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Hood River
Criterium races begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday
By Ben McCarty
News staff writer
May 16, 2008
It
didn’t take very long for the Mount Hood Cycling Classic to feel
back at home in the Gorge.
Racing in warm weather and under clear blue skies, the men’s’
and women’s pro fields put on a show for the spectators who
stopped alongside the Stage 2 route to watch.
In the men’s field, a lead pack stayed out in front for almost
the entire race with several riders briefly trying to take
command. None of them could do it.
As the gap between the pack and the rest of the field slowly
narrowed, and eventually disappeared altogether, Darren Lill
stormed to the front and narrowly beat the rest of the main pack
to the finish line with a time of 3 minutes, 48.06 seconds.
That allowed Lill to take away the leader’s jersey from Hilton
Clarke heading into Friday’s Gorge time trial.
In the women’s field Joanne Kiesanowski jumped over Tina Pic to
take the overall lead with a first place finish and a time of
3:30.28.
Lill hung back with the main field for most of the men’s race,
making his move only when the front pack began to tire heading
into the final ascent to Cooper Spur resort.
In the overall team standings after the first two stages,
Cheerwince Cycling leads Aaron’s Pro Cycling in the women’s
field by 9 seconds, while Toyota-United, Rock Racing, and Health
Net/Maxis are all tied for first in the men’s field.
Andrew Bajadali won the King of the Mountain with 18 climb
points in Stage Two, while Leigh Hobson took the Queen of the
Mountain title with 11 points.
In the Stage Two sprint competition, Doug Ollerenshaw won 10 and
Lill tied with 10 sprint points, while Kristin McGrath won on
the women’s side with 13 points.
Today the riders will be competing in the brutal Wy’East Road
Race, which runs from The Dalles and Dufur to Mt. Hood Meadows,
and wrap up the competition with the Hood River Criterium on
Sunday.
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