UnitedHealthcare dominate with De Maar stage win, Sutherland overall leader

Wearing his Dutch Antilles national champion jersey Marc de Maar won a tactical battle to the top of Three Creeks’ Snow Park, a 16-kilometre ascent that ended the first stage of the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic. De Maar’s UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis team leader Rory Sutherland moved into the race’s overall lead with his second place finish while Fly V Australia’s Darren Lill finished third.

The trio caught early breakaway rider David Tanner (Fly V Australia) with 300 metres to go and he hung on for fourth place.

“It was perfect because Rory attacked and I covered the wheel,“ said De Maar, wearing the blue and red kit for the first time. “It was perfect team work today. It was awesome and really nice day. It is my first race with my new jersey and it is an honour to wear it. A lot of people are making fun of me in this jersey, they say I look like the champion of Texas, but most of the reactions are good.”

Sutherland assumed the overall race lead having placed third in the previous day’s opening prologue. He will lead the race into the stage two Skyliner Rd Time Trial.

“We were thinking about today and picking up bonuses and time gaps,” Sutherland said. “Tomorrow will be a good time trial. Especially on this course today the idea was to drop as many of the real time triallists as we could to get a real buffer over the next few days.

“Today was one of the hardest races in the US, I think,” he added. “Everyone said McKenzie Pass would be fine and on good roads but guys started getting dropped pretty early. Having that before the finishing climb really changed it, instead of having a flat stage and then a finish climb. Having guys tired before the last climb, the more we do that the better for Marc and myself.”

More mountains, pain and tactics on revamped stage

After a fairly mellow start to the first stage’s 116 km road race, the peloton reacted to the onset of the highly anticipated mid-race climb, a newly paved 30-kilometre ascent over Mckenzie Pass. A breakaway of six riders approached the base of the climb that included David Tanner (Fly V Australia), Brad White (UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis), Frank Pipp (Bissell), Walker Savidge (Holowesko Partners) and Mike Northey (Rubicon-Orbea). They gained a maximum of 20 seconds before being reabsorbed into the field.

“The climb was hard and there were a lot of attacks,” De Maar said. “The Livestrong guys didn’t look like they were in control so guys went up the road.”

Bend native Ryan Trebon (Kona), a late-race entrant, stretched his legs mid-way up the ascent. The cyclo-cross specialist carried his 6’5” frame through the tight switchbacks and gained a one minute lead. Ten kilometres later a group of the usual climbing suspects joined Trebon to form a lead group of five riders.

The newcomers included Lill, de Maar, Chris Jones (Team Type 1) and Pat McCarty (Richardson-Matrix). Lill took the mountains competition lead after leading the five riders over the first King of the Mountain (KOM) at the crest of McKenzie Pass.

A high-speed descent combined with a chase, led predominantly by teams Bissell and Kelly Benefit Strategies, caused a group of roughly 35 riders to split off the front and join the five riders at the front of the bike race.

A new group of seven riders managed to sneak off the front at the base of the descent heading into the town Sisters. Pipp proved to be the fastest sprinter of the breakaway having easily won the first intermediate sprint and claimed the sprint leader’s jersey. His break companions included Tanner, Fabio Calabria (Team Type 1), Matt Crane (UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis), Cory Collier (Rio Grand), Ben King (Trek-Livestrong) and Marsh Cooper (Kelly Benefit Strategies).

The final ascent to Three Creeks Snow Park started as the breakaway exited Sisters. Tanner attacked his companions at the bottom of the climb and soloed his way toward the finish line with directeur sportif Henk Vogels bellowing words of encouragement out the driver’s side window of the team follow-car.

“I was in the early breakaway at the start but it came back at the top of the climb,” Tanner said. “Our team tactic was to be aggressive so after the main descent I attacked again and got away with the six others. I went for it with 15 kilometres to go because my legs felt good but just came short, they caught me with 300 metres to go. It’s a bit disappointing but I gave it a try.”

Tanner’s efforts nearly earned him a stage win, however he was caught by Lill along with de Maar and Sutherland, who were racing to the top of the climb in a tactical battle over the general classification.

“The Garmin guys were chasing Tanner down and before we got him Fly V attacked and Rory followed but it was apparent that we were the strongest guys of the field,” De Maar said. “I waited a little to let the others suffer to close the gap and I got them with a kilometre to go. Rory was pulling all the time and Lill was staying on his wheel.”

Cheatley takes mountaintop stage win and overall lead

Cath Cheatley (Colavita-Baci) won the mountaintop at Three Creeks Snow Park after outpacing her breakaway companion US Road Champion Mara Abbott (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12). Abbott claimed second ahead of Cheatley’s teammate Rushlee Buchanan.

“I was out front longer than I was hoping,” Cheatley said. “We caught Abbott at the base of the climb. Mara sat on me the whole way up the last climb but I wanted to gain as much time as possible going into tomorrow. I was waiting for her to attack me in the last couple of kilometres but she didn’t.”

Cheatley moved into the overall race lead heading into the stage two Skyliner Rd Time Trial, a 25-kilometre route that is slightly varied from last month’s US Elite National Time Trial Championships won by Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Columbia).

“It’s a tough time trial, not one of my strengths, but you have to go out there and give it everything you got,” Cheatley said.

The women completed a grueling 116-kilometre road race that forced them to contest a lengthy mid-race ascent over McKenzie Pass before wrestling the final climb to the top of Three Creeks Snow Park.

An early breakaway set sail that included Amanda Miller and Emma Mackie (Tibco-To the Top), Toni Bradshaw and Lauren Hall (Vera Bradley Foundation), Katheryn Mattis (Webcor Builders), Andrea Dvorak and Kristin Sanders (Colavita-Baci), Jazzy Hurikino (3Pilr), Nicole Evans (Peanut Butter 7 Co TWENTY12), Megan Hottman (Treads.com), Jessica Hannah, Leah Kirchmann and Amy Dearden (Keller Rorhback).

The large group worked well together and remained off the front for roughly 50 kilometres before being pulled back in by a group of strong climbers mid-way up the McKenzie Pass, a 30-kilometre climb. A new front group formed that included remnants of the original breakaway with Miller, Mattis, Dvorak and Hannah along with new comers Cheatley and Abbott.

Abbott, who recently won the prestigious Giro Donne, displayed her climbing pedigree when she stormed away from the newly formed mid-race breakaway five kilometres before cresting McKenzie Pass. She held her lead down the technical descent and into the town of Sisters. Along the way she picked up full points toward the Queen of the Mountain and Sprint competitions.

“If you looked at the profile, as a climber I had to maximize my strength,” Abbott said. “Making it hard on the climb, these climbs aren’t that steep so if you want them to count you have to be the instigator to make these climbs hard.”

She was caught by chasers Cheatley and Mattis at the base of the final climb to Three Creeks Snow Park. Cheatley put forth one long effort that succeeded in shedding Mattis, however Abbott remained glued to her wheel. As the pair approached the finish line Cheatley launched her sprint and won the stage.

“The three of us sort of rotated through until we got to the first steep pitch of the last climb,” Abbott said. “Katheryn dropped back and it was just Cath and myself and she was able to take the win. We were both out on our own for a really long time today. The last climb was just about attrition.”

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