Ironclad/Yakima's Anna Christiansen scored the Women's 1-2 win Saturday at the Eugene Roubaix. FILE PHOTO / ©Pat Malach

EUGENE — Cliff Heaberlin (Portland Bicycle Studio) and Anna Christiansen (Ironclad-Yakima) took the wins Saturday at the Eugene Roubaix in the central Willamette Valley.

Christiansen got payback from teammate Leia Tyrrell for helping Tyrrell to the overall win at the recent Tour of Walla Walla, with the Ironclad duo coming in first and second ahead of West Coast Women’s Cycling’s Maire Osborn, Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care’s Brenna Lopez-Otero and Kristina Hughes of Hutch’s-Slocum-Co-Motion.

Heaberlin finished ahead of Austin Arguello (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing), Dwayne Farr (Soraz Racing/CAPA) and Rapha/River City Bicycles’ John Walrod and Tim Reinhart.

RESULTS
Eugene Roubaix
April 27, 2013

Men 1-2
1. Heaberlin, Cliff (Portland Bicycle Studio)
2. Arguello, Austin (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing)
3. Farr, Dwayne (Soraz Racing/CAPA)
4. Walrod, John (Rapha/River City Bicycles)
5. Reinhart, Tim (Rapha/River City Bicycles)

Women 1-2
1. Christiansen, Anna (Ironclad/Yakima)
2. Tyrrell, Leia (Ironclad/Yakima)
3. Osborn, Maire (West Coast Women’s Cycling/Ninkasi)
4. Lopez-Otero, Brenna (Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care)
5. Hughes, Kristina (Hutch’s-Slocum-Co-Motion)

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

The wide-open roads at Kings Valley can make it tough for breakaways to get out of sight. ©Pat Malach/FILE PHOTO

KINGS VALLEY — Kyle Medlin (Soraz Racing-CAPA) and Leia Tyrrell (Ironclad/Yakima) took the wins Saturday at the 16th annual Kings Valley Road Race on rural Willamette Valley roads northeast of Corvallis.

Medlin beat Sam Schartz (Hutch’s-Slocum-Co-Motion) in a two-up sprint for the men’s Cat 1-2 win, while Hagens Berman rider Colby Wait-Molyneux led Dwayne Farr (Soraz Racing-CAPA) and Josh Liberles (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage) across the line to round out the top five.

Tyrrell soloed in 29 seconds ahead of Madison McKenzie (West Coast Women’s Cycling-Ninkasi) and 43 seconds ahead of Rachel Lee (Upper Echelon Fitness) for the women’s Cat 1-2-3 win. Lisa Turnbull won the field sprint nearly two minutes later for fourth ahead of Erin Glover (Sizzle Pie Cycling-Veloforma).

RESULTS
Kings Valley Road Race
April 13, 2013

Cat 1-2 Men
1. Medlin, Kyle (Soraz Racing-CAPA) 02:19:56
2. Schartz, Sam (Hutch’s-Slocum-Co-Motion) 02:19:57
3. Wait-Molyneux, Colby (Hagens Berman) 02:20:18
4. Farr, Dwayne (Soraz Racing-CAPA) 02:20:18.00
5. Liberles, Joshua (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage) 02:20:19

Cat 1-2-3 Women
1. Tyrrell, Leia (Ironclad/Yakima) 02:08:07
2. Madison, MacKenzie (West Coast Women’s Cycling-Ninkasi) 02:08:36
3. Lee, Rachel (Upper Echelon Fitness) 02:08:50*Cat. 3 winner
4. Turnbull, Lisa 02:09:41
5. Glover, Erin (Sizzle Pie Cycling-Veloforma) 02:09:43

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Annie Davis Usher took her second consecutive Rose Garden Circuit Race win Thursday night in downtown Portland.

PORTLAND — Annie Davis Usher (Upper Echelon Fitness) won her second race in as many weeks Thursday at the Rose Garden Circuit Race, while Team Oregon-Laurelwood’s Chris Swan took his first win in three years during the second race of the 2013 series.

