Brianna Walle (pictured) will join teammate Anna Christiansen and Athlete's Lounge rider Lindsay Fox at the Nature Valley Pro Ride qualifier in San Jose.

The OBRA women’s peloton is once again putting its best foot forward and sending three women to the upcoming Nature Valley Pro Chase race in San Jose, Calif., this coming next weekend.

In an attempt to catch an eye with a good result and ride on the amateur composite team at the marquee Nature Valley Grand Prix event in Minnesota in June, the trio of Ironclad Performance Wear’s Anna Christiansen and Brianna Walle, and Athlete’s Lounge rider Lindsay Fox will head south to contest the matter.

“The San Jose [Omnium] is going to be challenging no doubt,” Walle said of her and Christiansen’s chances. “We have been preparing for this opportunity for the past few months and we’re ready. The first stage, Mt. Hamilton Road Race Classic, will test our climbing abilities, and attrition is guaranteed. I’m really looking forward to gaining additional experience outside of Oregon and hopefully gain some national exposure.”

Fresh off her OBRA Road Race Championship win, Walle is hoping to extend the good fortune along with teammate Christiansen and Fox. OBRA has produced a Nature Valley riders before in Sorella Forte’s Leia Tyrell and River City’s Sue Butler, who rode the event in 2010. Jade Wilcoxson of Talent rode for the amateur composite team at Nature Valley in 2011 and parlayed her good showing there into a contract with the Optum Pro Cycling Women’s team this year. She currently leads USA Cycling’s National Race Calendar standings.

In 2012 OBRA once again has a stacked women’s peloton, proving how OBRA’s structure is built around rider development and participation. For example, both Christiansen and Walle were beginner Cat 4 riders just 24 months ago.

Brianna Walle wins the women's rehearsal road race Saturday in Turner. Photo courtesy of Dave Aldersebaes

TURNER — The action started early in the men’s Cat 1/2 race of the OBRA Championships rehearsal as a break of seven riders quickly established a gap, while complacency seemed to rule the lazily chasing field. A few bridge attempts tried going across, but the diligence of the seven up front kept their advantage continually ticking out. The consistently rolling and punchy course favored only the strongest, and the quick spike in temperature took its toll on a lot of riders doing the longer distances.

Seven became four as David Robinson, Graham Howard, Chris Swan, and John Browning went ahead, while another late race bridge group lead by Carl Decker barreled down on the advantage. But the quartet held their gap with Robinson winning the small sprint.

In the women’s race, a healthy field took to the rolling, punchy course. The heat and hills took their toll as the group whittled down lap after lap, with Ironclad, Sorella Forte, West Coast Women’s Cycling, and Upper Echelon Fitness) all made digs and threw punches. A few short lived breaks highlighted the racing, but in the end, just 12 remained, with Ironclad’s Brianna Walle outkicking BMC’s Brenna Lopez Otero in the gallop to the line.

RESULTS
OBRA Road Race Championship rehearsal race
May 12, 2012

Cat 1/2 Men
1. Robinson, David
2. Howard, Graham
3. Swan, Chris 28 (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing)
4. Browning, John (Evolution Racing Team)
5 Decker, Carl

Cat 1/2 Women
1. Walle, Brianna (Ironclad Performance Wear)
2. Lopez-Otero, Brenna (BMC Total Care)
3. Tyrrell, Leia (Sorella Forte)
4. Lackner, Kristina (Hutch’s)
5. Fox Lindsay (Athlete’s Lounge)

Colby Wait-Molyneux sprints away from the men's field to take the win Sunday at the Montinore Road Race.

FOREST GROVE — Brianna Walle (Ironclad Performance Wear) added her 10th win to an ever-increasing list of 2012 victories Sunday at the Montinore Road Race south of Forest Grove, while Colby Wait-Molyneux battled back from an illness he contracted in Belgium racing with the Junior national team to notch another OBRA Senior men’s win.

Brianna Walle rides behind Kristina Lackner Sunday at Montinore.

Walle and her Ironclad squad raced aggressively throughout the eight-lap, 80k event, along with Hutch’s rider Kristina Lackner, but none of the day’s moves was able to stay clear on the tight 10k circuit that served up one significant climb, some rollers and a lot of cornering.

