BUY

Mountain Biking La Grande, Oregon

$14.95

Available with free shipping.

News

Elkhorn Results Posted
6.23.2008
Results were posted Monday for the Elkhorn Classic. Top finishers for Oregon
Trail Racing on the Dooley Mountain final stage included Zach Heath in 13th place
(Category 4), Matt Allen in 3rd (Masters 4), and Eric Ziegler in 20th (Category
3). Heath's strong finish moved him up to 16th on the General Classification just
above teammate Whit Hartz in 17th. Elkhorn was Heath's second bicycle race.
Ziegler also moved up in the GC, to 23rd. Allen finished in 6th despite riding
most of the first day's stage solo after crashing. The following are Oregon Trail
Racing members in the results: Elijah Romer and Brian Sather (Pro1-2); Eric
Ziegler (Cat 3); Zachary Heath, Whitfield Hartz, & Brian Vegter (Cat 4-5); Matt
Allen (Masters 4/5); and Corrine Vegter (Women 4).

The racers would like to thank the following people who provided support: Jeanna
Romer, the Gersts, Shaun Cain, Tim Maguire, and other family and friends who came
to the races.  
>> see Results :: Photos

Elkhorn Stage 4: Hartz Suffers on Dooley
6.22.2008
Dooley Mountain was one pass too many for Whit Hartz in his attempt to defend the Category 4 leader's jersey of the final day at the Elkhorn Classic. Hartz rode in the main group over the first 3 passes while managing his bruises and wounds from the previous day's crash, which included a nasty hip contusion. At the base of Dooley, he could not find the energy to climb with the group and lost several minutes up the 8 mile climb to the finish. His Oregon Trail Racing teammate Zach Heath finished the climb strong with a high placing on the day that improved his position on the final general classification.

In other categories, Eric Ziegler (Category 3) and Matt Allen (Masters 4/5) put in fast climbs on Dooley to also finish high on the stage. Eli Romer and Brian Sather arrived at the base of Dooley with the Pro1-2 main group and tailed off the pace on the climb but moved up some positions on the general classification.
>> Results will be posted later

Elkhorn Stage 2 & 3: Hartz Time Trials Into 1st
6.21.2008
Whit Hartz used the 10 mile time trial of Stage 2 of the Elkhorn Classic to charge into top position on the Category 4 general classification. Holding onto first proved to be a challenge in the Stage 3 criterium later in the day. A thunderstorm poured rain on the course shortly before the race, making the streets of downtown Baker City glacial. Oregon Trail Racing teammate Brian Vegter crashed during warm-up and then others fell on the same corner, some requiring serious medical attention. The race still started as scheduled and riders continued to crash on just about every lap. OT Racing was bitten once again when Zachary Heath was taken down by riders who crashed in front of him, leaving him with an ill-fated chase for most of the remainder. Heath's crash was followed up by Hartz crashing when his back wheel slid out on the following corner. This nearly took him out of the race, but a quick visit to the mechanical support pit got him back in the race under the free lap rule. Hartz survived the rest of the race by riding conservatively at the back of the pack and benefiting from the quickly drying pavement.

The Masters race was completed with dry pavement, and Matt Allen stayed in the peleton for a same time finish while trying to overcome his soreness from the previous day's crash. The women's criterium, with Corrine Vegter of OT Racing, also started under good conditions. Later in the race a slight drizzle immediately caused a bad crash that brought out the ambulance and ended the race.  The Category 3 race was cut short due to rain and eventually the Pro1-2 race was canceled altogether. 

Hartz will seek to defend his position on Sunday's final stage, a 100 mile race over 3 summits and then a finish on top of the Dooley Mountain climb.

Elkhorn Stage 1: Hartz Gets Big Result
6.20.2008
On a very hot day of racing in Baker City, Whit Hartz sprinted to a 4th place finish for Oregon Trail Racing in the Elkhorn Classic Stage Race. His Category 4 lead group had diminished to about 15 riders from the hard climbs the preceded the finish.  Teammate Zach Heath tailed off from the lead group on the final climb, but only lost about a minute.  Official results are not provided yet. 

Matt Allen continued his streak of bad luck so far this race season by going down hard in a crash around Haines, shortly into the Masters 40+ race. He did finish the stage, but with a hurt shoulder, some scrapes, and a badly damaged helmet. Eli Romer had a solid performance in the Pro1-2 field, keeping with the peleton until the final climb of the day where he lost about 2-3 minutes from there to the finish. Teammates Brian Sather (Pro1-2) and Eric Ziegler (Category 3) fell victim to the pace up the biggest climb to Catherine Summit. Brian Vegter and Corrine Vegter also lost several minutes on the day. 

Racing continues Saturday with Stage 2 time trials in the morning and Stage 3 criteriums in the afternoon.  

2008 News Archive :: Site updated June 25, 2008 11:10:09 PM 

Weather

Hourly Forecast :: NWS Forecast :: Past 72 Hours

EOU Webcam :: Ladd I-84 Cam :: ODOT Tripcheck