Eric Riggs (Yahoo!) out-sprinted a small lead group to take the fourth and final stage of the 2011 Water's Edge Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic. ©Pat Malach

THE DALLES — The Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic’s Stage 4 Orchard Run Circuit Race lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest days in Oregon as constantly undulating roads and Gorge winds combined to decimate fields Sunday and set up gritty duels for the overall win.

Jessica Hansen keeps hydrated during her solo effort on Sunday's stage 4. Hannah came within 16 seconds of snatching the overall win. ©Pat Malach

Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) had to chase furiously over the closing miles and push for every possible second in the women’s Pro/1/2 race to hold off an overall challenge from stage winner Jessica Hannah (Cycling BC), who went on a solo flyer and was eventually the leader on the road until the very last meters of the race. Ian McKissick and his Audi team kept an all-day breakaway within range in the men’s Pro/1/2 race before he fended off a last-lap challenge to his overall lead from Morgan Schmitt (UHC). Late-race entry Eric Riggs (Yahoo!) stuck with the GC contenders through their last lap battles and collected the stage win for his efforts.

An Uphill Drag Race Decides the Women’s Overall
After three days of racing, the battle for the women’s overall came down to who could go the fastest over the last 400 meter uphill sprint. Hannah had started the day fifth overall, 2:13 behind Wilcoxson, and her Canadian team played it’s cards perfectly. When Hannah took off the first time the women went up the two climbs of the big loop, she left two teammates back in the eight-rider chase group, including Jasmin Glaesser who started the day just 1:56 down on GC and Jenny Lehmann, who was 3:48 back. The remaining riders in the chase included the rest of the top nine overall : Patricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback), Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca), Lisa Turnbull (REP Gym/Riverstone), Katy Curtis (CMC Bow Cycle) and Megan Chinburg (Upper Echelon Fitness).

“I wanted to set tempo on the climb, and I got a bit of a gap,” Hannah said. “I just wanted to keep going so a couple of the girls in the pack could rest a bit, so if I got caught they had fresh legs. That was sort of the team plan.”

With no teammates in the group to help chase, Wilcoxson was pressed into double duty, keeping Hannah close while also watching for counter attacks from other GC threats, all of whom were present and forcing the leader’s jersey to do the work of chasing down the escapee.

Women's overall winner Jade Wilcoxson. ©Pat Malach

“The top three GC girls were trying to work together,” Wilcoxson said of herself, Bailey and Cutler. “But then on the last lap I spent a lot of time on the front. I didn’t know how far down on GC (Hannah) was, but I was worried the whole time and was hoping the rest of us would work together, but that didn’t happen as smoothly as I’d hoped. Then we saw their coach and he told the other BC girls not to work because it was going to be close. And so then I was like “Oh crap.” So I started working really hard.”

Hannah gradually built her lead to 2:35 and was the overall leader on the road through many of the closing miles, but the gap had dropped to an improbable 2:13 (her exact deficit to Wilcoxson) as she turned onto Olney Road for the 400 meter uphill run to the summit. The exhausted Cycling BC rider motored up the hill and through the line for the stage win. Having done all she could on the road, the only thing left was to wait for Wilcoxson to cross the line to find out if her all-day solo gambit had paid off.

Still on the course, the race leader was now well aware that every second counted and continued to power the charge for the line, eventually dropping all but Lehmann in the closing Kilometers. The Cycling BC rider opened a gap on Wilcoxson heading up the final run to the finishing, crossing the line 1:53 after her teammate for second. Wilcoxson crossed the line four seconds later, good enough to hang onto the overall victory by 16 seconds. Glaesser crossed the line another 12 seconds later for fourth, with Bailey a further five seconds back. Megan Chinburg (Upper Echelon Fitness), winner of the previous night’s criterium, finished two seconds later for sixth.

After all the the dust settled, the only change to the top five in general classification was Hannah’s vault into second place. Everyone else, aside from Wilcoxson, moved down one spot from the previous stage, with Bailey third, Cutler fourth and Glaesser fifth.

The women's chase group makes its way up the gravel on Pleasant Ridge. ©Pat Malach

McKissick Puts Up A Descent Defense
Men’s overall leader Ian McKissick had to fend off a serious challenge to his leader’s jersey, but his defense came down to his ability to descend through the never-ending perfectly cambered curves of the Pleasant Ridge free fall into the fertile valley below.