Chris Swan won the senior Men's race Thursday night in Portland.

Davis usher soloed in for the win in ahead of Stacy Westbrook and Courtney Gould of Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling. Swan attacked a three-rider breakaway at the bottom of the final climb to take his own solo victory ahead of week-one winner Trevor Spahr (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage) and runner-up Michael Palmer (Veloce-Smith & Nephew).

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY for this race.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Rose Garden Circuit Race
April 11, 2013

Senior Men
1. Chris Swam (Team Oregon-Laurelwood)
2. Trevor Spahr (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage)
3. Michael Palmer (Veloce-Smith & Newphew)

Senior Women
1. Annie Davis Usher (Upper Echelon Fitness)
2. Stacy Westbrook (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling)
3. Courtney Gould (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling)

The Rose Garden Circuit Race series got underway last night in Portland.

Spahr (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage) finished ahead of Veloce’s Chris Palmer and up-and-coming Cat 3 rider Mark Porcella. Race promoter Steven Beardsley was fourth.

Davis Usher (Upper Echelon Fitness) caught solo breakaway rider Anna Christiansen (Ironclad-Yakima) on the final lap and then powered away for the win. Christiansen finished second, followed by Lelah O’Shaughnessy (River City Bicycles) and Stacy Westbrook (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling).

RESULTS
Rose Garden Circuit race #1
April 5, 2013

Senior Men
1. Spahr, Trevor (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage)
2. Palmer, Michael (Veloce Racing-Smith & Nephew)
3. Porcella, Mark
4. Beardsley, Steven (Gentle Lovers)
5. Nicoletti, Samuel (Gentle Lovers)

Senior Women
1. Davis Usher, Anne (Upper Echelon Fitness and Rehabilitation)
2. Christiansen, Anna (Ironclad-Yakima)
3. O’Shaughnessy, Lelah (River City Bicycles)
4. Westbrook, Stacy (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling)
5. Gould, Courtney (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling)

Complete OBRA results are HERE

Riders stream down a gravel descent Sunday at the inaugural Gorge Roubaix. ©Pat Malach

Sue Butler returned to road racing with a win Sunday at the Gorge Roubaix. © Pat Malach

THE DALLES — On a day when luck mattered almost as much as fitness and cunning, Portland Bicycle Studio’s Cliff Heaberlin and River City Bicycles’ Sue Butler made the most of all three to take the wins at the inaugural Gorge Roubaix.

Butler celebrated her return to road racing by taking the sprint from a select lead group that had been whittled down by 32 miles of rollers, wind and gravel. Butler bridged to a breakaway group of three that included Ironclad/Yakima’s Anna Christiansen, River City Bicycles’ Megan Chinberg and West Coast Women’s Cycling’s Sara Fletcher. Butler outlasted Christiansen up the final climb to the finish for the win. Fletcher finished third.

The Cat 1-2 men’s two-lap, 72-mile race came down to a gallop up the final wall among a group of about 20 survivors. Soraz/Capa’s Dwayne Farr overcame a late-race flat with the help of a teammate’s wheel but was unable to get past Heaberlin’s kick in the finale. Rapha’s Kyle Valenta was third.

Cliff Heaberlin (left) held off Dwayne Farr in the final sprint to take the win at the Gorge Roubaix. © Pat Malach

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY for this race.

RESULTS
2013 Gorge Roubaix
March 24

Men Cat 1-2
1. Cliff Heaberlin (Portland Bicycle Studio)
2. Dwayne Farr (Soraz Racing/CAPA)
3. Kyle Valenta (Rapha/River City Bicycles)
4. Michael Palmer (Veloce Racing/Smith & Nephew)
5. Ryan McKean

Women Cat 1-2-3
1. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles)
2. Anna Christiansen (Ironclad/Yakima)
3. Sara Fletcher (West Coast Women’s Cycling/Ninkasi
4. Megan Chinburg (River City Bicycles)
5. Lelah O’Shaughnessy (River City Bicycles)

