudson, Wis.)
Will Dugan (Burlington, Vt.)

Junior Men
Luke Keough (Sandwich, Mass.)
Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash.)
Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass.)
Eric Emsky (Fall City, Wash.)
Chris Wallace (Shawnee, Kan.)

North American 'Crossers Climbing In Europe

Despite a few notable setbacks, our men and women from the states continue to steadily climb the 'cross ladder in Europe's big pond.

Despite being involved in a nasty crash that bloodied his knee during the start of the Noordzeecross at Middelkerke, Belgium, Dec. 29, Bend's Ryan Trebon (Kona) fought his way back to 15th in a race won by Belgian Champion Sven Nys. Vanilla Bicycles rider Molly Cameron of Portland (pictured) had the best result of his season's European crusade, crossing the line at Middelkerke in 25th. American Jonathan Page, whose season is unfortunately up in the air because of missed drug test, took fourth, and Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com rider Jeremy Powers came in seventh. Powers followed it up the next day with a 13th place finish at Loenhout, Belgium.

Trebon and Powers, housemates during their Belgian battles, will head to Alicante, Spain, before returning north for the world cup round in Roubaix, France, Jan. 18 and eventually the world championships Feb. 1 in Hoogerheide, The Netherlands.

AMERICAN FINISHERS

Noordzeecross at Middelkerke, Belgium, Dec. 29
ELITE MEN
4. Jonathan Page (Planet Bike)
7. Jeremy Powers (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com)
15. Ryan Trebon (Kona)
25. Molly Cameron (Vanilla Bicycles)
32. Jamie Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com)
39. David Quist

Azencross Loenhout at Loenhout, Belgium, Dec. 30
ELITE WOMEN
2. Katie Compton
5. Rachel Lloyd (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized)
9. Georgia Gould (Luna)
15. Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale)
34. Christine Vardaros

ELITE MEN
13. Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com)
39. Brian Matter
43. Troy Wells (Clif Bar)
52. Matt Shriver

Emerging From The Snow Banks

Well, the blog has faced an extended stagnant period brought about by a rare Northwest Oregon snowstorm that dumped about three feet of powder on my currently impassible driveway (at about 1,000 feet of elevation). That wasn't necessarily a problem. The real drag was the four-day power outage covering the holidays. It was definitely an old-timey Christmas here. But now Oregon Cycling Action is back in ... uh ... action.

It might take a while to get my sh#t back together (it was once?), but I'll soon be posting some photos of my version of the ARCTIC BLAST.

By the way, shoveling snow is great cross training.

Cyclo "Right" Cross, Followed By An Upper Cut

I've gotta admit, when I first read the following on Todd Wells' blog post about the U.S. National Cyclocross Championships in Kansas City, I thought maybe it was a joke:

"Hear that Myerson and Baker got in a fist fight out on the course. Didn't get to see it but I heard it happened right in front of Proctor and Gully. Saw Page's mechanic get jumped by two guys right after the race and punched in the face multiple times after being tackled on a bunch of Richard Sachs bikes."

But then I read the same damn thing on VeloNews.com, which posted a photo of the scuffle. And apparently there's video coming. And Richard Sachs is threatening a lawsuit. Oh my!

This should certainly help endear the sport to a more mainstream American audience. I foresee a big fat broadcasting deal with Versus next year. They love this kind of thing on that network. Mixed Martial Arts Cyclocross ... ... hmmmmm!

Classic Video: A Mechanic In Panic ...

This epic battle for the 1985 Paris-Roubaix title features a showdown for third between mud-covered Sean Kelly and Greg Lemond.

You'll hear the dulcimer tones (and tunes) of John Tesh's commentary and background music, and don't forget to pay attention to this video's best Liggettism: "A mechanic in panic is not a good one ..."

Enjoy!

Trebon, Gould Take Season-Long Cyclocross Series

With his win in the Elite Men's race at the U.S. National Cyclocross Championships last weekend in Kansas City, Ryan Trebon (Kona) of Bend also sealed the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar series title..

Jeremy Powers of Hadley, Mass., finished second in the season-long standings with 479 points, while his Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale teammate Tim Johnson, Middleton, Mass., was third.

Luna Mountain Bike Team pro Georgia Gould of Fort Collins, Colo., who came in second-place at the national championships, earned the Elite Women's USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar overall crown with 289 total points.

