The breakaway in the men's race heads into the snow-lined roads on the Lost Lake summit during stage 4 Sunday. © Pat Malach

HOOD RIVER, Oregon – After four days of racing around the Columbia River Gorge and surrounding mountains, the dual between Olympians Kristin Armstrong and Clara Hughes came down to the last 500 meters of the 2011 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.

Kristin Armstrong won the final stage and the overall in the women's race. ©Pat Malach

The two riders started the stage tied in the overall competition, both 13 seconds behind Armstrong’s Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty-12 teammate Alison Starnes. But Sunday’s “queen” stage Three Summits Road Race on the flanks of Mt. Hood was a truly epic climbing and descending bonanza that eventually separated Armstrong and Hughes from the rest of the field by several minutes.

Metromint’s Molly Van Houweling and Keller Rohrback’s Tricia Bailey started the fireworks early with a breakaway that eventually gained 2:40 on the quickly disintegrating field. But by the time the race had reached the top of the third Summit Armstrong and Hughes had swallowed up the riders in front and were on their own.

Armstrong held a better hand and exploited the advantage of having Starnes in the leader’s jersey and teammate Kristin McGrath chasing behind. She made Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) do all the work on the front as the pair headed toward the finish at Cooper Spur Ski Area. Hughes said she understood and respected Armstrong’s tactics.

“She’s experienced, and she’s an awesome racer, there’s no way she’s going to pull with me,” Hughes realized as the two got away and built a workable advantage. “I respect that, and so I essentially gave her a 50 km leadout to the finish. I thought that if I sat up, then Kristin McGrath would catch us and it would be really frustrating.”

Hughes did gain a slight advantage over Armstrong as the pair descended through the twisting one-lane forest service roads and onto the valley floor about 20 km from the finish. But Armstrong regained contact and continued to follow Hughes, attacking in the last 500 meters of the steeply pitched mostly gravel road leading to the finish in the ski area’s parking lot. Armstrong said she considered attacking earlier but thought better of it.

“She’s just so strong right now,” she said of Hughes. I didn’t kid myself and pretend that I’m going to make five attacks on her and try to ride away. When you want to give 110 percent, you want to put everything in one basket, because you don’t want to do five efforts at 90 percent. So I knew that whole time I’d just sit on her and be patient. I had ridden the finishing climb before the race, and normally I don’t like top wait until the end, but I knew it was steep and it was dirt. And I like the dirt, and I like steepness.”

Armstrong had plenty of time to think about the plan as the pair rode to the finish. But her well-thought-out plan almost came to an end in some of the dusty gravel approaching the end.

“I got in the soft dirt and thought I was going to bite it,” Armstrong said. “(Hughes) told me later she thought I was going to go down, too.”

But she didn’t. Instead she gained 16 seconds on her Canadian rival at the finish. Starnes came in more than eight minutes later for sixth on the day, ceding the overall win to her team captain and second to Hughes.

McGrath crossed the line 2:55 after Armstrong. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) finished fourth, 3:57 back. Alisa Welsh (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) was fifth at 7:31. The top five in GC mirrored the day’s results, with exception of Starnes hanging on for fifth place in front of Pactimo’s Jade Wilcoxson.

English Conquers Three Summits, Takes Overall

In the men’s race, Nate English (Yahoo! Cycling) started the final stage wearing the King of the Mountains jersey and he proved why by riding to a solo win in the 91-mile stage that included more than 10,000 feet of climbing.

Men's overall winner Nate English leads Ian Boswell up one of the three summits. ©Pat Malach

English and Bend’s Ian Boswell (Trek-Livestrong) gained an advantage on the other overall contenders as they tried to bridge to an early breakaway of four riders on the third major summit of the day. When Boswell got a flat tire and was delayed waiting for the support vehicle to get through on the narrow, sometimes snow-lined forest service roads, English set out with Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) and slowly tracked down the quartet in front.

English then separated from Salas and reeled in all but one escapee by the time the race turned back toward Cooper Spur. He finally caught Dave Vukets and ended the Trek-Red Truck rider’s stage win hopes in the closing kilometers. By the time he hit the ski area 10 km later, he had gained 1:46 on the second-placed rider Salas, who had also caught and passed the original breakaway riders. The rest of the blown-apart field came across the line as single riders or in small groups. Stefano Barberi (Team Stefano Barberi) was third at 2:21. Lang Reynolds (Hagens Berman) finished fourth, 2:28 behind English. Trevor Connor (Team Rio Grande) rounded out the op five, coming in at at 2:34

Elite national road race champion Mike Olheiser of Alabama, who came into the final stage after winning the yellow jersey with an impressive gun-to-gun solo breakaway in front of the 130-rider men’s field at the citerium the evening before, finished 27th, more than 11 minutes behind English.

