Riding downtown
Published: July 26. 2009 4:00AM PST
Ivan Dominguez loves the Downtown Criter- ium, and he loved the 2009 edition best of all.
Dominguez, of Rock Racing, won the lightning-fast sprint to the finish Saturday night to claim Stage 5 of the pro men’s Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic, the fan-favorite Downtown Criterium in Bend. Dominguez and other riders came around the final corner at about 44 mph, according to the race announcer, in front of thousands of screaming fans on Wall Street.
The Cuban cyclist, who won the criterium in 2007, edged out second-place Alejandro Borrajo of Colavita Sutter Home and third-place Andrew Pinfold of OUCH.
“I said to the guys (his teammates), ‘I like the sprint here and I know if I went with 100 meters to go, nobody would catch me,’ ” Dominguez said. “They kept the pace very high on the last lap, which was good.”
This year’s criterium featured longer straightaways on Wall Street and Bond Street, for faster speeds, and also to make the racing safer. The four-corner race also included stretches on Idaho Avenue and Oregon Avenue.
“I think this one’s better; the other one was a little bit unsafe,” Dominguez said, comparing the new Downtown Criterium course with the former course. “The old one, you have to fly off the wheel. This one is perfect. You can be fifth, sixth, or seventh (coming around the last turn) and still win.”
The pro men raced for 90 minutes, finishing the chaotic last lap as the sun set on the streets of downtown.
“The sprint was a little bit hectic, but I found my way up there,” Pinfold said. “I was probably eighth or ninth coming into the straightaway. We’ve got a good enough team that if I’m riding well, I can deliver.”
About 20 minutes into the race, Jackson Stewart of BMC and Mike Creed of Team Type 1 broke away from the peloton. Kirk Carlsen of Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin and Russ Langley of Battley Harley-Davidson joined them soon after. The four riders built their lead to nearly one minute on the peloton by about an hour into the race. They even lapped about 10 other cyclists.
But Rock Racing and OUCH set a rapid tempo at the front of the pack, and with two laps to go the four lead riders were caught. Rock Racing and OUCH then set up their lead-outs for Dominguez and Pinfold on the final lap.
The criterium did not change the overall standings. Oscar Sevilla of Rock Racing remains the overall leader heading into today’s final stage, the Awbrey Butte Circuit Race. Sevilla has a 40-second lead on Jeff Louder of BMC and a one-minute lead on Francisco Mancebo, also of Rock Racing.
Mark Morical can be reached at 541-383-0318 or at mmorical@bendbulletin.com.
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