Walle eventually broke free solo on the final lap, building a gap of more than a minute on runner-up Lackner by the finish and nearly two minutes over the field. Walle’s teammate Anona Whitley took the bunch sprint for third.

The men’s Cat 1/2/3 race started with a first-lap breakaway by HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage’s Galen Mitterman and Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing’s Elie Romer. The duo built a lead approaching three minutes before the peloton took up the chase in earnest, slowly peeling back time from the leaders on each lap of the 10-lap race.

With two laps remaining, Mitterman and Romer had a 1:20 lead on the pack, which was lined out going through the finish. One lap later, Mitterman took the bell for the final alone, dangling just in front of the field that had already reabsorbed Romer.

The bunch quickly snapped up Mitterman and reshuffled for the finale. With less than 10k remaining, any further attacks on the narrow, rural roads were quickly handled, and the field approached the final trip up Plumlee Road and the finish together.

Wait-Molyneux jumped off the front on the last right-hand corner, about 100 meters from the line, and opened an advantage of several bike lengths by the finish. Portland Bicycle Studio’s Ryan Kelly led the rest home for second, finishing just inches ahead of HPChiro’s Josh Liberles.

RESULTS
Montinore Road Race
May 6, 2012

Men Cat 1/2/3
1. Colby Wait-Molyneux (Hammer/CMG Racing)
2. Kelly Ryan (Portland Bicycle Studio)
3. Josh Liberles (HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage)

Women Cat 1/2/3
1. Brianna Walle (Ironclad Performance Wear)
2. Kristina Lackner (Hutch’s)
3. Anona Whitley (Ironclad Performance Wear)

Masters 35+ Cat 1/2/3
1. Sheagley, Eric (Veloce Racing/Smith & Nephew)
2. Campbell, Dave (Hutch’s-Co-Motion)
3. Sargent, Andrew (Evolution Racing Team)

Masters 50+
1. Holland, Steven (United Finance)
2. Meadors, Ivan (United Finance)
3. Zale, William (West End Bikes/Specialized)

Men Cat 4/5
1. lalomia, cole
2. Farver, Benjamin (Jens Voigt’s Army)
3. Guernsey, Ben (Trusty Switchblade)

Women Cat 4/5
1. Winberry, Laura
2. Westbrook, Stacy
3. Beko, Jeanne (Athletes Lounge Cycling Team)

Masters 35+ cat 4/5
1. Ducloo, Rogier (Pacific Power Blue Sky)
2. Francesconi, Ryan (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing)
3. Usher, Craigan (Showers Pass)

Complete OBRA reesults are HERE.

FOREST GROVE — Bikes and grapes will come together Sunday, May 6, when the inaugural Montinore Road Race gets underway on a 10km loop off of Highway 47 outside of Forest Grove.

The Montinore Estate Vineyards will serve as staging area for the circuit race on roads that are within spitting distance of the highway that leads to the Banana Belt venue at Hagg Lake. The counter-clockwise course gains and loses 316 feet of elevation each lap as riders ascend Plumlee Road, which also serves as both the finish line and the Strava climb segment challenge (http://app.strava.com/rides/1765417#28333520). The Plumlee climb, which includes gradients approaching 20 percent, is just under one mile long.

Racing starts with the Cat 1/2/3 men at 9 a.m.

Schedule:
9:00 am — Cat 1/2/3 Men (10 laps, 100km)
9:05 am — Master Men 35+ & 50+ (8 laps, 80km)
9:10 am — Women 1/2/3 (5 laps, 50km) (8 laps, 80km)

12:30 pm – Men 4/5 (6 laps, 60km)
12:35 pm – Master Men 35+ 4/5 (6 laps, 60km)
12:40 pm – Women 4/5 & 40+ (4 laps, 40km)

The 7th Annual Erik Kautzky Track Race memorializes a Team Rose City Wheelmen member who was killed while on an early morning training ride. FILE PHOTO/Pat Malach

PORTLAND — The recently resurfaced Alpenrose Velodrome will see its first racing this weekend when the 7th Annual Erik Kautzky Memorial Track Race sets off Saturday at 10 a.m.

