Decker, Wilcoxson take Giro victories

Aug 21, 2011 by editor

PORTLAND — Bend’s Carl Decker (Giant) and Talent’s Jade Wilsoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) traveled to Portland Sunday and rode away with the wins at the first ever Giro di Portland criterium in the Pearl District.

The L-shaped course that cut through the paved (and sometimes cobbled) canyon floors that lay at the feet of the Pearl District’s towering condos created mayhem for riders as the brick-and-concrete surfaces bounced wheels and reset trajectories into corners.

The women’s Cat 1/2/3 race was briefly delayed after just three laps when touched wheels on the cobbles-to-pavement descent into corner three sent Emily Charbonneau (Sorella Forte) to the deck and out of the race via ambulance with a possible broken collarbone.

When the women got rolling again with the race clock reset at 30 minutes, Wilcoxson went off the front and was soon joined by 2011 OBRA Criterium Champion Brianna Walle (Ironclad Performance Wear) and Central Oregon speedster Brenna Lopez-Otero (Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care).

The trio quickly began building a gap and appeared to be riding away from the splintered field before Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) hit the front and started chasing with Erin Playman (Gentle Lovers) and Saturday’s Tigard Criterium winner Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca). Butler’s mountain bike and cyclocross skills were evident as she flew over the bumpy cobble section that disrupted most riders’ pedaling and flow. Wilcoxson flatted and took her free lap but said she didn’t really have much trouble with the cobbles.

“I think they gave me a little more trouble than they gave Sue Butler,” Wilcoxson said. “I lost a little bit of ground there, but I felt good in the corners.”

Butler’s chasing group slowly clawed its way back to the leaders as the women’s field reshuffled the deck and, with just a handful of laps remaining, started thinking about a bunch sprint. The group kept the pace up and was all together as the riders went through the start/finish to begin the final lap.

Wilcoxson relied on her acceleration and stamina to wind it up from a long way out, coming out of the final corner with a good margin over a hard-charging Butler and holding it all the way to the line for the win.

“I was feeling good,” Wilcoxson said. “And then we stopped for about 20 minutes, and my legs just didn’t quite feel it when we started back up again. So I was kind of nervous about the finish. That’s why I went so early, because I didn’t feel like my legs were that good.”

Her legs were good enough for a win by several bike lengths over Butler, who rode in next for second. Walle and Lopez-Otero decided the last podium spot with a rematch of their OBRA championship battle the week before, with the Ironclad rider getting the advantage again.

MTB PRO RETURNS TO THE ROAD TO CLAIM MEN’S WIN

Decker, a former Elite road race national champion who now races mountain bikes professionally for the Giant Factory Team, waited until late in the race to bridge to a fading breakaway group and then soloed the last few laps for the win. But it was former road pro Aaron Tuckerman (Corsa Concepts) who supplied most of the energy and initiative in the race, taking off on the very first lap and spending almost the entire race off the front of the field.

The field eventually brought back Tuckerman’s initial move before he joined 2011 OBRA Criterium Champion Steven Bedford in a small breakaway that also eventually fell apart. Bedford and Tuckerman countered the failing move and grabbed enough of a gap to dangle dangerously off the front as the race clock started closing in on the finish.

That’s when Decker escaped the field on the cobbled section and started out in search of the two escapees. Decker said fear motivated his attack.

“I’m just terrified out there pretty much a lot of the time,” said Decker, who also races rally cars with Giant teammate and fellow Bend resident Adam Craig. “At least when I’m being smart I am. So I bridged to those guys somewhat just to stay out of trouble, and I least get my face in the wind a little bit.”

He made quick work of his pursuit and then started working with Bedford and Tuckerman to re-energize their original move and try to make it work. The 36-year-old knew the field was having trouble staying cohesive over the cobbled section, giving the smaller group a leg up in its attempt to stay away. While the bunch had its difficulties with the jarring vibrations on the cobbled end of the course, the bumpy ride proved to be just another day in the office for the world cup mountain biker.

“I was drifting onto it and having a good time,” he said of the cobble section. “There was a pretty good line through it if you just let it buck. Stay loose. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.”

When Decker judged his two breakaway companions’ long effort off the front had taken its toll on their output, he jumped away thinking he could pick up some primes before they were all reeled back in. But Decker’s advantage held firm as the lap board was nearing zero.

“I looked and was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I think I only have a few laps left,’” he said. “This is going to hurt.”

Decker flew over the cobbles and maintained his 15 second advantage over the field, which still hadn’t quite pulled back Bedford and Tuckerman. In the sprint for second, Tuckerman finished ahead of an exhausted looking Bedford. Diamond Law Cycling’s Zac Kovalcik led the field home for fourth place.

The Masters 35+ cat 1/2/3 race saw its share of attacking and chasing, with Brad Gebhard applying the pressure off the front multiple times. But it was Veloce Racing rider Steven Wright’s late-race solo move that final found success and brought him the win after finishing third in the Cat 1/2 race at the Tigard Criterium on Saturday.

Grant McElroy (Beaverton Bicycle Club) won the Cat 3 race by settling into the group after an early escape attempt and then timing his sprint to leave just enough room to get his hands off the bars at the line. The 13-year-old multiple national champion also won his age group at the OBRA Uphill Time Trial on Mt. Hood earlier in the day with the 18th fastest overall time out of 106 total competitors.

(Check out the PHOTO GALLERY from all four races).

RESULTS
Giro di Portland
Aug. 21

Cat 1/2/3 Women
1. Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel)
2. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles)
3. Brianna Walle (Ironclad Performance Wear)
4. Brenna Lopez-Otero (Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care)
5. Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca)

Cat 1/2 Men
1. Carl Decker (Giant)
2. Aaron Tuckerman (Corsa Concepts)
3. Stephen Bedford (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing)
4. Zac Kovalcik (Diamond Law Cycling)
5. Ben Sweberg (Cal Giant Strawberry/Specialized)

Cat 3 Men
1. Grant McElroy (Beaverton Bicycle Club)

Masters 35+ Cat 1/2/3
1. Steve Wright (Veloce Racing)