“I put a pretty big effort in last night,” Olheiser said. “(English) was just the strong guy of the day. He was attacking like crazy. He just had the legs today. It was good still. It was a great stage — beautiful.”

Chad Haga, who had taken the race lead at the prologue and wore it for two stages before losing it to Olheiser at the criterium, finished 31st, 11:34 off the winning pace after suffering two flats, one before each of the first two climbs.

English, who started the day third overall, said the rollercoaster Three Summits course helped him climb to the top of the podium.

“This is a good race for me,” he said of Hood’s Queen stage. “It’s all climbing and descending with very little flat in between. So it’s just all about chugging along, which is what I’m good at. I’m not good at short efforts. We finished on a climb today and that’s good. And it’s not super steep, so it doesn’t favor a pure climber.”

Read all of the 2011 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic coverage, including more photos, on VeloNews.com.

RESULTS
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
Stage 4 Three Summits Road Race

MEN
1. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) 4:10:44
2. Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) at 1:46
3. Stefano Barberi (Team Stefano Barberi) at 2:21
4. Lang Reynolds (Hagens Berman) at 2:28
5. Trevor Connor (Team Rio Grande) at 2:34
6. James Mattis (California Giant/Specialized) at 2:45
7. Jesse Moore (California Giant/Specialized) at 2:47
8. Garrett McLeod (Team H&R Bloock) at 2:49
9. Coulton Hartrich (Chemstar/United Healthcare) at 2:54
10. Jesse Miller-Smith (Marc Pro/Strava) at 3:02

FINAL GC
1. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) 9:04:38
2. Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) at 2:36
3. Stefano Barberi (Team Stefano Barberi) at 3:42
4. Garrett McLeod (Team H&R Block) at 3:49
5. Trevor Connor (Team Rio Grande) at 4:03
6. Jesse Moore (California Giant/Specialized) at 4:13
7. James Mattis (California Giant/Specialized) at 4:23
8. Jesse Miller-Smith (Marc Pro/Strava) at 4:32
9. Louis Crosby (Pure Black Racing) at 4:41
10. Coulton Hartrich (Chemstar/United Healthcare) at 4:48

WOMEN
1. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) 3:42:12
2. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at :16
3. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) 2:55
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 3:57
5. Alisa Welsh (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 7:31
6. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 8:33
7. Ashley Koch (TriSports Cycling / Eclipse Racing) at 9:10
8. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 10:30
9. Elizabeth Newell (Metromint) at 11:40
10. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) at 11:40

FINAL GC
1. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) 7:29:39
2. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at :20
3. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 5:25
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 5:30
5. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 8:30
6. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 12:24
7. Alisa Welsh (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 14:51
8. Ashley Koch (TriSports Cycling / Eclipse Racing) at 16:00
9. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) at 17:43
10. Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek-Red Truck) at 19:06

Olhesier cruised smoothly around the technical criterium course, taking the stage win and the yellow jersey. ©Pat Malach

HOOD RIVER — Cycling fans saw an incredible day of breakaway racing at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Stage 3 Criterium Saturday night. Two-time Elite criterium and time trial national champion Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar) broke away on the first corner of the first lap and then held off the 134-rider field for 60 minutes to take the stage win and the race leader’s jersey.

In the women’s race, a five rider breakaway including Southern Oregon’s Jade Wilcoxson lapped the field before Katie Antonneau took the stage win. Wilcoxson was second and moved up to fifth on GC. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty-12) is still in the leader’s jersey, with her teammate Kristin Armstrong and Pactimo Cycling’s Clara Hughes behind her, both 13 seconds back.

Check out the complete report and photos soon at VeloNews.com

RESULTS
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
Stage 3 Hood River Cirterium

MEN
1. Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar) 56:18
2. Louis Crosby (Pure Black Racing) at :23
3. Gabe Varela (Yahoo! Cycling) at :26
4. Mark Langlands (Pure Black Racing) same time
5. Steven Beardsley (Team S&M) same time
6. Adam Thuss (Trek/Red Truck Racing) same time
7. Cody Canning (Trek/Red Truck Racing) same time
8. Stefano Barberi (Team Stefano Barberi) same time
9. Daniel Farina (Firefighters Cycling Team) same time
10. Tyler Brandt (California Giant/Specialized) same time

