News

Final Day at Walla Walla: Romer 12th in Crit
4.20.2008
Eli Romer successfully defended his 7th place overall result (Category 3) in Sunday's final-day criterium of the Tour of Walla Walla. He finished 12th in the sprint finish.  Whit Hartz finished in the pack of the Category 4 race and moved up to 12th in the General Classification.
>> see Race Website :: Results  :: 3rd Party Photos 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Hartz & Romer Climb Into High Positions on Saturday at Tour of Walla Walla 
4.19.2008
Oregon Trail Racing had 2 riders with Top 10 results in today's Tour of Walla Walla. In the morning time trial, Whit Hartz placed 10th (Category 4). Eli Romer placed 16 in the time trial and used the hilltop finish in the afternoon road race to jump into 7th place (Category 3) on the General Classification, also placing 7th on the stage. Hartz was 19th in the road race and stands in 14th on the GC.

The day was cold and windy, albeit not as ferocious as the previous day. The morning's time trial included an uphill out into a crosswind and a screaming fast downhill back to the finish, all in 7 miles. The afternoon road races included rollers and 2 sustained climbs, one before Waitsburg and one after. The final climb was a steep 3 kilometer grade up to the finish line. Groups did long and short circuits that all included the main climbs twice. The climbs were raced up 4 times by the Pro1-2 field in their 95 mile race, 3 times by  Cat. 3 in 75 miles of racing, and 3 times by Category 4 in 59 miles.

In Pro1-2, Brian Sather's time was in the top half of the field for the stage and he moved up some positions on the GC. For the road race, he survived with the main field until popping off on the penultimate attempt of the finishing climb, joining a chase group and ending up 71st on the day and moving up to 67th on the GC. Jody Prummer flatted twice in the Category 4 race and did not finish. 

Sunday concludes the Tour with a criterium in downtown Walla Walla. Sather has abandoned the race to return home.

The Tour of Walla Walla is one of the premiere stage races in the Northwest, and draws top riders from  Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Canada. 
>> see Race Website :: Results

4th Place Finish for Romer Kellog Hallow Road Race
4.18.2008
Friday's Cat 3 prequel to the Tour of Walla Walla served up high winds and a dust storm. Eli Romer rode into a lead group of 6 that stomped the field, and resulted in a 4th place finish. The course offered up no flat sections and lots of exposure to the wind that was raging ahead of an impending storm. This race did not count for the General Classification, which will be part of the Saturday and Sunday races for category 3.

Brian Sather made his debut in the Pro-1-2 race, which did count on the General Classification for the Tour of Walla Walla. He ended up back in a chase group when the race split apart on the second of two laps and lost about 10 minutes. 

Saturday includes a time trial and a road race. Category 4 racers Whit Hartz and Jody Prummer will be racing too. Sunday is a criterium.
>> see Race Website  

Larvik 8th at Rage in the Sage Duathlon
4.16.2008
Some local mountain bikers & runners competed the the Rage in the Sage off road duathlon in Tri-Cities, Washington. Cory Larvik of La Grande finished 8th overall for men. Todd Whitacre of La Grande, and Glen and Carol Scheele of Cove also participated.
>> see Results

Lauritzen Storms to 2nd Place at King Valley
4.13.2008
Zach Lauritzen (OregonTrailRacing.com) avenged his crash-filled Tour of Willamette with a 2nd place finish at the Category 4 Kings Valley Road Race this weekend. In mountain bike racing, Baker City's Eric Ziegler finished first of the 74 riders in the Sport Class of Barking Spider (Boise, ID). Many local road bike racers will be in action at next weekend's Tour of Walla Walla.
>> see Kings Valley Results :: Barking Spider Results

Rematch Set for Runners vs Cyclists in Werst Race 2008
4.12.2008
May 31 will mark the date when runners and cyclists race up the steep incline of Morgan Lake Road south of La Grande. This second edition of the race will be slightly modified from the inaugural version. Racers will start on B Ave. at the 2nd Street intersection and finish where the climb tops out (the "2" mile marker). After the start line, there are only a few hundred feet of flat pavement before the road turns up for 1,395 feet of climbing with no reprieve and gradients as high as 28 percent. The total length of the race is 2.35 miles of mostly gravel climbing. This is a mass start event where cyclists should ride into a short lead before the steepness of the climb negates the advantage of riding a bicycle.

In the 2007 edition, only 3 cyclists held off fast charging runners. Defending champion David Monnig is scheduled to return to La Grande for the race. Jason Werst himself (see event name) will race his bike this year to celebrate his recovery from leukemia, a condition that prompted this unique charity event one year ago.
>> see race website :: race map :: registration form :: staging at Birney Park

Day 3 Road Race: Romer Moves Up To 4th on GC
4.6.2008
On a tough final stage of the Willamette Stage Race, Eli Romer (Category 3) finished in a select group of riders and moved into 4th on the General Classification (GC). For the stage, Romer finished 6th on the 1 kilometer climb to the finish at the scenic King's Estate winery south of Eugene. The 84 mile stage included two ascents up the challenging Wolf Creek climb, which diminished the lead group significantly each time.

Zach Lauritzen (Cat. 4) crashed for his second straight day, but recovered to maintain a good position on the GC. The Category 3 race also included a number of crashes on the wet, gravel strewn descents off the climbs. Matt Allen (Masters) suffered a flat on the descent the climb and was left by the lead group of riders.

Brian Sather's (Cat. 3) solo breakaway attempt in the last 20 kilometers of the race ended up failing and he finished at the tail of the lead group in 17th place, also earning a 17th place on the GC.
>> see results later at Race Website :: OBRA Results :: Photos

2008 News Archive :: Site updated April 20, 2008 05:17:37 PM 

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