In 2010 the Erik Kautzky race was the largest single-day track racing event in the Pacific Northwest, boasting 103 riders. The race marks the first points races and omniums of the track racing season and helps contribute to Kautzky’s legacy as a science teacher and athletic trainer at Tigard High School. Racing starts at 10 a.m. with the Kiddie Kilo.

Kautzky was a Team Rose City member who lost his life tragically in 2005 after being struck by a motor vehicle while out on an early morning training ride on Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Through the race, the track racing community has donated more than $10,000 to Kautzky’s scholarship fund over the past six years.

Categories and Events:

Men Cat 1/2: pt-a-lap, miss & out, pts
Women Cat 1/2/3: pts, scratch, m&o
Women Cat 4: scratch, pts, mile
Junior Women: 2/3 mile, mile, pts
Junior Men: 2/3 mile, pts, mile
Men Cat 3: unknown dist, scratch, pt-a-lap
Men Cat 4: scratch, pts, unknown dist
Men Cat 5: mile, scratch, pt-a-lap
Masters Women 40+: unknown dist, m&o, pt-a-lap
Masters Men 40+: pts, scratch, miss & out
Masters Men 50+: scratch, miss & out, pts

Leia Tyrrell took another win Saturday at the As the Raven Flies Time Trial. FILE PHOTO/Pat Malach

AMITY — Josh Liberles returned from Italy in time to set the best overall time at the first race of the As the Raven Flies Time Trial series in the Willamette Valley near Salem. Leia Tyrrell continued her impressive comeback to racing by setting the fastest time for the women — and the 11th fastest time of the nearly 70 competitors.

Liberles covered the 12-mile out-and-back course in 26:51.70, more than a minute and a half faster than runner-up Daniel Quirk, who set a mark of 28:16.30. Eric Sheagley was third at 28:37.10.

Tyrrell took out her second time win and third podium finish with the fastest women’s time at 29:55.30. Masters 40+ women’s winner Brenda Spinney covered the course more than two minutes slower at 31:59.80 the second-fastest women’s time. Masters 50+ women’s winner Cindy Mccasker was the third-fastest woman with a mark of 34:40.70.

The second race of the series takes off May 28 and will be the fifth event of the eight-race Oregon Time Trial Cup.

RESULTS
As The Raven Flies TT #1
April 29, 2012

Combined

Men
1. Liberles, Joshua (HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage) 26:51.70
2. Quirk, Daniel (Veloce Racing/Smith & Nephew) 28:16.30
3. Sheagley, Eric (Veloce Racing/Smith & Nephew) 28:37.10

Women
1. Tyrrell, Leia (Sorella Forte/St Honoré Bakery) 29:55.30
2. Spinney, Brenda (Pacific Power Blue Sky) 31:59.80 *Masters 40+ Women’s winner
3. McCasker, Cindy (Portland Velo) 34:40.70 *Masters 50+ Women’s winner

Brianna Walle won her third race of the series and the overall crown Thursday night at the final Rose Garden Circuit Race.

PORTLAND — Brianna Walle (Ironclad Performance Wear) won all three races she started on her way to taking the Senior women’s overall series crown at the inaugural four-week Rose Garden Circuit Race series Thursday night in Washington Park. In the Senior men’s race, Brad Winn (Team S&M) won the evening from an increasingly smaller breakaway group, while overall winner Chris Dubois (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing) sat out the final race with a sore knee.

The characteristically erratic spring weather occasionally sprinkled the course during the evening of racing, with a heavier rain eventually falling during the Senior men’s event at the end of the night.

With series rival Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) racing off-road in Arizona, Walle set out solo after one lap of the Senior women’s race. Series runner-up Lindsay Fox (Athlete’s Lounge) quickly took up the chase, followed by Sorella Forte/St. Honeré Bakery’s Emily Charbonneau, Ironclad Performance Wear riders Anna Christiansen and Anona Whitley and newcomer Laura Trace. Walle poured on the heat and gained a 1:20 advantage over Fox by the finish. Christiansen caught and passed Charbonneau on the last lap for third, while the Sorella Forte rider grabbed fourth head of Whitley.

Brad Winn won the men's race Thursday night in Washington Park.