GC
1. Mike Olhesier (Juwi Solar/First Solar) 4:53:45
2. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) at :14
3. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) at :19
4. Chase Pinkham (Bissell Pro Cycling) at :59
5. Jonathan Teeter (Echelon Racing Development) at 1:05
6. Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) at 1:05
7. Michael Mathis (Rideclean/PatentIt.com) at 1:09
8. Dan Bechtold (Hagens Berman) at 1:09
9. Garrett McLeod (Team H&R Block) at 1:09
10. David Stephend (Garneau Evolution) at 1:11

WOMEN
1. Katie Antonneau (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) 39:03
2. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) same time
3. Pepper Harlton (Juventus) same time
4. Tricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) same time
5. Katy Curtis (CMC/Bow Cycle) same time
6. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 1:34
7. Melissa Barker (New Hope/GS Boulder/Trek) at 1:34
8. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 1:34
9. Karlee Dendron (Trek/Red Truck Racing) at 1:34
10. Rebecca Rising (Metromint) at 1:34

GC
1. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) 3:47:24
2. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at :13
3. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at :13
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 1:36
5. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 1:55
6. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 2:37
7. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) at 6:06
8. Ashley Koch TriSports Cycling / Eclipse Racing) at 6:53
9. Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek/Red Truck Racing) at 7:14
10. Alisha Welsh (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty 12) at 7:23

Hughes flew over the course in 23:09.3. ©Pat Malach

HOOD RIVER – Clara Hughes struck back Saturday at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Stage 2 time trial after getting ganged up on the day before by the powerful Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12 team of race leader Alison Starnes.

Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) won the 10.6-mile individual race against the clock by six seconds over rival Kristin Armstrong (Peanut butter & Co. Twenty 12). Starnes finished third, 57 seconds off the winning pace, but kept her yellow jersey by 13 seconds over both Armstrong and Hughes. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) is fourth, 1:36 back.

The course around Trout Lake offered little in the way of vertical challenge but threw a series of 90-degree turns at the riders as they wove their way through the rural agricultural area in the shadows of Mt. Adams. The slight rise over the last 5k to the finish climbed just 400 feet but sapped the snap out many riders’ legs.

In the men’s race, Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) finished one second behind winner Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) to keep his leader’s jersey for another stage. Elite National Time Trial Champion Mike Olheiser finished 15 seconds down for third on the stage and moved into third overall behind Haga And English. Bissell Pro Cycling’s Chase Pinkham is fourth overall, 45 seconds behind. Jonathan Teeter (Echelon Racing) is 51 seconds back for fifth overall going into the Saturday twilight criterium in Hood River.

Racing continues Sunday with the Three Summits Road Race that travels deep into the Mt. Hood National Forest and finishes at Cooper Spur Ski Area.

Check VeloNews.com for a complete report and photos.

English powered to the fastest time of 21:52.34. ©Pat Malach

RESULTS
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
Stage 2 Trout Lake Time Trial

MEN
1. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) 21:52.34
2. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) at :01
3. Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar) at :15
4. Scott Tietzel (Team Rio Grande) at :20
5. Chase Pinkham (Bissell Pro Cycling Team) at :24
6. Dan Harm (Keller Rorhback) at :31
7. Jesse Moore (California Giant/Specialized) at :36
8. Jonathan Teeter (Echelon Racing) at :37
9. Carl Decker (Giant MTB) at :39
10. Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) at :40

GC
1. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) 3:57:15
2. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) at :05
3. Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar) at :22
4. Chase Pinkham (Bissell Pro Cycling Team) at :45
5. Jonathan Teeter (Echelon Racing) at :51
6. Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) at :51
7. Michael Mathis (Rideclean) at :55
8. Dan Bechtold (Hagens Berman) at :55
9. Garrett Mcleod (team H&R Block) at :55
10. Davis Stephens (Garneau Evolution) at :57

WOMEN
1. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) 23:09.3
2. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at :06
3. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at :57
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 1:08
5. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) at 1:33
6. Jennifer Wheeler (TIBCO/To the Top) at 1:33
7. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 1:43
8. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 1:47
9. Tayler Wiles (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 1:52
10. Tricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) at 2:07

GC

1. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) 3:06:47
2. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at :13
3. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at :13
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 1:36
5. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 2:37
6. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 3:35
7. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) at 6:06
8. Tayler Wiles (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 6:09
9. Ashley Koch (Tri-Sports/Eclipse) at 6:53
10. Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek/Red Truck Racing) at 7:14

Christopher Stastny takes the win Friday in The Dalles. ©Pat Malach

HOOD RIVER – Kristin Armstrong and Clara Hughes continued to mark each other during Friday’s 56 mile Stage 1 Columbia Gorge Road Race at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. But while the two former Olympians watched each other, Armstrong’s Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12 teammate Alison Starnes sneaked off the front, finished more than a minute ahead of the two favorites and grabbed a 10 second time bonus on her way to taking over the race leader’s jersey. Starnes now leads Armstrong by 1:04 and Hughes by 1:25 heading into Saturday’s stage 2 morning time trial in Trout Lake, Wash.

