Lyman, Wyles lead Elkhorn

Jun 19, 2010 by editor

BAKER CITY — The evening Gold Rush Criterium in downtown Baker City brought down both men’s and women’s leaders Saturday at the Elkhorn Classic Stage Race after the day started with a time trial.

CCB/Wheelworks’ Cameron Cogburn seized the Pro/1/2 leader’s jersey with a second-place ride in the race of truth. But he lost more than five minutes in the wet evening criterium and gave up the jersey to Team Specialized’s Chris Lyman, who was second in the time trial and finished with the main group in the criterium. Sam Johnson, who finished third in the time trial and played it safe in the criterium, sat second at the end of day two, just five seconds down. Less than a minute now separates the men’s top 10 heading into today’s 104-mile Dooley Mountain Road Race and its summit finish.

Women’s Pro/1/2 Stage 1 winner Jennifer Halladay (Bob’s-Bicycles.com) stormed to a win in the morning time trial but either did not start or failed to finish the evening criterium and fell off the results board. Her absence lifts Tayler Wiles (Primal/Rocky Mountain Colavita), thrid on Stage 1, second in the time trial and second in the crit, into the overall lead. Veloforma’s Teri Sheasby, who was tied with Halladay on overall time after Stage 1 but lost more than two minutes in the time trial, is now second overall just 23 second behind the leader. Team Delphine’s Amy Frykman is third, more than a minute back.

TIME TRIAL
Stage 1 winner Halladay continued to dominate in the women’s Pro/1/2 race with an impressive performance in time trial, covering the course in 24:45.3, 61 seconds faster than Wiles in second place. Frykman finished third, 1:06 off the lead mark.

In the men’s Pro/1/2 event, CCB/Wheelwork’s took the top two TT podium spots with Tim Mitchell and Cogburn. Mitchell covered the course in 21:28.9, with Cogbun coming in five seconds slower. Lyman rode a 21:34.9, just six seconds off the lead. Johnson was fourth, 10 seconds back.

CRITERIUM
The biggest story in the women’s criterium was Halladay’s absence from the stage results and general classification. Other than the top spot, the race made no changes to the overall battle. The riders all finished on the same time, with Sorella Forte’s Jen Akeroyd grabbing the field sprint for the win. Wiles finished second, ahead of Cucina Fresca’s Kristine Brynjolfson. Sheasby finished 10th, 2:12 back.

In the men’s criterium, riders from Hagens Berman Hagens, Second Ascent, the GAS/Intrisik team out of Montana and Exergy had a break that started a little bit past 20 minutes into the abbreviated 55-minute event. The gap never got above about 15 seconds, and the pack was closing in in the final 10 laps as the speeds ramped up.

With 3 laps to go, the Exergy’s Kai Applequist attacked to claim the race’s biggest prime – a $100 prize, and the other three breakaway members were soon swallowed up. But with Exergy riders patrolling the front, Applequist was able to hold his gap for the final two laps and claim the win.

Exergy had three riders on the front to keep the speeds high enough to keep from getting swarmed, they reeled in any attack attempts, and they still had the wherewithal to set up an impressive field sprint to claim the second podium spot with Remi McManus. Portland speedster Steven Beardsley (Gentle Lovers) was third on the stage, with Edward Micek (Bend Broadband) fourth, Opel Marshall (WM/Hammer) fifth and OBRA rider Josh Liberles (Ten Speed Drive) in sixth. …

RESULTS
Elkhorn Classic Stage Race
General Classification
After three stages

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Chris Lyman (Team Specialized) 4:12:47
2. Sam Johnson (Hagens Berman) +:05
3. Brian Frykman (GAS/Intrinsik) +:12
4. Jesse Moore (California Giant Berry Farms) +:18
5. Tim Mitchell (CCB/Wheelworks) +:33
Pro/1/2 Women
1. Tayler Wiles (Primal/Rocky Mountain Colavita)
2. Teri Sheasby (Veloforma) +:23
3. Amy Frykman (Team Delphine) +1:03
4. Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca) +2:10
5. Gabriela Ferrat (Trisports/Eclipse)