The men’s stage 4 contest started with an immediate breakaway of seven, but that group reshuffled itself several times before arriving at a stable makeup of Trek-Red Truck’s Aarden Marcel, Adam Thuss and Craig Logan, Team Oregon/Laurelwood’s Andrew Boone, Glotman Simpson’s Craig Jones, Hagens Berman’s Steve Fisher and Byrne Invent’s Sean Passage, who was the best-placed GC rider in the breakaway at 1:54 down.

Ian McKissick chases after Morgan Schmitt and the rest of the breakaway group on the last lap Sunday. ©Pat Malach

McKissick’s Audi squad rode the front of the pack in an effort to keep the breakaway within a manageable distance for when it came time to reel them back in, and the field even seemed to be catching the lead group at one point as it started shedding riders. But the pack mysteriously sat up as they got the lead group in sight just before the base of the gravel climb up Pleasant Ridge.

Now down to three — Passage, Logan and Fisher — the breakaway started its final lap around the Orchard Run loop with a small advantage and heaps of motivation. Back in the field, attacks started as riders hoped to bridge to the leaders and strike out in search of stage win glory or a chance to step up a few places in the overall contest. But it was Morgan Schmitt, who started the stage sixth overall, 1:29 behind McKissick, who successfully made the bridge to the leaders and had McKissick scrambling behind to get there with him. Also in tow was Yahoo!’s Eric Riggs, a last-minute entry into the race after he didn’t make his team’s selection for the prestigious Redland’s Bicycle Classic in California.

The new trio made contact with the three riders in the breakaway on Five Mile Road approaching the last trip up the gravel, where Schmitt attacked at the bottom and opened a 10-15 second lead over the other five by the time they reached the top. McKissick was the last lead rider to crest Pleasant Ridge, but he immediately shot to the front and started hurling himself down the descent, leading the others back to Schmitt and finally reeling him in as they neared the bottom.

The veteran of European World Tour races said he wanted to make sure his teammates’ efforts to control the race to protect his overall lead didn’t go to waste.

“Morgan was really strong,” McKissick said. “He had me on the ropes from the final climb on. I was just in survival mode. But I was motivated because Patrick Stanko, my teammate, rode pretty much three laps on the front by himself.”

Audi rode herd on the front of the pack for the entire race in support of Ian McKissick's leader's jersey. ©pat Malach

Once they were back together, McKissick seemed content to watch the others and make sure none of the dangerous GC riders got out of site in the closing kilometers. That’s when Riggs started thinking about the big finish at the top of Olney Road.

“I was dying,” Riggs said of the final few kilometers. “But coming up the last climb I was just thinking, ‘I haven’t been here all day suffering to finish third. I guess it’s now or never.’ So I just gassed it. ”

When he hit the finish, Riggs had built a four second advantage over Schmitt and five seconds over Logan. Fisher was 16 seconds behind, and McKissick came in 40 seconds down to secure his overall win. Chasing just behind the entire time, Taylor Kneuven (Geox Fuji Test Team) had slowly been pulling closer to the leaders, eventually catching Passage and taking him at the line for sixth, 1:57 behind Riggs.

Unlike the women’s race, the top five overall looked quite a bit different than when the day started. McKissick was the only remaining member from the day before. Schmitt’s effort moved him into second overall. Logan moved from 11th onto the overall podium in third. Passage climbed from eighth to fifth. Fisher jumped from 24th to sixth, and stage winner Riggs moved from 31st all the way into the money in seventh, a fact that has made him a permanent Cherry Blossom fan.

“I was really bummed out that we didn’t get into Redlands,” he said. “But my buddy Austin (Arguello) told me ‘Cherry Blossom, dude, that’s is where it’s at.’ So 11 hours Thursday night; got here Friday and started racing. I really like this. I’ll definitely be coming back next year.”