Alison Starnes dons the yellow jersey after stage 1. ©Pat Malach

In the men’s race, Chad Haga of Colorado’s Team Rio Grande kept his leader’s jersey after a tough day of riding that included 84 miles and 7,800 feet of climbing. Christopher Stastny (California Giant/Specialized) won the field sprint to take the win and claim the 10 second time bonus. Stastny moved into second place overall, four seconds behind the leader. David Stephens (Garneau Evolution) and Nathaniel English (Yahoo! Cycling Team) are both six seconds in arrears. Racing continues Saturday with the morning time trial and an evening criterium in downtown Hood River. The stage race ends Sunday with the Three Summits Road Race on Mt. Hood.

Check VeloNews.com for a complete report and photos.

RESULTS
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
Stage 2 Columbia Gorge Road Race

MEN
1. Christopher Stastny (California Giant/Specialized) 3:28:53
2. Louis Crosby (Pure Black Racing) same time
3. Nathaniel English (Yahoo! Cycling Team) same time
4. Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar) same time
5. Frank Spiteri (Marc Pro/Strava) same time
6. Chase Pinkham (Bissell pro Cycling Team) same time
7. James Winger (Yahoo!) same time
8. Michael Booth (Ski-Utah/Market Star) same time
9. Stefano Barberi (Team Stefano Barberi) same time
10. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) same time

WOMEN
1. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) 2:35:45
2. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 1:14
3. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 1:14
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 1:14
5. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 1:16
6. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 2:23
7. Ashley Koch (TriSports Cycling/Eclipse) at 4:26
8. Nik Vogler (Westwood Cycle Cannondale) at 4:26
9. Kelly Crowley (Metromint) at 4:26
10. Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek-Red Truck Racing) at 4:26

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

MEN
1. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) 3:35:22
2. Christopher Stastny (California Giant/Specilaized) at :04
3. David Stephens (Garneau Evolution) at :06
4. Nathaniel English (Yahoo! Cycling) at :06
5. Mike Olhesier (Juwi Solar/First) at :08
6. Garrett McLeod (Team H&R Block) at :08
7. Michael Mathis (Ride Clean) at :10
8. Frank Spiteri (Marc Pro – Strava) at :11
9. Sebastian Salas (Team H&R Block) at :12
10. Travis McCabe (Landis/Trek) at :13

WOMEN
1. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) 2:42:41
2. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 1:04
3. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 1:25
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) at 1:14
5. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 1:47
6. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) at 2:49
7. Tayler Wiles (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) at 5:14
8. Ashley Cook (TriSports Cycling/Eclipse) at 5:16
8. Nik Vogler (Westwood Cycle Cannondale) at 4:26
9. Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek-Red Truck Racing) at 5:21
10. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) at 5:30

Kristin Armstrong was on form for the win Thursday. ©Pat Malach

HOOD RIVER — Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) fired the first shot in the showdown with fellow Olympian Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) Thursday at the prologue time trial of the 2011 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. Armstrong covered the three-mile prologue eight seconds faster than her Canadian rival Hughes. Armstrong’s teammate Alison Starnes was third, 16 seconds behind the leader.

In the men’s opener, Chad Haga of Colorado’s Team Rio Grande bested teammate Scott Tietzel by four seconds to take the first leader’s jersey of the race. Keller Rohrback’s Dan Harm, of Seattle, was third just 6 seconds back.

The race continues Friday with the Columbia Gorge Road Race, which takes riders on a loop between Mosier and The Dalles. The men tackle 84 miles, and the women will race for 56.

Check VeloNews.com for a complete report and photos.

