Sergent slams the prologue

Image 1 of 19

Jesse Sergent (Trek-Livestrong) stormed to victory at the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic prologue held in the Old Mill District of Bend, Oregon. The world pursuit silver medallist rode the 3.2-kilometre course in a time of 3:35 outpacing his teammate Under-23 UK and European Time Trial Champion, Alex Dowsett and Rory Sutherland(UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis).

“I’ve started to target the time trial more,” Sergent said. “I didn’t know there was a time trial prologue here until about a week ago. It was definitely something I wanted to go well in. I wanted to get another one for the team being my last year as an Under-23 rider with the team. It was important for me.”

One second is all the separates the top three prologue specialists but the event’s yellow leaders jersey belongs to Sergent to wear in the stage one McKenzie Pass Road Race p/b Robberson Ford.

“I had a mid season break and have been back on the bike for a few weeks,” Sergent said. “Today was a little unknown and I wasn’t a hundred per cent confident because I hadn’t tested my legs in so long. Tomorrow we will see how it pans out. We have a lot of strong riders including Dowsett who just came off a win at the European champs. It’s not just me.”

The prologue started in the Old Mill District and crossed over the Deschutes River to head out along the winding roads toward the turn-around held at the top of a slight incline. According to Sergent, the course suited his pursuit ability.

“It suited me coming off the track and being a pursuiter,” Sergent said. “It was short and sharp efforts that I am used to. I felt good and the bike felt good. It’s good to be back racing.”

Crowds lined the streets in the Old Mill District to catch a glimpse of Floyd Landis. Race organizers added the controversial cyclist, who is racing without a team, to the registration one day prior to the event’s start date.

He was the brunt of laughter during the short time trial for wearing a novice looking outfit. Rather than wear a blank racing skin suit, he chose to sport a grey baggy T-shirt and nondescript black cycling shorts with his numbers sloppily pinned on the back, loose enough to catch wind and create a small sail.

“The chief official said that it is a USCF rule that if you are going to wear a jersey that has the name of a business or a sponsor there has to be a licensed team,” said Executive Director Chuck Kenlan. “Essentially he had to wear something plain with no sponsor on it and he just found a grey t-shirt and that was what he wore.”

Powers opens Cascade Classic with a victory

Alison Powers (Vera Bradley Foundation) added another victory to her resume by winning the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic opener on Tuesday, July 20 in Bend, Oregon. The former national champion posted the fastest time of 3:53 besting world track champion Tara Whitten (Keller Rorhback Cycling Team) who placed second by five seconds and Alison Starnes (Tibco-To the Top) an additional one second back in third.

“As soon as I heard there was a prologue I said, “boom, that’s mine,” said Powers. “I knew this was two miles and I like the shorter and harder efforts and I trained at home with a lot of four-minute V02 training. I knew my V02 Max was really bad because I would go hard and then explode so I spent time working on that.”

Powers will start stage one’s McKenzie Pass Road Race p/b Robberson Ford sporting the yellow jersey as the overall race leader.

“There are a couple of very good climbers here and there are a couple of races that end on up hills,” Powers said. “Honestly, tomorrow the race finishes on Three Creeks Snow Park and that steepness is really hard for me. We are all sitting so close on time that any of my teammates could win the overall, not just me. I say be aggressive, why not?”

The 3.2-kilometre time trial was made for a rider like Powers who thrives off of short and fast individual efforts and a course with a degree of technicality. The racers rolled off the starting ramp in the Old Mill District and crossed the Deschutes River to head out along the winding roads toward the turn-around held in a small neighborhood. “This course was twisty and you had to know how to ride your bike through the corners,” Powers said.

The BMC Cascade Cycling Classic six-stage race is not only a member of the NRC but also a fourth and final event on the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series. Powers is currently placed a close second in both series.

“This is our last stage race of the year and to be able to kick it off with a win, I need NRC points and Prestige Series points and to be able to do it for everyone is awesome. I have to get the points here and I have the team to help get those points and keep placing for team NRC standings. It was extra motivation. I didn’t realize I cared so much about the NRC until I wasn’t winning anymore. I need to ride hard and win because I like winning that.”

Results