Barry's Super Sweet Mix Tape For Lance
It turns out that dude named Barry was none other than (former OBRA standout) pro mountain biker/cyclocrosser and Velonews.com diarist Barry Wicks, who now lives in Santa Cruz. No word yet on whether Wicks will burn us a copy of his tunes, but we expect a column out of this (hint hint).
Plews Takes Kona 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo
2008 OBRA mountain bike champion Evan Plews (Capitol Subaru Cycling) won Arizona's 10th Annual KONA 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Feb. 14-15 in his first attempt at a 24-hour solo race.
Plews finished ahead of Britain's Ian Leitch and legendary MTB star Tinker Juarez, who won in 2006 and 2007. The race began at noon on Saturday and ended 24 hours later. The Oregon pro covered 18 laps during the race, which took place about 20 miles north of Tucson. Each lap covered about 16 miles and offered 1,200 feet of elevation gain.
"Celebrating a decade of mountain biking in the Sonoran Desert, the Kona Bikes 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is one of the largest 24 Hour events in North America, hosting more than 3,000 participants, volunteers and spectators throughout the three-day Presidents Day weekend.
Plews won OBRA's 2008 Bar points for the mountain bike and was second in Overall points. Portland's Erik Tonkin (Kona) also made his 24-hour-solo debut but did not finish the race, dropping out around 7:30 a.m. after completing 10 laps.
Oregon's Twin Towers duo of Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon paired up with Kona teammates Matthew Slaven and Chris Sneddon for the 4-Man race, where they finished second to team Adrenaline's Jeff Herrera, Sam Schultz, Andy Schultz and Chris Suter.
Rathe Tops Cherry Pie Men's Field
A trio of 17-year-old juniors dropped the hammer on the men's pro 1,2 field at the 2009 Cherry Pie Road Race, which kicked off the OBRA season Sunday on roads northwest of Albany.
The Hammer CMG Racing Team stamped its mark on the field by claiming three of the top four spots. Portland's Jacob Rathe, a member of the U.S. Junior National Team, out-sprinted Kennett Peterson (Life Cycles) and teammates Austin Arguello and Wes Stein over the uphill finish to claim the top prize. Arguello is also a member of the Junior National team.
Breakaway attempts met with little success over the 52.2 mile course, which combined long flat straightaways with a handful of gentle rollers and a deceptively tough uphill finish. Small groups in the men's pro 1,2 field tried in vain to animate the race with repeated breaks, but none gained more than 20 seconds before the field reeled them back.
The combined women's 1,2,3 field followed pretty much the same pattern, with the group remaining intact until the finishing climbs, where Lisa Turnbull sprinted away from the field to take an easy win by seven seconds. Jen Akeroyd (3) fought hard for second, and Libby Evans (3) finished third, nipping Jackie Cohen (3) at the line.
OBRA's complete results:
Men Pro,1,2
1. Jacob RATHE
2. Kennett PETERSON
3. Austin ARGUELLO
Women 1,2,3
1. Lisa TURNBULL (1,2)
2. Jen AKEROYD (3)
3. Libby EVANS (3)
Men 3
1. Andrew BENNETT
2. Zak KOVALCIK
3. Sage FREEMAN
Juniors 13-15
1. Colby WAIT-MOLYNEUX
2. Lance PUGH
3. Gabriel NOLLER
Juniors 16-18
1. Joe PRETTYMAN
2. George ZACK
3. Brian FAWCETT
Masters 40+
1. Karsten HAGEN
2. David ZIMBELMAN
3. Matt SLATER
OBRA's Miller Flexes Muscle In Snowy San Diego Hills
OBRA's Carson Miller (Land Rover-Orbea) showed some early season form with a sixth-place finish in Sunday's Boulevard Road Race in San Diego. The race marked the return to the pro ranks for Floyd Landis, back from a two-year suspension for a doping case that cost him his 2006 Tour de France title, and featured a driving snow storm as the riders started a course that took them into the mountains outside of the city.
Miller joined an early break group but was dropped during ensuing attacks, according to a race report at VeloNews.com.
"Two laps into the four-lap race, a group including Day, Evans, Kemp, two-time San Francisco Grand Prix winner Dionne, Sheldon Day (Bissell), and Carson Miller (Land Rover-ORBEA) bridged up to Fly V Australia rider Sulzberger, who had attacked on the first lap. When the break caught Sulzberger, he countered and only Day, Evans and Kemp were able to respond."
Despite being dropped from the lead group, Miller, who finished 3rd in OBRA's 2008 Road BAR points competition and 10th in Overall points, hung on Sunday for a sixth-place finish in a field packed with pros readying for the upcoming Tour of California.
KONA Factory Team Packs Usual Oregon Punch
The Kona Factory Racing Team will feature familiar Oregon faces on its 2009 MTB cross country line up. Bend's Ryan Trebon (pictured here at the USGP Portland Cup in December) will return, along with fellow Oregon "Twin Tower" Barry Wicks and Portland homeboy Erik Tonkin, who will ride his ninth season with the team. Filling out the roster are Canadian Wendy Simms, who is also returning from 2008's team. Downhiller Joe Smith has been added for this season.
Trebon, nicknamed "Tree Farm" because of his 6'5" length, rode away from the nation's top 'crossers at the last race of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, which finished on a slippery, rain-slogged PIR course. He also won the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championship in Kansas City and the overall North American Cyclocross Trophy series. Trebon is schedule to compete at several stops on the Kenda U.S. Cup MTB Series, as well as starting the Downieville Classic, Kona's 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo and a several World Cup mountain bike events.
Wicks will focus on World Cup cross country races. He also plans to return to the BC Bike Race to defend his title along with teammate Kris Sneddon. He'll race at the Old Pueblo as well. Tonkin will complete in several Kenda U.S. Cup Series races and will attempt his first solo 24-hour race at Old Pueblo. Wendy Simms (pictured at the USGP Portland Cup in December), has won four Canadian national cyclocross titles. She plans to focus on multi-stage events and will look to defend her BC Bike Race title with husband Norman Thibault.