RESULTS
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
Prologue Time Trial
June 2

Men
1. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) 6:29
2. Scott Tietzel (Team Rio Grande) +:04
3. Dan Harm (Keller Rohrback) +:06
4. David Stephens (Garneau Evolution) +:06
5. Cameroan MacKinnon (Team H&R Block) +:07
6. Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar ) +:08
7. Garret McLeod (Team H&R Block) +:08
8. Zack Garland (Team H&R Block) +:10
9. Michael Mathis (RideClean) +:10
10. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) +:10

Women
1. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) 6:50
2. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) +:08
3. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) +:16
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) +:17
5. Jennifer Wheeler (TIBCO/To the Top) +: 21
6. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) +:32
7. Tayler Wiles (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) +:35
8. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) +:37
9. Tricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) +:43
10. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) +:51

General Classification
Men
1. Chad Haga (Team Rio Grande) 6:29
2. Scott Tietzel (Team Rio Grande) +:04
3. Dan Harm (Keller Rohrback) +:06
4. David Stephens (Garneau Evolution) +:06
5. Cameroan MacKinnon (Team H&R Block) +:07
6. Mike Olheiser (Juwi Solar/First Solar ) +:08
7. Garret McLeod (Team H&R Block) +:08
8. Zack Garland (Team H&R Block) +:10
9. Michael Mathis (RideClean) +:10
10. Nathan English (Yahoo! Cycling) +:10

Women
1. Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) 6:50
2. Clara Hughes (Pactimo Cycling Team) +:08
3. Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) +:16
4. Rhae Shaw (Keller Rohrback) +:17
5. Jennifer Wheeler (TIBCO/To the Top) +: 21
6. Jade Wilcoxson (Pactimo Cycling Team) +:32
7. Tayler Wiles (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) +:35
8. Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) +:37
9. Tricia Bailey (Keller Rohrback) +:43
10. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) +:51

Majestic Mt. Hood will once again set the backdrop for its namesake stage race, which starts Thursday in Hood River. ©Pat Malach / FILE PHOTO

HOOD RIVER – The 9th Mt. Hood Cycling Classic takes off out of Hood River Thursday with a three mile prologue time trial to warm up the legs before riders eventually tackle the snow-lined Queen stage Sunday. Kristin Armstrong and Clara Hughes highlight the women’s race, while the jam-packed men’s field features and handful of pros and some of the country’s top Elite Domestic programs.

Armstrong, Hughes go head-to-head
The women’s race has climbed to the top spot on the marque because of entries by Armstrong and Hughes. Both riders have been tearing up the results during this comeback season as they work toward a return to the Olympics in 2012. Hughes won the Tour of the Gila, then took out both the road race and time trial at the Pan American Games last month in Colombia. Armstrong withdrew from the Tour of the Gila with a stomach bug but came back strong at the Tour of California women’s time trial in Solvang, winning with a dominant performance. Mt. Hood will be the first time both riders have gone head to head this season.

Armstrong will have six Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12 teammates at her disposal, including Katie Antonneau, Kristin McGrath, Giana Roberge, Alison Starnes, Alisha Welsh and Tayler Wiles. Hughes will get support from a three-rider composite team that includes pro-mountain-biker-turned-roadie Joy Duerksen, Portland pro Hilary Billington and Sea Otter stage winner Jade Wilcoxson of Southern Oregon. Both riders and teams will have to overcome 2010 winner Molly Van Houweling, who’s bringing six Metromint teammates along to help defend her title. Last year’s stage 2 winner Jennifer Wheeler (TIBCO/To the Top) could also be a wildcard in the 52-rider women’s field.

Boswell, Bissell, PBR top 150+ men’s field
The top end of the men’s race has suffered a bit because of scheduling conflicts with the big East Coast races, but enthusiasm and participation are still high. The men’s field reached it’s limit and began building a waiting list long before the registration deadline.

VeloNews’ 2010 Breakthrough Rider of The Year Ian Boswell (Trek-Livestrong) has had a month off from racing and will race Hood looking to put some serious miles in his legs as he builds up for the tough slog through the rest of the season.

“Hood will be a good opportunity to get some racing back in my legs as a build up to the second part of the year, which is full of hard racing,” he said. “I really like the riding around Hood River and Mt. Hood, so I’d like to do well on one of the days.”

Bissell Pro Cycling is sending three riders, Chase Pinkham will join 2009 stage winner Rob Britton and Jeremy Vennell, who finished 8th at the Tour of California time trial in Solvang. The always-aggressive Pure Black Racing team has four riders headed for Hood, including 2010 KOM runner-up Taylor Gunman.

The Elite amateur contingent of the pro/am field is stacked with West Coast talent, including the Yahoo! Cycling Team led by last year’s third overall Nate English. California Giant/Specialized will have a full squad led by 2010 KOM winner Jesse Moore. Hagens Berman, winner of the team GC last year, will be back with a full squad that includes GC contender Chris Parrish and 16-year-old junior phenom Logan Owen, making the move from the development team to the elite squad for the first time. Trek-Red Truck and Team H&R Block are making the trip down from Canada with full sqauds.