Morgan Schmitt tries to get away on the last climb. ©Pat malach

McKissick led the descent and caught Schmitt near the bottom. ©Pat Malach

Schmitt has visitors. ©Pat Malach

After catching Schmitt, McKissick fades back for a rest. ©Pat Malach

RESULTS
Stage 4 Orchard Run Circuit Race
April3

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Eric Riggs (Yahoo!) 3:21.45
2. Morgan Schmitt (UHC) +:04
3. Craig Logan (Trek-Red Truck) +:05
4. Steve Fisher (Hagens Berman) +:16
5. Ian McKissick (Audi) +:40
Pro/1/2 Women
1. Jessica Hannah (Cycling BC) 2:16.00
2. Jenny Lehmann (Cycling BC) +1:53
3. Jade Wilcoxson (Landsahrk/Flywheel) +1:57
4. Jasmin Glaesser (Cycling BC) +2:09
5. Tricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) +2:16

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Ian McKissick (Audi) 7:25.45
2. Morgan Schmitt (UHC) +:53
3. Craig Logan (Trek-Red Truck) +1:39
4. Taylor Kneuven (Geox Fuji Test Team) +1:57
5. Sean Passage (Byrne Invent) +2:19
Pro/1/2 Women
1. Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) 5:55.58
2. Jessica Hannah (Cycling BC) +:16
3. Tricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) +:37
4. Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca) +2:07
5. Jasmin Glaesser (Cycling BC) +2:38

The night time racing on the quick criterium course in The Dalles provided plenty of excitement for cycling fans. ©Pat Malach

THE DALLES — Nighttime racing on the stage 3 Cherry City Criterium’s downtown course proved exciting for racers and spectators, but at the end of the evening the drag race through The Dalles had little effect on the overall standings for the 2011 Water’s Edge Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic.

Garage Racing’s Andrew Bates beat the field in a sprint for the Pro/1/2 men’s stage win, while Megan Chinburg (Upper Echelon Fitness) avoided a last lap wreck at the front of the field to take the Pro/1/2 women’s race. With just one stage remaining, Ian McKissick (Audi) holds a 29 second lead over Colby Wait-Molyneux (Hammer/CMG) in the men’s race. Double stage winner Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) wears the women’s jersey with an 18-second lead over Patricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback).

OBRA Criterium Champion Steven Beardsley finished 6th Saturday. ©Pat Malach

“This is definitely a fast course,” Bates said. “It’s flat and windy, so it kind of shuts it down for any breaks going off. I tried a couple flyers myself and tried to bridge to a few things, but nothing was sticking.”

Bates faded back into the pack and relied on his teammates to watch the front of the group. Sitting about 15 deep in the field at the start of the last lap, he found an opening on the right side of the back straightaway and moved to the front in time to catch the wheel of Brian Williams (Northern Rockies Orthopedic), who jumped with two corners to go.

Williams said his long flyer from the back straight was a now-or-never proposition.

“The pace was real fast coming into the last lap,” Williams said. “And then it slowed down a little bit and I got stuck on the front. When there were two corners to go I didn’t want to wait any longer. I guess I didn’t have enough.”

William’s long effort was definitely enough to create a small gap for himself and Bates — an advantage the Garage racer put to good use.

“Brian really put in an awesome dig at the very last there,” bates said. “And I did all I could to stay on his wheel. Luckily he gave me a little bit of a rabbit, and I was able to just slingshot up to the line. I was waiting for someone from the pack to come roaring by, but I was able to hold it.”

Bates collected the top prize and threw up a one-armed salute just past the line. Williams followed him in and collected second. California Giant’s Ben Swedburg led the rest home for third. The win was especially sweet for Bates, who ran into a bit of bad luck while riding in what was eventually the winning breakaway Friday.

“I broke two spokes and got shot out of that,” Bates said. “So I was really happy to have a great result here.”

The top four women get their call up for the start of the Cherry City Criterium Saturday in The Dalles. ©Pat Malach

“There were so many primes that those were kind of the attacks,” said overall women’s leader Jade Wilcoxson And then the non-prime laps were recovery for Leia (Tyrrell) and Tricia (Bailey), who were taking most of them. They were working hard.”

Indeed, Tyrrell (Sorella Forte) seemed to be firing on all cylinders as she battled Bailey for prime after prime and seemed a lock for one of the top two spots. But things turned sour when she made her move three quarters of the way through the final lap and had a small gap over the bunch exiting turn three.

“I don’t know what happened, if she skipped a chain or what, but she went over the handlebars,” Wilcoxson said. “We all hit the brakes and that pretty much spread us out a lot.”

From that point it was a mad dash for the line, with Chinburg winning by several bike lengths in front of Wilcoxson in second and Bailey third. Chinburg, a relatively new Cat 2, sits ninth overall going into Sunday’s stage 4 Orchard Run Circuit Race.

