Celebrity picker Marcel DeLisser chooses a lucky winner under the watchful eye of the Oregon Cycling Action security team.

After a week of tabulation, consultation and deliberation, our legal department, which works from the Lemond/Landis building of the Oregon Cycling Action World Headquarters Campus in Switzerland, has determined the winners of our Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Pick the Podium Grand Prize drawing.

Although none of our prognosticators managed to pick the three riders who made the podium in any of the stages, they were all entered in our Grand Prize drawing.

The names of all the drawing contestants were first transported by a team of retired Navy Seals to government laboratories where scientists sealed them in solidified chamois cream. They were transported again, this time via stealth fighter jet and a mule train, to an undisclosed location where celebrity judge Marcel DeLisser chose the winners at random.

Grand Prize winner TAZMAN gets these KCNC titanium road skewers . Second Grand Prize winner MANG has earned these colorful brake hoods to brighten up the ride. Third Grand Prize winner MKM gets to sport an Oregon Cycling Action T-shirt and be the envy of her neighborhood.

1st PRIZE: Tazman
2nd PRIZE: Mang
3rd PRIZE: MKM

Women's overall winner Molly Van Houweling.

HOOD RIVER — The 2010 Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cycling Classic tried a little weather-driven variety at this final-stage criterium by choosing to run the course backward instead of the normal direction. The rain-slicked course still proved challenging, and the racing was no less exciting.

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY from the men’s and women’s races.  …

Mike Creed gets the best of Marc de Maar during their overall podium celebration after the final stage of the 2010 Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cyclng Classic.

HOOD RIVER — Jamie Sparling (Total Restoration) won the Stage 5 Hood River Crit at the Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cycling Classic for the second year in a row Sunday the same way he did it last year: getting in an early break and winning the sprint.

Netherlands’ Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthcare) faced down his U.S.-style criterium fears, stayed upright on the rain-slicked course and held on for the overall win. Michael Creed finished second on GC. Nate English (Echelon Gran Fondo/ZteaM) was third.

In the women’s race, Leah Guloien (Total Restoration) took the stage win in front of southern Oregon’s Jade Wilcoxson (Flywheel Bicycle Solutions) and Laura Brown (Total Restoration). Organizers decided the closing criterium would have no affect on the general classification, which was good news for race leader Molly Van Houweling after the was forced to abandon the race but got to keep the overall lead.

Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic winner Robin Secrist finished second overall, more than a minute back. Portland pro mountain biker Sue Butler finished third, 1:13 off the winning pace.

Read our complete report with more photos on CyclingNews.com.

RESULTS
Stage 5
1 Jamie Sparling (Total Restoration) 1:01:45
2. Ian Gray (Rio Grande Racing) same time
3. Ryan Parnes (Yahoo!) same time
General Classification
1. Marc Demaar (United Healthcare)
2. Michael Creed (Team Type 1) +:44
3. Nathaniel English (Echelon Gran Fondo/ZteaM) +:47

WOMEN
Stage 5
1. Leah Guloien (Total Restoration)
2. Jade Wilcoxson (Flywheel Bicycle Solutions)
3. Laura Brown (Total Restoration)
General Classification
1. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint)
2. Robin Secrist +1:01
3. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) +1:13

Riders got a special send off from the Team Oregon fairy before the Stage 4 Wy'East Road Race.

MT. HOOD MEADOWS — Simply put, the Wy’East Road Race is spectacular. Starting at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski resort, it head sdown into the valley below before heading back up to the finish at the ski resort. The last 35 miles are mostly up hill, and the last few kilometers hit pitches of 10 percent and greater.

But enough words. Check out the PHOTO GALLERY. …

Here’s how to play

Each day during the race we’ll post a heads up like this one. Just choose the top-three podium Pro/1/2 men’s finishers (in any order) for the day’s stage and add your picks in the comments section at the end of the post. If you choose the top three finishers (in any order) for the stage, you get a free Oregon Cycling Action T-shirt.

At the end of the stage race, we’ll put the names of everyone who participated in the daily contests (winners and all) in a hat and draw one grand prize winner and one runner-up for extra special prizes from FairWheelBikes.com

Check out the rules and read more about the contest HERE. Then check out the START LIST. Good luck, and may the best prognosticator win.

So who do you think is going to make the podium at the Downtown Hood River Criterium? Post you picks below.

Marc de Maar finishes fourth while Michael Creed checks their time gap.

MT. HOOD MEADOWS — Pro Tour veteran Patrick McCarty, who’s raced with U.S. Postal, Discovery, Phonak, Garmin-Slipstream and OUCH/Maxxis, pulled off the win at the Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cycling Classic’s queen stage Saturday.

Overall leader Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthcare) added to his advantage in the GC battle with a strong performance after getting isolated on the finishing climb to the ski-resort finish. Team Type 1’s Michael Creed, fourth overall coming into the stage, moved into second after Bissell’s Paul Mach couldn’t hold Creed’s and de Maar’s pace in the final few kilometers of the climb. De Maar and Creed finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Mach finished seventh, 1:18 down on McCarty.

Nate English (Echelon Gran Fondo/ZteaM) moved into third after helping McCarty (Matrix/Richardson/Bike Mart) power a three-rider breakaway that took off with about 40 miles remaining. Total Restoration’s Aarden Marcel was the third rider in the breakaway, which just held on to the line.

Mach now sits fourth overall. Sam Johnson, who started the day third overall, faltered on the closing climb and dropped to fifth 2:12 down.

