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Zirbel, LaSasso win McKenzie Pass Road Race
Tom Zirbel (Priority Health) won Thursday’s 81-mile McKenzie Pass Road Race in dramatic fashion. Within a mile of the mountaintop finish, Zirbel launched an attack from a group of 12 riders, narrowly holding off second- and third-place finishers Sergey Lagutin (Navigators) and Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) at the line to claim victory in Stage 2 of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon.
On the first day of competition for the women’s field, Kristen LaSasso (Lipton) rode solo across the line to take the victory by nearly two-minutes over breakaway partner Kirsten Robbins (Victory Brewing).
Men
On the rolling, downhill start, a group of nearly 20 riders escaped from the men’s field, building a maximum advantage of three minutes.
In that group were two Health Net-Maxxis riders, Gord Fraser and Doug Ollernshaw; two Toyota-United riders, Heath Blackgrove and Ivan Stevic; and only one Navigator, Bernard Van Ulden.
"We made a big mistake letting that group get that much time," said Navigotors director Ed Beamon. "We couldn’t get the number on Blackgrove, so we didn’t know he was up there at first. Once we found out, we had to chase."
With the Navigators laying down the pace to bring back Blackgrove, who was sitting in 10th place only 44 seconds back, the group was reeled in before the day’s first KOM at 54 miles.
Once the break was brought back, a large men’s field approached the day’s final climb, a meandering eight-mile drag up the slopes of McKenzie Pass.
On the climb Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) set a strong tempo for teammate and GC leader Chris Wherry, creating a small, select group of riders up front.
"There were a lot of attacks from other teams, but Toyota-United rode perfect today. Baldwin and I were isolated with about 10 kilometers to go, but Baldwin did an incredible job. He kept it together and we covered all the moves. When Tom went with about a kilometer to go, I knew he was down on the GC so it was okay to let him go."
Zirbel created his gap on the final flat section of the climb, just before it surged up, cutting through a large lava field, and finished at the top.
"I’m glad they had markers on the climb because I had no idea what it was like," said Zirbel. "After the three-kilometer-to-go sign I figured I would go about five minutes later. I knew that would be about a four minute effort and that I’d be able to hold it."
Women
In the pro women’s race a break containing a member from each of the race’s strongest teams escaped at only 10 miles in. The breakaway — Kristen LaSasso (Lipton), Kirsten Robbins (Victory Brewing), Amber Rais (Webcor), and Hiroko Shimada (Velo Bella) — still held nearly five minutes coming into the climb up McKenzie Pass.
As the break began ascending into the Cascade Mountains, Shimada and Rais fell off the pace, leaving Robbins and LaSasso working together at the front.
"Kristen started setting her own tempo, which I was able to hang on to until about two and half miles to go, and then as we got closer to the top she just rode away. It was really windy at that section," said Robbins, who held off a chasing group of about 12 riders to take second.
For LaSasso, who rode steadily to the top, crossing the line alone, the win was her first NRC victory.
"This is the kind of climb I like, long and really gradual. I knew that I was the best climber in the group and that if I kept going steady and hard they would drop off my wheel," LaSasso said.
Well after LaSasso finished, her teammate, newly crowned national champion Kristen Armstrong sprinted across the line for third.
On Friday the Cascade Cycling Classic competitors will take on their third consecutive summit finish with an 87-mile road race finishing at Mount Bachelor.
Cascade Cycling Classic
Men
1. Tom Zirbel (Priority Health), 2:38:392. Sergey Lagutin (Navigators), same time
3. Chris Wherry (Toyota-United), s.t.
4. Cesar Grajales (Navigators), s.t.
5. Jonathon Garcia (Einstein’s), s.t.
6. Nathan O’Neill (Health Net-Maxxis), s.t.
7. Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis), s.t.
8. David Rodriguez (BMC Racing), s.t.
9. Glen Chadwick (Navigators), s.t.
10. Trent Wilson (Jittery Joe’s), s.t.
Overall
1. Chris Wherry (Toyota-United)
2. Sergey Lagutin (Navigators), at 0:15
3. Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis), at 0:19
4. Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis), at 0:26
5. Nathan O’Neill (Health Net-Maxxis), s.t.
6. Cesar Grajales (Navigators), at 0:40
7. Trent Wilson (Jittery Joe’s), at 0:51
8. Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United), at 1:18
9. Glen Chadwick (Navigators), at 2:03
10. Heath Blackgrove (Toyota-United), at 2:04
Women
1. Kristen LaSasso (Lipton)
2. Kirsten Robbins (Victory Brewing), at 2:13
3. Kristen Armstrong (Lipton), at 2:23
4. Dotsie Bausch (Colavita-Cooking Light), same time
5. Felicia Gomez (Webcor-Platinum), s.t.
6. Rachel Heal (Victory Brewing), s.t.
7. Betina Hold (Webcor-Platinum), s.t.
8. Kate Sherwin (Victory Brewing), s.t.
9. Mara Abbot (Lipton), s.t.
10. Brook Ourada (CPT), s.t.