Masters Men Cat 2-3
1. Tim Butler (Evolution Racing Team/River City Bicycles)
2. Brant Buchholz (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling)
3. Randy Salamon
4. Sage Freeman (Team Planet X USA)
5. David Masuda (crank)

Men Cat 3
1. Mark Porcella
2. Eric Gushurst (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing)
3. Ferron Joseph (Trailhead Coffee Roasters)
4. Matthew Studer (Therapeutic Associates PDX Cycling)
5. Shane Bennett

Women Cat 4
1. Brenna Wrye-Simpson (Ironclad/Yakima)
2. Robin Gumpert (Filth and Fury)
3. Rachel bagley (Ironclad/Yakima)
4. Rachel Lee (Upper Echelon Fitness)
5. Jennifer Pereau

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Anne Davis Usher and eventual winner Karey Miles escaped the women's field Sunday during Dirty Circles #1. ©Pat Malach

WOODLAND, Wash. — Last weekend’s Jack Frost winners Colby Wait-Molyneux and Karey Miles doubled up again this weekend, taking out the men’s and women’s wins at the at Dirty Circles #1 circuit race across the Columbia River in Washington.

Colby Wait-Molyneux leads the chase for a lone breakaway rider. ©Pat Malach

Wait-Molyneux (Hagens-Berman) bridged to race-long breakaway and then outsprinted 16-year-old Sam Rosenberg (Hutch’s-Slocum-Co-Motion) to take his second OBRA win this year. Breakaway rider Mark Porcella held on for third, while Josh Liberles (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage) jumped away from the field to solo in for fourth. Tim Reinhart won the field sprint for fifth. (Gates-Rapha-River City Bicycles)

In the women’s race, Miles (West Coast Women’s Cycling) joined Upper Echelon Fitness rider Anne Davis Usher in a mid-race breakaway that stuck all the way to the finish, where Miles outsprinted Usher for the win. Amy Shepard (Brihop) barely beat Upper Echelon’s Heather VanValkenburg to the line in the bunch sprint for third.

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY for this race.

RESULTS
Dirty Circles #1
Woodland, Wash.
March 3, 2013

Cat 1/2/3 Men
1. Wait-Molyneux, Colby (Hagens-Berman)
2. Rosenberg, Sam (Hutch’s-Slocum-Co-Motion)
3. Porcella, Mark
4. Liberles, Joshua (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage)
5. Reinhart, Tim (Gates-Rapha-River City Bicycles)

Cat 1/2/3 Women
1. Miles, Karey (West Coast Women’s Cycling)
2. Davis Usher, Anne (Upper Echelon Fitness)
3. Shepard, Amy (Brihop)
4. VanValkenburg, Heather (Upper Echelon Fitness)
5. Fletcher, Sara (West Coast Women’s Cycling)

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Karey Miles on her way to setting the fastest women's time Sunday at the Jack Frost Time Trial. ©Pat Malach

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Colby Wait-Molyneux won his third consecutive Jack Frost Time Trial Sunday, shaving more than 40 seconds of his previous best time last year with a mark of 25:10. Cat 3 Karey Miles set the fastest women’s time at 30.01.

Colby Wait-Molyneux won his third consecutive Jack Frost Time Trial Sunday. ©Pat Malach

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY.

RESULTS
Jack Frost Time Trial
Feb. 24, 2013

Combined Men
1. Colby Wait-Molyneux (Hagens Berman) 25:10
2. Mark Porcela 25:46
3. Josh Liberles (HPChiro-RPM Mortgage) 26:10
4. Alex Teltitsine 26:35
5. Kyle Medlin (Soraz) 26:38

Combined Women
1. Karey Miles (West Coast Women’s Cycling Team) 30:01
2. Anna Christiansen (Ironclad Performance Wear) 30:10
3. Martha Walsh 31:00
4. Stephanie Bergh (Upper Echelon Fitness) 31:19
5. Elise Huggins (Upper Echelon Fitness) 31:22

Complete Jack Frost results are HERE.