RESULTS
Cherry City Criterium
April 2

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Andrew Bates (Garage Racing)
2. Brian Williams (Northern Rockies Orthopedic)
3. Benjamin Swedburg (California Giant)
4. James Strangeland (Keller Rohrback)
5. Gabe Varella (Firefighters Association/Formigli)
Pro/1/2 Women
1. Megan Chinburg (Upper Echelon Fitness)
2. Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel)
3. Patricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback)
4. Katy Curtis (CMC/Bow Cycle)
5. Jasmine Glaesser (Cycling BC)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
(after stage 3)

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Ian McKissick (Audi) 4:03:20
2. Colby Wait-Molyneux (Hammer/CMG) +:29
3. James Strangeland (Keller Rohrback) +1:09
4. Kristo Jorgenson (BYRDS) +1:17
5. Logan Owen (Hagens Berman) +1:25

Pro/1/2 Women
1. Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) 3:38:01
2. Patricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) +:18
3. Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca) +1:11
4. Jasmin Glaesser (Cycling BC) +1:56
5. Jessica Hannah (Cycling BC) +2:13

Jade Wilcoxson won her second straight stage of the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic Saturday morning at the Dufur Time Trial. ©Pat Malach

DUFUR — Jade Wilcoxson doubled up on stage wins and solidified her overall lead Saturday morning at the stage 2 Dufur Time Trial of the 2011 Water’s Edge Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic, while Ian McKissick repeated his 2010 time trial win and rode into the leader’s jersey.

High winds were the order of the day as the course that ran through the exposed orchards and wheat fields around Dufur offered little respite from the gusting, bitterly cold wind. The out-and-back course greeted riders with incessant crosswinds and headwinds that tossed them across the road as they made their way toward the turnaround 5.5 miles away. The return trip was another story, with riders sailing down the same roads at 40 mph or more.

After taking out the stage 1 road race Friday afternoon, Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) battled through the winds to put another notch in the win column and add to her advantage with just tonight’s criterium and Sunday’s circuit race remaining. Wilcoxson burned over the 11-mile out-and-back course in 24:57.11, 16 seconds faster than second-placed Patricia Bailey. Wilcoxson put another minute and more into the rest of the Pro/1/2 women’s field, with Team REP’s Alison Beal nearly a minute back in third.

Wilcoxson now leads Bailey by 16 seconds in the overall battle. Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca) is third overall, 1:11 back.

Ian McKissick sliced through the wind Saturday to take the stage 2 win and the leader's jersey. ©Pat Malach

The men’s Pro/1/2 race turned into a battle of experience against youth, with veteran rider and former BMC pro Ian McKissick (Audi) winning by 29 seconds in front of Hammer/CMG junior Colby Wait-Molyneux. Mckissick takes over the leader’s jersey won yesterday by 16-year-old Logan Owen (Hagens Berman), who finished 14th in the time trial, 2:23 back.

Keller Rohrback’s James Strangeland improved his overall chances with a third-place finish, just over a minute slower than McKissick, who now leads Wait-Molyneux by 29 seconds in the overall battle.

Owen, who had hoped to limit his losses to around a minute Saturday morning, said battling the wind was the tough.

“The biggest wind I’ve ever been in,” Owen said. “It was tough. I wished I’d had a bigger gear on the way back. I lost a lot of time there. I just went hard as I could to the turnaround.”

The racing continues Saturday evening with the Cherry City Criterium. The Cat 4 women start things off at 5 p.m.

RESULTS
Stage 2 ITT
April 2

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Ian McKissick (Audi) 24:19.79
2. Colby Wait-Molyneux (Hammer/CMG) +:29.20
3. James Strangeland (Keller Rohrback) +1:02.37
4. Kristo Jorgenson (BYRDS) +1:16.97
5. Morgan Schmitt (United Healthcare) 1:28.42

Pro/1/2 Women
1. Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) 27:54.11
2. Patricia Baily (Keller Rohrback) +:16.15
3. Alison Beal (Team Rep) +:59.06
4. Jessica Cutler (Cucina Fresca) +1:04.11
5. Leia Tyrrell (Sorella Forte) +1:38.64

Masters Men 40+
1. Karsten Hagen (West End Bicycles)
2. Mark Krause (Landshark)
3.Todd Gallaher (United Finance)

