Portland USPG Finals Race Report by Todd Wells

Portland USPG Finals Race Report by Todd Wells
12/3/2007
Portland, Oregon
reposted from www.gtbicycles.com

This weekend was the final round of the USGP Cyclocross Series in Portland, Oregon. I have never been to Portland when it isn’t raining and this weekend was no exception. The rain fell hard all weekend long. Temperatures were in the upper 30s to low 40s, there were 50 mph wind gusts, and a tree blew over on the course yesterday...big tree.

The rain wasn’t too bad on Saturday. The rain even stopped for a few hours before our race so the course turned to peanut butter. We were doing bike changes quite a bit in the beginning of the race, but then the sky opened up with rain and hail. The mud got lighter and bike changes weren’t as necessary. I rode in third for most of the race chasing Ryan Trebron with Tim Johnson about forty seconds in front of him. I caught Trebron in the closing three hundred meters of the race, but he got the better of me in the sprint for second.

Sunday the temperature was about four degrees warmer but it was pouring all day. The only time I have raced in worse conditions was at the Mountain Bike World Cup in Calgary when we raced through the middle of a lightning/hail storm that dropped inches of rain in forty minutes.

Trebron took the lead from the start with me, Johnson, and Barry Wicks in the chase group. I attacked and got clear of Wicks and Johnson on the third lap, but two laps later I snapped off my rear derailleur and had to run to the pits. They both passed me while I was running, and I dropped to forth place by the time I got to the pits and got a new bike. I was able to catch and pass Wicks, but could never regain contact with Johnson. I had to settle for third again. Hatrick, coupled with the SRAM guys, got my broken bike up and running again within a lap. I couldn’t believe it since I thought I had also broken my hanger but they did an amazing job.

Portland had the best spectators so far this year, and the weather was atrocious so I can’t imagine how many people would have came out if it wasn’t raining in biblical proportions. Next weekend I’m off to Rhode Island for two more UCI races before my final race of the year, Nationals in Kansas the following week. Stay tuned.

Thanks for your support, Todd Wells