Powered by Bowen will host the CXmas Party Dec. 6 in Bend. The party is a fundraiser to help send Oregon juniors to the cyclocross national championships in Wisconsin.

BEND – Pro cyclists Ryan Trebon and Adam Craig will attend the second annual CXmas Party in Bend on Thursday, Dec. 6, at Powered by Bowen during the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross weekend.

All proceeds from the event benefit the CXmas Junior Fund, which awards travel stipends to junior racers from Oregon who will attend the US National Cyclocross Championships Jan. 9-13 in Madison, Wis.

The CXmas Party will feature a short Q&A with Trebon and Craig, “The Art of Cyclocross” photography exhibit and a silent auction. Last year’s CXmas Party raised more than $1,400 for local junior cyclists, and this year’s event will again be held in conjunction with the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross races in Bend.

Bart Bowen, who hosts the CXmas Party at his sports performance lab in Bend, is grateful to the cycling community for its generosity.

“It takes a community to bring up the next generation of cyclists,” said Bowen. “We’ve reached out and asked people to donate, and we’ve had a great showing of support, and that’s what it takes to keep cycling growing, not just as a sport, but as a way of life.”

Silent auction items include services and products donated by local businesses as well as signed jerseys from Trebon and his Cannondale-yclocrossWorld.com teammate Tim Johnson. The photography exhibit will feature the work of local photographers Ken Simms, Matthew Lasala, Mark Reinecke, Rob Kerr and Whit Bazemore. GoodLife Brewing will be providing two kinds of its award winning craft beer, and appetizers will be served. Doors open at 6:30, and the suggested minimum donation is $5 per person at the door.

Generous sponsors and donors include: Abbey Bike Works, Adam Craig, Blazing Saddles, Crows Feet Commons, GoodLife Brewing, Mark DeJohn, Pine Mountain Sports, Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson.

WHAT: CXmas Party Fundraiser
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 6. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Powered by Bowen, 143 SW Century Drive, Suite 100, in Bend.
COST: $5 donation suggested.
INFO: www.poweredbybowen.com.

Donald Reeb takes the checkered flag Sunday to score his third consecutive Cross Crusade win.

PORTLAND — Donald Reeb (Cyclocrossracing.com) and Alice Pennington (Kona) repeated their performances from the previous week, taking the Elite men’s and women’s wins at the finale race of the 2012 River City Cross Crusade Sunday in Portland, but it was Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) and Serena Bishop Gordon (Silverado Gallery-Sunnyside) who came away with the overall series wins.

A week of steady rain prepared the Pro Paddock course at Portland International Raceway well for the final round of the eight-race series, turning the former national championship and USGP course into a technically challenging slip ‘n’ slide as the battles for the overall Crusade crown played out. Promoters mercifully left the bare motocross section of PIR infield’s out of the course this year, keeping riders mostly on pavement and highly trodden grass.

Pennington Doubles Up, Bishop Gordon Hangs Onto Overall

Alice Pennington sailed through the mud Sunday to take her second Crusade win this year.

Pennington rode to her second consecutive win much like she did the week before in Hillsboro: grabbing an early lead and avoiding problems on her way to the line. But she was chased closely this week by Serena Bishop Gordon (Silverado Gallery-Sunnyside), who needed a good finish to keep her overall lead and repeat her 2011 series win.

“Today I just knew I had to have a good race, and I also knew Alice would be there because she’s so good in the mud,” Bishop Gordon said.

Pennington’s skills in the mud allowed her to get away early and never really look back, but Bishop Gordon quickly picked up the chase and trailed Pennington by about 15 seconds after three laps. Bishop Gordon pressed the issue but wasn’t able to close in on Pennington, who was working on damage control at the front of the race.

“It was just a matter of knowing when to run and when to try and ride,” Pennington said of her strategy for keeping the lead. “I only had one bike, too, so I was trying to keep this one going the whole time and not get it too packed up. It’s pretty heavy right now.”