Cat 3 Women
1. Anna Christiansen (Ironclad performance Wear)
2. Morgan Cabot (Glotman Simpson)
3. Rosalyn Rombauer (Hagens Berman)

Cat 3 Men
1. Doug Turnbull (Paul’s)
2. Alex Telitsine (Fare Start)
3. Max Coleman (Audi)

Cat 4 Women
1. Tamasin Reno
2. Meghan Grant
3. Martina Ralle

Logan Owen (Hagens Berman) celebrates his win during stage 1 of the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic Friday in The Dalles. ©Pat Malach

THE DALLES — Youth ruled the day in the men’s Pro/1/2 race of the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic Friday as six-time junior cyclocross National Champion Logan Owen, who turned 16 just last week, took the stage 1 win from a small breakaway group that formed just minutes into the 75-mile race. In the women’s Pro/1/2 race, Southern Oregon’s Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) won the sprint from a small handful of lead group survivors after the peloton broke in two the first time up the only significant climb on the course.

Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) crosses the line Friday to take the stage 1 win. ©Pat Malach

Owen, who rides for Seattle’s Hagens Berman cycling team, initiated the all-day breakaway with another rider and was soon joined by seven more escapees, including two Team Oregon/Laurelwood riders and one rider each from Bob’s Bicycles, Keller Rohrback, Yahoo!, Audi, Garage Racing and Word-RCB. The breakaway built a lead of as much as 1:40 before whittling itself down to eight by dislodging the Bob’s rider on the second lap. The Garage Racing rider was the next to go, and a broken spoke paired the leaders down to six going through the feedzone on the third lap with an advantage of about 2:30.

The attacks and counter attacks came in flurries on the last lap, with Owen and Team Oregon/Laurelwood riders Chris Swan and Eli Romer gaining a 15-second advantage over the final climb before the long descent and then a mostly flat run into the finish. The trio pressed its advantage down the descent — except for the fact that Owen, as a 16-year-old, had spun out his 48-13 restricted junior gearing.

“The Laurelwood guys weren’t too happy with me,” Owen said. “But I tried my best to go down that descent. Sorry about the 48-13. They were asking me if I was going to pimp them at the line. I just told them I was doing what it takes to win. And I’m trying to get down this hill just as fast as you are.”

Despite the lead trio’s efforts, the riders they had dropped on the last climb, including Word-RCB’s Jake Hansen and Audi’s Shawn Onger, charged back and regained contact just before the final sweeping corner back toward the finish at Petersburg School. Hansen immediately went to the front and led the group through the last right-hander before the long drag to the finish. It proved to be the perfect lead out for Owen.

“I followed (Hansen) and hit it right out of the corner for 300 meters, maybe 350,” Owen said. “I opened up a two-second gap from there.”

Owen won with enough time to post up a one-handed victory salute. Ongers nipped Hansen and Swan at the line for second an instant later, with Hansen picking up the final podium spot.

Owen now takes a two-second advantage into Saturday’s time trial, where the junior phenom doesn’t expect to bring home another stage win but hopes to ride well enough to keep alive his hopes for an overall win.

“I’m obviously not the best time trialist here, but it’ll play out,” he said. “I’m hoping to hang onto maybe a top-five spot. But there are guys like (Audi’s) Ian McKissick who will probably beat me. I’m hoping to conserve like a minute to them, that way I’ll have a chance to gain back some time in the crit or road race. The last stage seems to suit me pretty well. I like climbing.”

OBRA Road Race Champion Leia Tyrrell (Sorella Forte) at the front of the women's Pro/1/2 lead group Friday. ©Pat Malach

By the final lap the main chasers were nearly five minutes behind and had no hope of reeling in the determined lead group, which was starting to unravel with attacks coming consistently on the last lap. Two more riders dropped out of the lead group on the long downhill run to the finish, leaving six coming through the final turn to battle for the stage win.

As the group jumped out the final corner, Wilcoxson countered another rider’s sprint and suddenly found herself out front with a small advantage. She punched it for the line, opening up a two-second gap that provided her with plenty of time to salute the result. Cycling BC’s Jasmin Glaesser was second, followed by Tyrrell, Lisa Turnbull, Jenny Lehmann and Patricia Baily, all of them just two seconds off the leader.