An early breakaway got the men’s race off to a quick start as Winn joined Ironclad Performance Wear’s Jonathan McCoy, Veloce/Smith&Nephew’s Michael Palmer and Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing’s Brendan Treacy in a move that quickly detonated the small field in its wake.

As the closing laps approached, the leaders attacked each other relentlessly. Treacy was the first to pop off the group with about six laps to go, but he continued to dangle close to the lead trio. Disaster struck McCoy on the last lap as a slight bobble in a corner knocked him from the lead group, which Treacy had rejoined for the final lap.

Winn distanced himself from the others up the closing hill to solo in for his first series win. Palmer followed next, with Treacy hanging on for third. McCoy rebounded to take fourth, and Gentle Lovers’ Matt Mahoney rounded out the top five.

RESULTS
Rose Garden Circuit Race #4
April 26, 2012

Senior Men
1. Brad Winn (Team S&M)
2. Michael Palmer (Veloce/Smith&Nephew)
3. Brendan Treacy (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing)
4. Jonathan McCoy (Ironclad Performance Wear)
5. Matt Mahoney (Gentle Lovers)

Senior Women
1. Brianna Walle (Ironclad Performance Wear)
2. Lindsay Fox (Athlete’s Lounge)
3. Anna Christiansen (Ironclad Performance Wear)
4. Emily Charbonneau (Ironclad Performance Wear)
5. Anona Whitley (Ironclad Performance Wear)

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

HOOD RIVER — The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic will revive two former stages for the race’s 10th anniversary edition June 8-10 in the Columbia River Gorge.

The Scenic Gorge Time Trial is back again this year, along with the return of the Columbia Hills Road Race. MHCC director Chad Sperry of Breakaway Promotions also moved the 2012 event, which features four stages over three days, back one week from its traditional spot on the schedule in hopes of avoiding the need to clear snow from the race route, an effort that has been required each of the past two years.

The Columbia Hills Road Race crosses the gentle rollers of the Columbia Basin outside of The Dalles. ©Pat Malach/FILE PHOTO

USA Cycling will sanction the men’s and women’s Pro/1/2 races, allowing riders holding UCI Continental licenses to compete. OBRA will sanction the remaining races, which include Masters 40+/50+men, Cat 3 men, Cat 4 men and Cat 3/4 women.

The racing begins Friday, June 8, with the return of the Columbia Hills Road Race outside of The Dalles about 25 miles east of Hood River. This relatively flat stage could provide a good opportunity for the sprinters before the roads turn uphill. The 18.6 mile loop features just a couple relatively gentle climbs and a speedy downhill run into the finish at the rural Petersburg one-room schoolhouse southeast of The Dalles.

The same course was used for the MHCC in 2006 and 2007, and each of those races ended with big bunch sprints. In 2006, Greg Henderson, racing for HealthNet, took the win in front of Symetrics’ Andrew Pinfold but was relegated for irregular riding. The next year, Bissell’s Ben Jacques-Maynes won a mass field sprint in front of Phil Zajicek (Navigators) and Jeff Louder (HealthNet).

The route has since been used for smaller fields of the Cherry Blossom Classic in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The winners of each of those stages came from solo or small breakaways of varying distances, proving this can be one tough course if there’s a strong wind blowing up from the Gorge onto the exposed Columbia Basin farmland. The men will cover four laps for just under 75 miles. The women will race three laps for about 60 miles.

Saturday, June 9, will be a challenging doubleheader with a morning time trial and evening criterium. The Scenic Gorge Time Trial course returns by popular demand after the race featured a shorter course near Mt. Adams in 2011.

The Scenic Gorge Time Trial is back by popular demand. FILE PHOTO/Pat malach

“Mt. Hood is going to be tough in that it’s compact and there’s a lot of stuff,” Sperry said. “But we got a lot of complaints that we weren’t running that time trial course. So we’re bringing it back.”

Considered by many to be the most beautiful time trial course in America, this individual 18.5-mile test starts west of The Dalles and heads up and through the looping switchbacks leading to Rowena Crest. Riders then head down past orchards and farmland into the tiny town of Mosier before climbing again up through the tunnels and vistas of the Columbia River Gorge Historic Highway pedestrian/bike path and the finish in Hood River.

