Shepherd, Despas win Elkhorn opener

Jun 17, 2011 by editor

BAKER CITY — Davis Shepherd (Greg’s Cycles) pulled on the first men’s Cat-1-2 leader’s jersey of the 10th Elkhorn Classic Stage Race Friday after winning the opening 76-mile road race. Yahoo Cycling’s Jane Despas won the women’s Cat 1-2-3 opener from a five-rider breakaway group.

Even though the elite men’s field was small, it was clear that the action would be aggressive between the big players — Team Oregon/Laurelwood with seven riders, Hagens Berman with five and BobBicycles.com with six — because of their tactics and shuffling to establish a move with representation that gave them confidence.

Sure enough, the rapid fire attacks started just after the lead moto announced the end of the neutral rollout. Nothing stuck until about midway through the race, when a BobsBicycles.com rider joined another competitor off the front and hovered about a minute ahead of the field.

The gap vanished as the field accelerated up the day’s longest climb, and shortly thereafter Jonathan McCoy (Ironclad Performance Wear) went solo and climbed his way to a 45-second gap by the summit. With 24 miles still to go, however, the odds were against him, and before long he was reabsorbed.

It wasn’t until the long rollers near the end of the race that a break of consequence would again establish itself. Oregon Cup leader Jake Hansen (Word-RCB) initiated the move, while Shepherd and Lang Reynolds (Hagens Berman) soon joined him.

The trio drove its advantage to the line, finishing about 30 seconds ahead of a charging, but diminished, pack of about 10. Shepherd took the three-up sprint, followed by Reynolds and Hansen. In between, Galen Mitterman (HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage) put in a dig of his own on one of the final climbs just as the high pace was taking its toll on the other chasers. The tailwind pushed him to the line, and he took fourth by about nine seconds over the field. Colin Gibson (Hagens Berman) took the field sprint for fifth.

The combined Cat 1-2-3 women’s race was animated by a six-rider breakaway that escaped on the big climb midway through the second feed zone. Despas joined Angela Koch (TriSports Cycling / Eclipse Racing), Anona Whitley (Ironclad Performance Wear), Jessica Kaplan (Therapeutic Associates/Sagebrush Cycles), Anna Christiansen (Ironclad Performance Wear) and Tawnie McDonald in a group that soon built a sizable lead and had more than five minutes by the finish. Despas took the five-up sprint, with Koch in second and Whitely in Third. Kaplan finished fourth, followed by Christiansen and McDonald.

The Elkhorn Classic Stage Race continues Saturday with the 11.3-mile Stage 2 Pleasant Valley Time Trial in the morning and the Stage 3 Gold Rush Criterium in the afternoon.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Elkhorn Classic Stage Race
Stage 1 Oregon Trail Road Race
June 17

Cat 1-2 Men
1. Davis Shepherd (Greg’s Cycles) 2:52:31.00
2. Lang Reynolds (Hagens Berman) s.t.
3. Jake Hansen (Word-RCB) s.t.
4. Galen Mitterman (HPChiro/Alpine Mortage Planning) +:39
5. Colin Gibson (Hagens Berman) +:47

Cat 1-2-3 Women
1. Jane Despas (Yahoo Cycling) 3:20:17.00
2. Angela Koch (TriSports Cycling / Eclipse Racing) s.t.
3. Anona Whitley (Ironclad Performance Wear) s.t.
4. Anna Christiansen (Ironclad Performance Wear) s.t.
** Jessica Kaplan (Therapeutic Associates/Sagebrush Cycles) +:01 *Cat 3 winner. Scored separately.
**Tawnie McDonald +:01 *Cat 3 second.
5. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) +5:23

Masters Cat 1-2-3
1. Micek, Edward (BendBroadband/WebCyclery.com) 02:58:08.00
2. Slater, Matthew (West End Bikes/Specialized) s.t.
3. Schafer, Mark s.t.
4. Zimbelman, Mark s.t.
5. Browning, Scott (West End Bikes/Specialized) +:03

Complete OBRA results are HERE.