Carl Decker (Giant MTB), a pro mountain biker from Bend who also won the 2005 Elite Road Race Championship in Park City, Utah, will be trying his hand at Hood and could be one of many wildcards in the men’s peloton.

Snow removal efforts last week cleared the passes on the Queen stage Three Summits Road Race. Forecasts call for warm weather this weekend, but significant snow should still be lining the course at the highest elevations. ©Pat Malach

Returning to the roots with Three Summits RR

The Three Summits Road Race is one of the courses that built the Mt. Hood’s reputation beginning in 2002. When floods and heavy weather in 2006 washed out a crucial bridge linking the namesake summits together, the Wy’East Road Race that finished at the Meadows Ski Resort stepped in as a worthy replacement. Now recent road repairs have finally opened access to the original Three Summits course, which travels so deep into the Mt. Hood National Forest that one is left wondering exactly why and how these remote one-lane roads ever got paved in the first place.

The new course isn’t the only change for Mt. Hood this year. The prologue at Panorama Point was last used in 2009, but Friday’s Stage 1 road race is new to Mt. Hood and traverses many stretches of the Historic Columbia River Highway that were previously used for the time trial. This year’s time trial is significantly shorter than in the past, covering 11 miles in the shadow of Mt. Adams across the Columbia River in Trout Lake, Wash. The shorter time trial makes it possible for a Saturday doubleheader, with the Hood River Criterium filling the evening slot.

But the crown jewel of this year’s Mt. Hood Cycling Classic is without a doubt the finale at Three Summits, which starts and finishes at the Cooper Spur Ski Area.

Bissell Pro Cycling Team director Omer Kem has slogged it out over both the Wy’East and Three Summits course as a pro rider and says competitors should expect a harder but ultimately unique and beautiful day of racing.

“It’s cool to be able to do this, because there aren’t that many races left like this in the country,” Kem said. “But it is going to be hard. The roads are so much narrower. Wy’East, for the most part, is highway grade type of climbing even up to Meadows. But Three Summits is almost all forest service roads, and so you’re going to get much steeper gradients than you do if it’s on the highway.”

Kem said that unlike previous years, the sheer difficulty of the final stage will likely be the deciding factor in the overall battles.

“I think it shapes the race,” Kem said. “And then going with a shorter time trial, there’s less time to be lost there. So I think it’s going to put even more emphasis on that road race. I think that whoever wins the road race is going to win the overall.”

The men will face 91 miles and more than 10,000 feet of climbing on the last day. The women will tackle 70 miles and 8,200 feet of elevation gain. Adding to the grand scale of the Three Summits course will be snow-walled climbs to the summits on Lost Lake and Vista Ridge. Promoter Chad Sperry hired plow crews to bust the lingering snow drifts on the course, some of them as much as 10-12 feet tall.

THURSDAY, June 2
Panorama Point Prologue Time Trial

FRIDAY, June 3
Columbia Gorge Road Race

SATURDAY, June 4
Trout Lake Time Trial

SATURDAY, June 4
Hood River Criterium

SUNDAY, June 5
Three Summits Road Race

2010 FINAL OVERALL RESULTS
Men
1. Marc de Maar (United Healthcare/Maxxis) 11:37:50
2. Mike Creed (Team Type 1) +:44
3. Nate English (Echelon Gran Fondo) +:47
4. Paul Mach (Bissell Pro Cycling) +:57
5. Sam Johnson (Hagens Berman) +2:12
6. J. Patrick McCarty (Richardson’s) +2:19
7. Jesse Moore (Cal Giant/Specialized) +2:30
8. Marcel Aarden (Total Restoration) +2:30
9. Rob Britton (Bissell Pro Cycling) +2:48
10. Adam Switters (Yahoo! Cycling Team) +2:52

Women
1. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint Cycling) 7:24:30
2. Robin Secrist +1:01
3. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) +1:13
4. Tayler Wiles (Primal/Rocky Mountain/Colavita) +1:27
5. Ashley Cook (Allsport) +1:37
6. Jennifer Wheeler (Hagens Berman) +1:42
7. Patricia Bailey (Total Restoration) +1:48
8. Heather Pryor (Metromint) +1:52
9. Jade Wilcoxson (Flywheel Bicycle Solutions) +2:50
10. Leah Guloien (Total Restoration) +2:54

Ian Boswell (left) on the 2010 Tour of Utah podium with ProTour star Levi Leipheimer (Radioshack) and Francisco Mancebo, current NRC leader and a past top 10 finisher of multiple European Grand Tours. Boswell will be battling it out at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic this year. ©Christopher See / FILE PHOTO

HOOD RIVER — The VeloNews 2010 breakthrough rider who took third overall at last year’s Tour of Utah will be slugging it out in the Gorge next week at the 2011 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. Bend’s Ian Boswell, riding this year for the Trek-Livestrong U23 team, is registered for the four-day, five-stage race that starts with a prologue time trial June 2 in Hood River.

