Bulletin E-Edition:
Armstrong notches a women’s win; Team Lipton on top overall
By By Heather Clark / The Bulletin
Published: July 15. 2006 4:00AM PST| order photo
Stage winner Kristin
Armstrong crosses the CCC finish line Friday at Mt. Bachelor’s Sunrise Village. Last year’s CCC women’s winner won the Cascade Lakes Road Race stage in 3 hours,
37 minutes, 14 seconds.
Photos by Melissa Jansson / The Bulletin
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Kristin Armstrong proved on Friday why she’s one of the best all-around riders in the country, and Team Lipton stamped its mark as the team to beat in the women’s elite division of the Cascade Cycling Classic.
The Boise, Idaho, rider and current national road-race champion powered up the final climb — three kilometers from Todd Lake to Mount Bachelor — leaving all but two riders behind in the 60-woman field, and out-dashed Dotsie Bausch and Mara Abbott to the line for the win at Sunrise Lodge.
Armstrong clocked in at 3 hours, 37 minutes, 14 seconds in the 75-mile Cascade Lakes Road Race, followed by Colavita’s Bausch and Abbott, the 2006 under-23 national champion, who were credited with the same time.
Lipton’s Kristen LaSasso of Belvedere, Calif., maintained her hold on the yellow leader’s jersey with a 1:39-minute advantage over Armstrong, who improved to second overall. Bausch, of Orange County, Calif., and Abbott are close behind at 1:39 back.
“It’s a great position for us,” said LaSasso of Lipton’s 1-2 grip on the race’s overall standings.
The elite women take on a seven-mile individual time trial in southeast Bend this morning, and will be back on their bikes at 5:15 p.m. for the Twilight Criterium in downtown Bend.
Victory Brewing set the pace early on Friday with Chrissy Ruiter’s hard-charging effort up the first climb past Swampy Lakes Sno-park on Century Drive. The Bend resident managed to shell more than a dozen riders off the back of the pack within the first two miles of racing.
The women’s elite field was then content to meander down the eastside of Mount Bachelor past Sparks and Devils Lake before Webcor-Platinum and Victory Brewing cranked up the intensity.
The two teams exchanged a flurry of attacks and counterattacks, all of which were chased down by the main pack.
But it was Velo Bella’s Kele Murdin of Kenmore, Wash., and Webcor’s Amber Rais of Palo Alto, Calif., who for the second consecutive day were able to sprint away from the field, establishing a two-minute gap on the peloton as they rounded Crane Prairie Reservoir.
“We (Webcor) wanted to make Lipton work,” said Rais. “We’re still gunning for good (general classification) positions. (As a team) we have an all-or-nothing philosophy. We put it all on the line.”
And work Lipton did.
Once the gap was at two minutes, Armstrong and her teammates single-handedly pulled the field back within striking distance, enveloping the two breakaway riders with just under 10-kilometers to finish.
“We’re protecting Kristen (LaSasso), and we didn’t want that gap to grow,” said Armstrong. “We know who the climbing threats are in the peloton.”
Armstrong, the reigning national time-trial champion, said she is content to ride in support of LaSasso.
“She’s given to me all year, and now it’s her turn,” said Armstrong. “It’s fun for me because I get to race my bike instead of conserve.”
And LaSasso said she was still feeling out her new role as team leader for Lipton at the Cascade.
“It’s pressure, because when your teammates are working for you, you don’t want to disappoint them,” said LaSasso, whose 2:12-minute lead going into Friday’s race was shaved by 44 seconds at stage’s end. “My team did awesome. They were so strong. I got to sit in and save my energy. I just tried to hang on because I put in a big effort yesterday.”
Suz Weldon of Seattle held on to the Lead Oregon Rider jersey — awarded to the top-placed CCC rider who in 2005 participated in at least 10 Oregon Bicycle Racing Association events.
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