For every inch of scenic beauty along the course, there’s an equal or greater amount of pain. If the two significant climbs tucked in amongst the many rollers aren’t challenge enough, the Gorge winds that can howl through the exposed areas have been known to blow a rider from one side of the road to the other.

Riders will need to leave something in the tank for the Downtown Hood River Criterium later that day. The traditional 1km Hood River course is back Saturday evening with its technical downhill 180-degree corkscrew turn and reciprocal climb back to the finish after four more corners and 60 feet of elevation gain.

“It’s going to add a tremendous amount of challenge coming off a tough, tough time trial course and then having to compete in a tough criterium,” Sperry said.

Downtown Hood River's streets host the stage 3 criterium Saturday night. ©Pat Malach/FILE PHOTO

The oddly shaped six-corner course loops around the Full Sail Brewery in the middle of town, and the local Hood River fans show up in force to support the event and cheer for the day’s heroes. Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty12′s Kaitlin Antonneau won the women’s race in 2011 after lapping the field with a small group that included local hero Jade Wilcoxson, who now races for Optum/Kelly Benefit Strategies. Mike Olheiser, who is racing for Competitive Cyclist this year, soloed away on the first lap of the 2011 men’s race and held off the field for more than an hour to take the win.

The Three Summits Road Race is back on Sunday, June 10, to serve as the queen stage and finalè for the second year in a row after a prolonged absence. The classic alpine course winds, climbs and descends deep into the Mt. Hood National Forest on primitive single-lane forest service roads. Living up to its designation as the queen stage, the Three Summits Road Race often decides the overall podiums as well.

The men’s course climbs 10,000 feet over 91 miles, while the slightly shorter women’s course covers 70 miles with 8,200 feet of elevation gain. The race starts at the Cooper Spur Resort on the east side of Mt. Hood before looping around the narrow mountain roads that navigate the ancient forests and hidden lakes on the mountain’s north side. The climb to the finish at the Cooper Spur Ski area ends with more than a mile of silty gravel road. Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty12′s Kristin Armstrong won the race last year in front of Canadian Clara Hughes and teammate Kristin McGrath. Yahoo! Cycling’s Nate English, who rides for the Kenda/5-Hour Energy team this year, won the men’s stage and the overall.

2012 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic:
Friday, June 8 – Stage 1, Columbia Hills Road Race
Saturday, June 9 – Stage 2, Scenic Gorge Time Trial
Saturday, June 9 – Stage 3, Downtown Hood River Criterium
Sunday, June 10 – Stage 4, Three Summits Road Race

David Zimbelman scored another time trial win Sunday in Estacada. Photo by Leonard Johnson/HotFootPhoto

ESTACADA — David Zimbelman notched another victory Sunday at the Beautiful Estacada Time Trial along the Clackamas River in the Mt. Hood National Forest, while Leia Tyrrell scored her first win since crashing hard last spring at the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic.

Zinmbelman (Salmon Cyclery) also won the Masters men 50+ category with a time of 44 minutes even. Senior men’s winner Ryan Miller was the second-fastest rider on the day at 45:18. Seth Hosmer (HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage) was third with a time of 45:27.

Tyrrell (Sorella Forte/St Honoré Bakery), who was second at the Western Bike Works Time Trial at PIR earlier this year, climbed to the top women’s spot with a time of 49:41. Brenda Spinney (Pacific Power Blue Sky) was second at 51:01, and Cat 4/5 winner Helen Kennedy (Vertebrata Chiropractic Cycling) was third overall with a mark of 53:04.

The race was also the third event of the Oregon Time Trial Cup.

More photos at HotFootPhoto.

RESULTS
Beautiful Estacada Time Trial
April 22, 2012

Combined

Men
1. David Zimbelman (Salmon Cyclery) 44:00.0 *Masters men 50+ winner
2. Ryan Miller 45:18.0 *Senior men winner
3. Seth Hosmer (HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage) 45:27.0

Women
1. Leia Tyrrell (Sorella Forte/St Honoré Bakery) 49:41.0 *Senior women winner
2. Brenda Spinney (Pacific Power Blue Sky) 51:01.0
3. Helen Kennedy (Vertebrata Chiropractic Cycling) 53:04.0 *Cat 4/5 women winner

Complete OBRA results are HERE.