Arguello picks off Banana Belt #2 from break group

Mar 7, 2010 by editor

HENRY HAGG LAKE — Fresh off his 6th place overall GC finish last week at the Callville Bay Classic in Nevada, Team Exergy’s Austin Arguello capitalized on his current good form and slipped in front of his breakaway companions to take Banana Belt #2 Sunday.

Arguello and four others broke away from the group with about three laps to go in the six-lap, 66-mile race. Hutch’s-Eugene rider Rob English and Rubicon-ORBEA’s Quinn Keogh initiated the move after getting a gap on the field following a hot spot sprint through the uphill finish on the counterclockwise course. John Browning (Echelon/ZteaM), Aaron Sander (Cyclepath) and Arguello quickly joined them at the front.

The lead group organized itself and immediately began setting a pace that had the field behind strung out in pursuit for the remainder of the race. But the chasing effort had little effect on the leaders as they continued to power away and add more time to their advantage.

“Once the gap was about a minute and a half or two minutes, we felt pretty confident because we were working well together,” Arguello said.

That’s when thoughts started turning to the finish as the leaders started the last lap with a comfortable lead. English attacked immediately after the leaders started heading uphill just past the lake’s dam. Browning and Arguello hopped on his wheel while Sander and Keogh struggled and fell off the pace. But Sander got a second chance when the lead trio started jockeying for the finish. The Cyclepath rider latched back onto the leaders with about a kilometer to go.

“It reminded me of a track race,” Arguello said of the cat-and-mouse games in the final stretch.

Sander, who had just regained contact, sat at the back of the group and tried to recover from his bridging effort.

“The longer they do that, the better for me,” Sander said, “because I was just completely tapped.”

English made the first move at the bottom of the hill leading to the line, while Sander quickly followed and Arguello and Browning slipped onto the wheels. Arguello waited and jumped when the timing felt right.

“I felt pretty good at about 175 (meters),” Arguello said. “So that’s when I went. I usually like to go long on an uphill sprint. I had a good acceleration and then just tried to hold it and not do anything stupid.”

Arguello avoided trouble and cruised across the line to win by several bike lengths. Browning finished second, with English and Sander going third and fourth, respectively. Keogh trailed in for fifth with the main field minutes behind.

Arguello is now heading to Boise, where Team Exergy is based, to race a local criterium with the entire squad before tackling his first NRC race with the team at Redlands. His OBRA racing should put some quality training miles in his legs. Sander was certainly feeling the day’s breakaway effort.

“We were just a team time trial,” he said of the break group’s cooperation. “It was really hard to be on the front, and it was kinda hard to catch back on. That’s a definite sign that you’re going fast.”

OTHER RACE NOTES

Leia Tyrrell won her second Women’s Cat 3 race in a row after winning the Women’s Cat 3 race last weekend at Banana Belt #1. The CAPA Cycling Team rider easily took the field sprint in front of a closing pack.

For the second week in row, Dave Zimbelman (Echelon/Salmon Cyclery) stamped his authority over the Masters 40+ 1/2/3 race with a dominating solo breakaway and a gap of several minutes by the finish of the 44-mile race. Mark Steger (HP Chiro/Hammer Nutrition) won the field sprint for second.

Trevor Spahr (Ironclad performance Wear) went on a last-lap solo flier to take the win in the Men’s Cat 3 race. Christopher Dubois (Team Oregon) won the field sprint for second. BBC’s Ashton Summer sprinted to the win in the junior race in front of teammate and last week’s winner Joe Prettyman. Lifecycle’s Maire Osborn took the Women’s Cat 4 race. Team Oregon’s Aaron Collins won the Men’s Cat 4 event.

William Zale (Specialized River City) took the top spot in the Masters 50+ race ahead of Kerry Farrell (Wheelsport). John Weathers (Sunset Cycles) took the Masters 40+ (4/5) race. Lance Brigman (Bike Tires Direct) finished first in the Masters 60+ event. Shane Bennett took the Men’s Cat 5 race.

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY for this race.

RESULTS
Banana Belt #2
Henry Hagg Lake
Sunday, March 7

Men Pro/1/2
1. Austin Arguello (Team Exergy)
2. John Browning (Echelon Gan Fondo/ZteaM)
3. Rob English (Hutch’s-Eugene)
4. Aaron Sander (Cyclepath)
5. Quinn Keogh (Rubicon ORBEA)

Juniors
1. Summers, Ashton (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
2. Prettyman, Joe (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
3. Sprague, Cole (Bend Bike ‘N Sport)
4. McElroy, Grant (Beaverton Bicycle Club)
5. Rising, Jack (Fred Meyer/Lakeside)

Women Cat 3
1. Tyrrell Leia (CAPA Cycling Team)
2. Campbell Amy (River City Bicycles)
3. Whitley Anona (Ironclad Performance Wear)
4. Simmons, Mindy (Hammer Velo)
5. Huggins, Elise (Veloforma)

Women Cat 4
1. Osborn, Maire (Life Cycle Bike Shop)
2. McDermid, Brooke (bicycleattorney.com)
3. Croy, Stephanie (Ironclad Performance Wear)
4. Woods, Alanna (Sorella Forte)
5. McNair, Abra (Showers Pass)

Men Cat 3
1. Spahr, Trevor (Ironclad Performance Wear)
2. DuBois, Christopher (Team Oregon)
3. Roman, Angelo (Hammer/CMG Racing)
4. Bedford, Stephen (Word-RCB)
5. Scales, Tom

Men Cat 4
1. Collins, Aaron (Team Oregon)
2 . Ward, Chris (CAPA Cycling Team)
3. Ordonez, Lee (Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life)
4. Peterson, galen (OSU Cycling Club)
5. Bowden, Zach (Fred Meyer/Lakeside)

Men Master 40+ (1/2/3)
1. Zimbelman, David (Echelon/Salmon Cyclery)
2. Steger, Mark (HPChiro/Hammer Nutrition)
3. Ghilarducci, Thomas (Presto Velo)
4. Otto, Jeffery (Portland Velo)
5. Goldstein, Scott (EWEB Windpower)

Men Master 40+ (4/5)
1. Weathers, John (Sunset Cycles)
2. Spillman Erik (Portland Velo)
3. Pope, Jason (Team Nebo Ridge)
4. Sines, Ron (Pacific Power Blue Sky)
5. Blacklock, Nick (Team Bike Tires Direct)

Men Master 50+
1. Zale, William (Specialized River City Bicycles)
2. Farrell, Kerry (Wheelsport)
3. Meadors, Ivan (United Finance)
4. Coffel, Lance (HPChiro/Hammer Nutrition)
5 . Beavers, Craig (Capitol Velo/Lifesource)

Men Master 60+
1. Brigman, Lance (Team Bike Tires Direct)
2. Magnus, Ron (NoMad Sports Club)
3. Litchfield, Philip (Capitol Velo/Lifesource)
4. Nicolai, Bill (HeadHunters)
5. Forbes, John (Bri-Hop)

Men 5
1. Shane, Bennett
2. Turpin, Alex (Willamette University)
3. Rogers, Ian
4. Richardson, Bryan (Portland State)
5. Kelley, Graham (Life Cycle Bike Shop)