Race Director Chad Sperry released a preliminary start list this week and announced that the men’s Pro/1/2 field had reached its limit of 150 riders. Nathaniel English, third overall last year, will be leading the Yahoo! Cycling Team out of California. Also on board this year are full squads from Hagens Berman and Califonria Giant/Specialized. Canada’s Trek-Red Truck and Team H&R Block are also sending full squads. New Zealand’s UCI Continental Team Pure Black racing will be sending a handful of riders riders, including last year’s KOM runner-up Taylor Gunman. (Please check the site soon for a complete rider preview).

Boswell has a brief but shining history with the race, having won the Cat 3 event in 2007 as a 16-year-old junior racing for Hagens Berman. Now, as a 20-year-old who has raced all over the world, he says the 2007 Mt. Hood is still one of his favorite cycling memories. Boswell hasn’t been back to the race since — at least not to race — but he did cheer from the side of the road as his younger brother Austin matched his feat and won the Cat 3 race last year, also at 16.

Outside of the weekly “Six O’clock World Championships” ride that leaves from Bend’s Sunnyside Sports on Tuesdays, Boswell said he hasn’t raced for real since the Giro della Toscana, a six stage U23 nations cup race mid-April.

“I had a big block of spring racing in Europe with the national team earlier this year, so Hood will be my first race in over a month,” Boswell said via e-mail. “I had originally planned to be racing in Europe with the Trek-LIVESTRONG team but opted to stay home and spend time with my mom (who was re-diagnosed with breast cancer while I was in Europe, but is now cancer free and healthy) and family. Hood will be a good opportunity to get some racing back in my legs as a build up to the second part of the year, which is full of hard racing. I really like the riding around Hood River and Mt. Hood, so I’d like to do well on one of the days.”

Boswell said that after Mt. Hood, he will race the Nevada City Classic, which he won in 2010. Then he’ll head for the U23 Road Nationals, Cascade Cycling Classic in his hometown, the Tour of Utah, and possibly the new UCI stage race in Colorado, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. And Boswell’s goals aren’t limited to the road.

“I am also hoping to get a mountain bike and maybe try my dirt tires out at the USAC MTB Marathon Nationals in Bend in September,” he said.

Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Champion Kristin Armstrong will lead the Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 team at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in June, but she'll have to get past Canadian legend Clara Hughes if she wants to get the win. Photo courtesy of Team TWENTY12.

HOOD RIVER — The women’s battle at the 2011 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic is shaping up to be one for the ages. A race that has previously hosted French superstars Jeannie Longo and Edwige Pitel will be a showdown between two North American heavy hitters this year.

Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Champion Kristin Armstrong will be burning up the roads with recent Tour of the Gila overall winner and six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes as both legendary riders stage career comebacks targeting the 2012 Olympics.

Race Director Chad Sperry said Thursday that Armstrong will be part of a full eight-rider squad from the Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 Women’s Professional Cycling Team. Hughes, a Canadian riding without teammates, bested current U.S. National Road Race Champion Mara Abbott by more than two minutes at the Gila. Sperry said Hughes will be bringing a composite squad along to help in the quest to add Mt. Hood to her palmares.

“Judging by her performance at Gila, Hughes is on fire and easily on track to qualify for the Olympics and actually be a medal contender,” Sperry said.

Hughes, 38, and Armstrong, 37, were headed for a showdown at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico before Armstrong came down with the flu-like symptoms and had to abandon after stage 1.

“(Armstrong) is on such a short training and racing schedule this year, there’s really not anything on the NRC schedule she’s gonna touch except the Cascade Cycling Classic,” Sperry said. “So I was a little taken aback when I got the call form the team manager saying they were sending a full team of eight to support Kristin at Mt. Hood as opposed to doing the Liberty Classic back there in Philadelphia.”