Read our complete report with more photos on CyclingNews.com.

RESULTS
Stage 4 Wy’East Road Race
Saturday, June 4

1. Patrick McCarty (Matrix/Richardson/Bike Mart) 3:51:53
2. Marcel Aarden (Total Restoration) +:10
3. Nathaniel English (Echelon Grand Fondo/ZteaM) +:12
4. Marc de Maar (United Healthcare) +:35
5. Michael Creed (Team Type 1) +:35
General Classification
1. Marc De Maar (UnitedHealthcare) 10:35:42
2. Michael Creed (Team Type 1) +:44
3. Nate English (Echelon Grand Fondo/ZteaM) +:47
4. Paul Mach (Bissell) +:57
5. Sam Johnson (Hagens Berman) + 2:12

THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE — Beauty and the beast is certainly one way to describe the Scenic Gorge Time Trial at the Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. The place is so beautiful that old Sam Hill went way out of his way to build a highway that didn’t cut the shortest easiest path from all points east to Portland and the coast, but instead set a course for all of the Gorge’s most beautiful spots. It is a sublime place, unless, maybe, you’re in a time trial of a bicycle race. Then this place is a vicious monster intent on exposing the weak and beating down the strong. The course offers little flat ground or chance to get into rhythm, while the Gorge’s famous gusts are capable of tossing riders from one gutter to the other. Beauty and the Beast. The perfect place for a bike race.

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY … …

Although Van Houweling may be fast on the bike, her greatest skills are in the classroom, where she specializes in intellectual property, law and technology, property, and constitutional law at the University of California Berkley Law School. But the laws of gravity will be her biggest worry tomorrow as the women’s third stage features a 71-mile march from Billy Bob Snow Park on the flanks of Mt. Hood to the Tygh Valley and back to Mt. Hood for the finish at Meadows Ski Resort.

Butler won the stage last year with a late solo move that caught race leader Edwige Pitel and three-time champion Lea Goldstein off guard. After escaping somewhat unnoticed, Butler pressed the issue and held off the closing chasers for the win. Butler, a pro mountain biker who raced with the former Moonavie/Cannondale squad, is a little less low-profile on the road this year. She placed second overall at Oregon’s Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic in April to Secrist, who has won the Cherry Blossom race for two straight years.

RESULTS
Stage 3 TT 18.5 miles
Friday, June 4
Women
1. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint) 51:47.4
2. Robin Secrist +:40
3. Laura Brown (River City Bicycles) +1:22
GC
1. Holly Van Houweling (Metro Mint)
2. Robin Secrist
3. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles)

The stage 3 Scenic Gorge Time Trial is well-named.

HOOD RIVER — Just to remove any doubts, United healthcare’s Marc de Maar went out and earned the leader’s jersey awarded to him via penalty the previous stage by taking out the stage 3 Scenic Gorge Time trial of the 2010 Indie Hops Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.

“I definitely had a good ride today,” de Maar said in a report on the UHC website. “It’s a very hard course, very hilly and not a lot of flat sections. It’s a hard course to keep a rhythm on. I was up at 7 this morning with Gord (Fraser) to see the course, which helped.”

The time trial made a moot point of the penalty handed out to teammate Morgan Schmitt on stage 2 for drafting behind a support vehicle. De Maar covered the 18.5-mile windswept course in 44:06.2, just 14 seconds faster than Mach, who placed second in this stage last year. Team Type 1’s Michael Creed finished third with a time of 44:20.2. Last year’s Scenic Gorge Time Trial winner Chris Baldwin (UHC) suffered mechanical problems with a rubbing brake on his TT bike and finished more than four minutes off the other GC contenders.

The top three places in General Classification remain unchanged, with de Maar leading Mach by 14 seconds, followed by Hagens Berman rider Sam Johnson in third 42 seconds down. Creed now sits fourth, 44 seconds in arrears.

Next up is the Wy’East Road Race, where de Maar said he hopes to go for another stage win.

“We haven’t made a race plan yet for tomorrow, but I want to try and win the stage again,” de Maar said. “The uphill finish is good for me, and I want to get a bit more time on Mach before the criterium if I can.”

Read our complete report with more photos on CyclingNews.com.

RESULTS
Stage 3 TT 18.5 miles
Friday, June 4
Men
1. Marc De Maar (UHC) 44:06.0
2. Paul Mach (Bissell) 44:20.2
3. Michael Creed (Team Type 1) 44.42.3
GC
1. Marc De Maar
2. Paul Mach
3. Sam Johnson

Women
1. Holly Van Houweling (Metro Mint) 51:47.4
2. Robin Secrist +:40
3. Laura Brown (River City Bicycles) +1:22
GC
1. Holly Van Houweling (Metro Mint)
2. Robin Secrist
3. Sue Butler (River City Bicycles)

Here’s how to play

Each day during the race we’ll post a heads up like this one. Just choose the top-three podium Pro/1/2 men’s finishers (in any order) for the day’s stage and add your picks in the comments section at the end of the post. If you choose the top three finishers (in any order) for the stage, you get a free Oregon Cycling Action T-shirt.

At the end of the stage race, we’ll put the names of everyone who participated in the daily contests (winners and all) in a hat and draw one grand prize winner and one runner-up for extra special prizes from FairWheelBikes.com

Check out the rules and read more about the contest HERE. Then check out the START LIST. Good luck, and may the best prognosticator win.

So who do you think is going to make the podium at the Wy’East Road Race?