Pennington added to her lead by the finish, grabbing her second win of the series by 31 seconds over Bishop Gordon. Brooke Snyder (biccyleattonery.com) crossed the line third, followed by Megan Chinberg (Corsa Concepts) and Brigette Brown (River City Bicycles).

Bishop Gordon’s second place was enough to hang onto the overall title, while Pennington moved into second.

Reeb, Skerritt Duel for Win, Sheppard Takes Overall

Reeb picked up his third consecutive Crusade win after an all-day battle with Shannon Skerritt (Trek Cyclocross Collective). Sheppard, whose five previous Crusade wins were enough to seal the 2012 series win, was absent for the finale after having raced at the Canadian national championships in British Columbia the day before.

Sheppard’s absence left Reeb free to set the pace at the front, and the Cyclocrossracing.com rider didn’t waste anytime taking over the race. Reeb had a nice gap by the end of the first lap and looked to be in control of his own destiny. But Skerritt battled back over the greasy course and caught Reeb with just over three laps remaining.

“I think he just started going through the course different ways and I didn’t go through it once very good,” Reeb said of Skerritt’s chase down.

Whatever the reason, Skerrit shot back to the front and was soon leading Reeb through the twisting, wooded infield of the automobile race track next to the Columbia River. The mud was at turns thin and greasy but could turn to think peanut butter in some of the more well-worn sections. The lead duo’s advantage continued to grow as both riders remained steady while navigating lapped traffic, and neither suffered any significant bobbles or mechanicals.

“You basically have to make sure your bake doesn’t take a hit,” Reeb said. “That’s what it is. Guys were breaking stuff. So if you can just smooth it out. We had a pretty good gap, so we really didn’t have to worry about anybody catching us.”

The leaders poured it on as the field behind them strung out into single riders fighting the conditions. Skerritt led Reeb through final paved straightaway as they took the bell together and set up for the final circuit. Reeb stuck to Skerritt’s wheel through the middle part of the course and then gained an advantage just before the finish, coming in about 15 seconds ahead of Skerritt.

“He did that middle part way better than me, so I just kind of tried to wait it out,” Reeb said. “Once I got it, then it was just don’t look back, try not to run into anyone and don’t let anyone run into me.”

JT Fountain (Neon Jet Bikes) crossed the line for third place, 1:25 behind Reeb. Seth Patla (Gates- Rapha-River City Bicycles) grabbed the fourth spot, followed by Kolben Preble (Clif Bar) to round out the top five.

Sheppard’s five wins were enough to lift him to the overall lead in the series, which is based on the best six results from the eight races. Reeb’s three wins earned hims the second spot, while Molly Cameron, who missed the final Crusade while racing in Japan, finished third.

Junior Winners Dominate Series

The winners of the Cross Crusade Junior categories put on impressive displays of dominance over the eight-race series. Women’s winner Susannah Hart (Hapi-Go!) won all eight races of the 2012 series and also competed in the Elite women’s race this week. She also took second place in the Crusade’s Unicycle category, winning the last two consecutive weekends.

Bend’s Lance Haidet (Bend Memorial Clinic) won seven of eight junior races to easily take the series overall. The only junior race he didn’t win came on week one at Alpenrose, when he competed with the category B men instead and won that race.

Check out the photo gallery HERE.

RESULTS
Cross crusade #8, Portland
November, 18, 2012

Elite Men
1. Donald Reeb (Cyclocrossracing.com) 58:22
2. Shannon Skerritt (Trek Cyclocross Collective) 58:39
3. JT Fountain 59:47
4. Seth Patla (Gates Rapha River City Bicycles) 1:00:06
5. Kolben Preble (Clif Bar) 1:00:57

Elite Women
1. Alice Pennington (Kona) 1:04:00
2. Serena Bishop Gordon (Silverado Gallery-Sunnyside) 1:04:31
3. Brooke Synder (bicycleattonery.com) 1:05:10
4. Megan Chinberg (Corsa Concepts) 1:06:48
5. Brigette Brown (River City Bicycles) 1:07:06

Complete OBRA results are HERE.