C3-Sollay rider Laura Van Gilder of Cresco, Pa., came in second in the standings with 234 points, while Rachel Lloyd (Giant Berry Farms) of Fairfax, Calif., was third. Spike rider Katie Compton of Colorado Springs, Colo., won her fifth consecutive Elite Women's title on Sunday, which moved her into fourth place in the domestic standings.

The final standings after all 40 contests on the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar:

Men's Standings
1. Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore.) 620
2. Jeremy Powers (Hadley, Mass.) 479
3. Tim Johnson (Middleton, Mass.) 461
4. Jamey Driscoll (Jericho, Vt.) 460
5. Todd Wells (Durango. Colo.) 437

Women's Standings
1. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo.) 289
2. Laura Van Gilder (Cresco, Pa.) 234
3. Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif.) 206
4. Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 200
5. Maureen Bruno-Roy (Arlington, Mass.) 193

Versus Ready To Broadcast Tour Down Under

As advertised on the website for the Tour Down Under, the Australian race is your "chance to see Lance ... who in 2009 will compete in Adelaide for the first time in his comeback race. Don't miss the opportunity to see the 7-time Tour de France winner doing what he does best."

Unless you're planning a trip south early next year, you may have to settle for the taped 1/2 hour summaries provided each day by Versus.

The network announced its broadcast schedule for the Tour Down Under, which begins Sunday, Jan. 18, and runs through Jan. 24. Versus will broadcast a 30-minute highlight show each of the first five days of the race. The final stage Jan. 24 will be streamed live on Versus’ Web site, and a one-hour highlight show will air the following day.

(Pacific time)
1-1:30 p.m. - Sunday, Jan. 18
1:30-2 p.m. - Tuesday, Jan. 20
1:30-2 p.m. - Wednesday, Jan. 21
1:30-2 p.m. - Thursday, Jan. 22
1:30-2 p.m. - Friday, Jan. 23
No0n-1 p.m. - Saturday, Jan. 24
2-3 p.m. - Sunday, Jan. 25

Hat Tip to bikerumor.com, which also reported that NBC may outbid Versus for rights to televise the Giro d'Italia.

Get Some National Championships Video

Here's some video of the Elite women's and men's races at the U.S. National Cyclocross Championships in Kansas City on Sunday. From the good folks at VeloNews.tv ... ...


There are more videos HERE, including both days of the USGP Portland Cup Dec. 6-7.

Trebon Powers To National Championship

(UPDATED BELOW With More Oregon Rider Results)

Bend's Ryan Trebon (pictured here at the USGP #5) won the Elite Men's race of the U.S. National Cyclocross Championships today in Kansas City.

Trebon (Kona), who a week ago won the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross #6 in Portland, finished ahead of Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale's Jamey Driscoll in second and third-placed Johnathan Page (Planet Bike), a three-time national champion who races mostly in Europe.

Trebon previously won the Elite Men's U.S. Cyclocross National Championship in 2006. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale), who won the USGP #5 in Portland and the overall series crown, won the national championship race in 2007.

ELITE MEN'S TOP FIVE
1. Ryan Trebon (Kona)
2. Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale)
3. Jonathan Page (Planet Bike)
4. Jesse Anthony (Jamis)
5. Tim Johnson Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale)

ELITE WOMEN'S TOP FIVE
1. Katie Compton (Spike Shooter)
2. Georgia Gould (Luna)
3. Rachel Lloyd (California Giant Berry Farms)
4. Laura Van Gilder (C3 Sollay)
5. Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona)

OREGON FINISHERS
MEN
13. WICKS, Barry, Corvallis (Kona)
16. TONKIN, Erik, Portland (Kona)
17. WORAS, Solomon, Winthrop, WA (Vanilla Bicycles)
27. DECKER, Carl, Bend (Broadmark)
28. CAMERON, Molly, Portland (Vanilla Bicycles)
34. BABCOCK, Sean Corvallis (Team S&M)
54. HULICK, Kevin, Portland (Gentle Lovers)
61. YEATER, Davy, Portland (River City Bicycles)

WOMEN
9. BUTLER, Sue, Portland (MonavieCannondale.com)
12. MAZZA, Rhonda, Portland (Vanilla/Team S&M)
13. WILLIAMS, Wendy, Portland (River City Bicycles)
18. VAN METER, Emily, Portland (River City Bicycles)
34. FLAHERTY, Colleen, Portland (Veloce)