RESULTS
CBCC Stage 1
April 1

Pro/1/2 Men
1. Logan Owen (Hagens Berman) 2:59.30
2. Shawn Onger (Audi) same time
3. Jake Hansen (Word-RCB) same time
4. Chris Swan (Team Oregon/Laurelwood) same time
5. Eli Romer (Team Oregon/Laurelwood) +:02
Pro/1/2 Women
1. Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) 2:47.41
2. Jasmin Glaesser (Bicycle BC) +:02
3. Leia Tyrrell (Sorella Forte) +:02
4. Lisa Turnbull (REP Gym/Riverstone) +:02
5. Jenny Lehmann (Cycling BC) +:02

Check the site soon for a full photo gallery from all the day’s racing.

The breakaway got going early in the men's Pro/1/2 race. ©Pat Malach

Riders make the sweeping right-hand turn before the finish at Petersburg School. ©Pat Malach

Sunshine a warmer temps ruled the day. ©Pat Malach

Ian McKissick, third overall last year, will be back at the Cherry Blossom Classic this year to try and move up a podium spot or two. The three-day race starts Friday in The Dalles. ©Pat Malach

THE DALLES — Friday marks the start of stage racing in Oregon this season at the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic in The Dalles. The three-day, four-stage race celebrates its third year on the OBRA calendar with a few changes to what has become a popular draw in the northwest.

The time trial/criterium doubleheader will move from Sunday to Saturday for the 2011 event, with the morning race against the clock covering a new out-and-back course that will begin and end in Dufur south of The Dalles. The Cherry City Criterium course in downtown The Dalles returns for 2011, along with the traditional Friday stage 1 Columbia Hills Road Race. The Orchard Run Circuit Race, a difficult course introduced last year that features a gravel climb and very little flat ground, will wrap things up Sunday.

The weekend forecast calls for typical spring weather, with slightly lower-than-normal temps.

Riders from across the western United States and Canada are signed up to contest the courses around The Dalles, including former BMC pro Ian McKissick riding for the Audi team from Seattle. McKissick finished third last year in the men’s Pro/1/2 race behind winner Paddy Bevin and second overall Sam Johnson. Washington’s Hagens Berman is sending a small squad, although the Elite Amateur team’s top guns will be at the NRC-opening Redlands Bicycle Classic in California. Other Washington squads with riders entered include Fanatik, Keller Rohrback and Garage Racing.

The Canadian Trek-Red Truck Team is sending a large contingent of riders, and so is Glotman Simpson of Vancouver, B.C. Other notable out-of-state teams sending riders to The Dalles include California’s Yahoo! and Idaho’s Bobs Bicycles. Several riders from Montana will be joining the fray, as well as a handful of individual riders from California and around the Northwest.

Team Oregon is well represented in the men’s pro/1/2 race, along with local squads Veloce, Gentle Lovers, Cyclepath and Ironclad. Jake Hansen (Word-RCB) and Taylor Kneuven (Geox Fuji Test Team) will have a chance to renew their battle from the Banana Belt Series.

The women’s Cat 1/2 field is also stacked with out-of-state riders, although as of Tuesday Robin Secrist wasn’t registered to defend her  titles from the two previous editions of the race. Canada’s Cycling B.C. has several riders registered, as well as Cucina Fresca of Washington. Patricia Bailey, winner of three stages in 2009, is also registered for the race. The field will include riders from Montana and Idaho as well.

Locally, Sorella Forte’s dynamic duo of Jen Akeroyd and Leia Tyrell will be on hand to fight for the win. Southern Oregon’s Jade Wilcoxson (Landshark/Flywheel) will also be up for the race. Therapeutic Associates, Upper Echelon Fitness, BMC Total Care, and Athlete’s Lounge should all be represented on the start line.

Aside from the Pro/1/2 men and Pro/1/2 women, the race features men’s Masters 40+50+ and men’s and women’s Cat 3 and Cat 4.

FRIDAY, April 1
Stage 1: Columbia Hills Road Race
SATURDAY, April 2
Stage 2: Dufur Valley Time Trial
Stage 3: Cherry City Criterium
SUNDAY, April 3
Stage 4: Orchard Run Circuit Race

Past Winners
2009: Paul Mach (Bissell), Robin Secrist (Veloforma)
2010: Paddy Bevin (Rubicon-Orbea), Robin Secrist (Riverstone Women’s Team)