The Bulletin, Bend / Central Oregon News
NOVEMBER 22, 2009 02:49 AM
bendbulletin.com/Cascade Cycling Classic
Evelyn Stevens of New York City claimed victory Tuesday in the Smith Rock Road Race.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
Relative newcomer steals spotlight from the sprinters
By Heather Clark / For The Bulletin
Published: July 22. 2009 4:00AM PSTIt was a textbook setup Tuesday for the lightning-fast sprinters in the pro women’s field to shine.
Only it wasn’t a sprinter who won.
As the women’s peloton approached the final kilometer of Stage 1 of the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic, Webcor’s Evelyn Stevens put distance between herself and the bunch and managed to hold off a hard-charging Tina Pic to take the win in the Smith Rock Road Race. Stevens’ time was 3 hours, 9 minutes, 25 seconds.
Stevens, a relative newcomer to bike racing, intended to provide a sprint leadout for teammate Gina Grain as the largely intact women’s field closed in on the finish line near Big Sky Park and Sports Complex in east Bend. Only ValueAct’s Chrissy Ruiter — a Bend resident — was able to follow Stevens’ surprise move off the front, which created separation between the two riders and the peloton.
Pic accelerated out of the peloton at 200 meters to narrowly nip Ruiter for the second-place finish.
Pic and Ruiter were credited with the same time as Stevens.
“I kicked it more than I expected,” said Stevens, 26, who began bike racing only 13 months ago. “I think it was just pure luck.”
When asked about what she considers her strength as a cyclist, Stevens replied: “Climbing.”
The rider from New York City, who is coming off a major National Racing Calendar victory earlier this month at the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in Massachusetts, left her job and her apartment in the Big Apple just three weeks ago to race bikes professionally. Stevens was asked to join the Webcor Builders team this week for the Cascade Cycling Classic as a guest — or fill-in — rider.
Pic, a five-time national criterium champion and the most decorated U.S. sprinter in Tuesday’s race, began her sprint too late to overcome Stevens’ early move.
“(The finish line) came up really fast,” said Pic, a Colavita rider from Buford, Ga. “I went at 200 meters, but there was no way. I needed more space.”
Ruiter, a hometown favorite, jumped on Stevens’ rear wheel when she broke from the field at 1K to go. Like Stevens, Ruiter — who was the designated leadout rider for ValueAct’s sprinter, Martina Patella — also did not plan to contend for a podium spot.
“It was awesome,” beamed Ruiter, on finishing third on her home turf and in front of her friends and family. “I definitely didn’t expect it, especially today.”
The women’s peloton began Tuesday’s 71-mile Smith Rock Road Race in Redmond, then cruised into Prineville via the O’Neil Highway, the site of the first sprint points of the day. The field began to thin as riders sprinted for the Queen of the Mountain points at the top of the ascent out of Prineville on state Highway 126. But the field came back together as the riders made their way past another intermediate sprint in Powell Butte and then to Alfalfa before the final push to Bend.
In the Best Young Rider competition, the white jersey, awarded to the highest-placing rider in the general classification who is 23 or younger, went to Team Tibco’s Julie Beveridge of Canada.
The red-and-white polka-dot jersey awarded to the top point-getter in the Queen of the Mountains competition was claimed by Webcor’s Amy Dombrowski, of Boulder, Colo., while Australia’s Kirsty Broun, racing for Team Lip Smacker, secured the green sprinter’s jerseys.
The climbers take center stage today as the CCC hits the mountains with the Three Creeks Road Race, which features a decisive hilltop finish near Three Creek Lake in Sisters.
Heather Clark can be reached at bulletinheather@gmail.com.
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