The addition of Armstrong’s pro squad and a team of elite riders supporting Hughes should give a big boost to a women’s race that almost disappeared last year because of steadily decreasing participation and support. Now it could be one of the hottest women’s races to watch.

“This has the makings, based off the epic nature of this course, and with these two gals coming in, to be an amazing showdown,” Sperry said. “And the only other place  people are going to get a chance to see these two match up again is the Cascade Cycling Classic.”

The four-day, four stage pro/am Mt. Hood Cycling Classic starts Thursday, June 2, in Hood River with the Panoramic Point Prologue Time Trial. It continues Friday the Columbia Hills Road Race that winds along stretches of the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway. Saturday features a morning time trial across the river in Trout Lake, Washington, and an evening criterium in downtown Hood River. Sunday’s Queen stage introduces the return of the Three Summits Road Race, a course in the Mt. Hood National Forest that will provide 75 miles and 8,000 feet of climbing for Hughes and Armstrong to push each other to their limits.

Coryn Rivera will also be in Hood River for this year's Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. ©Pat Malach

Peanut Butter & Co.’s Coryn Rivera, 18, will also be joining Armstrong in Hood River for the race, but only after her her team worked out logistics with her high school graduation. The young racer from California won 32 National Championships as a junior in road, track and cyclocross. She is the most decorated junior cyclist in all of America, either male or female. Rivera highlighted her potential in 2009 by outsprinting the women’s NRC field to win the Cascade Cycling Classic criterium stage.

“I was astounded to watch her school all the pro women at the women’s criterium in Bend,” Sperry said. “And she did it on junior gearing. We had Laura van Gilder, Tina Pic, Brooke Miller, I mean every big hitter in the U.S. sprinting world was there and she schooled them on junior gearing.”

Rivera may get her chance in the crit, but the team will be working for Armstrong in the overall battle. Armstrong won the World Championship Time Trial in 2006 and 2009 and brought home the Olympic Time Trial gold in 2008. The Boise, Idaho, resident is also a three-time National Road Race Champion and took second at the 2007 World Championship Time Trial. She  is returning to cycling after missing the 2010 season to have a baby with her husband, Joe Savola, and to direct the Peanut Butter & Co. team through its first year. She won three stages and the overall at the Sea Otter Classic omnium last month in one of her first races back.

Hughes has won multiple Olympic medals in both speedskating and cycling. She won two bronze medals in the Summer Olympics in 1996 and four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) over the course of three Winter Olympics. Hughes is one of only five people to have won medals in both versions of the games, and she is the only person ever to have won multiple medals in both. She left cycling in 2003 after accumulating 18 Canadian National Championships along with her Olympic medals, and has been focused solely on speedskating until this year.

“This is probably going to be the most exciting women’s race we’ve had in the history of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic,” Sperry said. “I’d have thought it would have been three years ago when we were UCI, but this has the makings of being legendary. Both women are trying to get time trial spots on their Olympic teams for the 2012 games, so this will be another opportunity to see these women clash with each other all the way up to 2012. The only way to top this would have been to get Jeannie Longo in the mix.”

Not to be outdone by the women’s field, the men’s pro/am race will also feature an Olympic gold medalist. Fifty-year-old Alexi Grewal, winner of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Road Race, is making a comeback this year and has signed up to take on Mt. Hood.

Hood's 2010 overall winner Marc de Maar rode for United Healthcare, which was a UCI Continental Team last season. Despite earlier concerns, riders with UCI registered teams will be able to compete at the four-stage race again this year. ©Pat Malach

HOOD RIVER — Organizers announced Thursday that the 2011 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic men’s Pro/1/2 race will once again be sanctioned by USA Cycling, avoiding any obstacle that would keep riders on UCI registered pro teams from competing in the iconic Oregon stage race that starts June 2.

Participation for pros came into question when USA Cycling announced its intention to begin enforcing UCI rules that would prevent riders on UCI Pro Teams, Pro Continental Teams and Continental Teams from participating in events not sanctioned by USAC.

Most Oregon races are sanctioned by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, an independent federation, but the men’s Pro/1/2 race at Mt. Hood has been a USAC event since the race’s third year and has an established history of participation by some the nation’s top domestic pro teams. Mt. Hood was a National Race Calendar event for the 2008 race won by HealthNet/Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland. The men’s and women’s Pro/1 NRC races at the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend are also USAC events.

RELATED:

• “UCI to enforce rule barring pros from non-USA Cycling events,” April 8, CyclingNews.com
• “UCI Rules Crackdown: No Non-USAC Sanctioned Races For Pros,” April 7, Podium Insight