March 21/98 21:36 pm - Hughes and Sydor Win at Sea Otter, Fraser Second

Posted by Editor on 03/21/98
 

Hughes Wins Sea Otter (courtesy USA Cycling)

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Trent Klasna (Navigators) and Clara Hughes (Saturn) came from behind to capture the overall titles in the Mavic Elite Road Stage Race at the SRAM Sea Otter Classic Saturday.

Klasna, Pine Valley, Calif., made up a 13-second gap over Gord Fraser (Mercury), Ottawa, Ont., Canada, by driving a four-rider break to the finish line at the end of 90-mile Vredestein Road Race. Klasna led a group which included Danish mountain biker Jorgen Petersen (Corrateca), Chann McRae (Saturn), Austin, Texas; and Thurlow Rogers (Mercury), Van Nuys, Calif.

"I just pulled the last lap of the circuit trying to get some time," Klasna said.

Peterson won the final sprint, edging ahead in the final 30 meters, while Klasna crossed in fourth place and stopped to check his watch. He got just enough time, beating Fraser -- who finished with the next group -- by 13 seconds to finish in an overall tie. Klasna won the tiebreaker, based on cumulative overall placings.

"We haven‚t defended a lead yet this season," Fraser said. "We made some mistakes today."

Hughes took advantage of some good timing and a mixture of race fields to vanish from the women‚s field en route to a two minute, 50-second victory. On the last of three laps through the course on Ft. Ord, Hughes attacked through the feed zone right as the women‚s field mixed in with another men‚s category and the men‚s professional category.

"I feel I raced it fairly," Hughes said. "I just tried to keep my line, cut the corners and look ahead."

While Hughes was out in front, her teammate Karen Kurreck, Cupertino, Calif., effectively hampered the efforts of the other five chasers -- Emily Robbins (Celestial Seasonings), Wauwatosa, Wis.; Ralph‚s-Klein teammates Cheryl Binney, Los Angeles, Calif.; and Joan Wilson, Palo Alto, Calif.; Swede Marie Holjer (Jane‚s Cosmetics) and Linda Jackson (Saeco-Timex), Nepean, Ont., Canada -- to bring Hughes back.

"We were chasing, but Karen did a great job of blocking," Binney said.

Kurreck edged Robbins in the final sprint and finished second overall in the stage race, giving the two-rider Saturn team the top two spots. A number of top North American riders were absent due to upcoming action in New Zealand and Australia.

"These races are so tough without the numbers," Hughes said. "There‚s a lot of girls riding really well right now."

We received the following information from Anne Mathews:

Shaklee's Leigh Hobsen crashed on a tight, somewhat off-camber turn in the Prologue. Hobsen, though bloodied, was able to finish and said she expected to race in the afternoon's 31.5-mile circuit race, which covered the same course.

Hobson was not able to race in the later race, nor was she racing today in the road race. She required 10 stitches to her face. Her teammate Nicole was also involved in the crash but was not seriously injured. Both the Shaklee women, Linda Jackson and Clara Hughes still intend to ride in next week‚s Wine Country race in Monteray.

Vredestein Road Race, March 21

Men, U.S. 2.6, 90 miles

1. JORGEN PETERSON (CORRATECCA), Denmark, 3:27:26
2. Chann McRae (Saturn), Austin, Texas
3. Thurlow Rogers (Mercury), Van Nuys, Calif.
4. Trent Klasna (Navigators), Pine Valley, Calif., all s.t.
5. Derek Bouchard-Hall (Shaklee), Menlo Park, Calif., at 0:13

GC

1. Klasna, 5:4:13
2. Gord Fraser (Mercury), Ottawa, Ont., Canada, s.t.
3. Rogers, at 0:12
4. Frank McCormack (Saturn), Leicester, Mass. 0:22
5. Bouchard-Hall, s.t.

Note: Klasna wins the overall due to lower cumulative placings.

Women, U.S. 2.5, 54 miles

1. CLARA HUGHES (SATURN), Hamilton, Ont., Canada, 2:31:27
2. Karen Kurreck (Saturn), Cupertino, Calif., at 2:50
3. Emily Robbins (Celestial Seasonings), Wauwatosa, Wis.
4. Marie Holjer (Jane‚s Cosmetics), Sweden
5. Linda Jackson (Saeco-Timex), Nepean, Ont., Canada, al s.t.

GC

1. Hughes, 4:5:33
2. Kurreck, at 2:41
3. Holjer, 2:43
4. Joan Wilson (Ralph‚s Klein), Palo Alto, Calif., 2:57
5. Robbins, 3:00Sydor Wins Second Sea Otter Stage

Women's Dirt Crit