Brandt Lands on the Podium in Mountain Bike Season Opener, Echo Red 2 Red

Photo: Oregon Velo

The day dawned warm and sunny but fierce winds forced the racers to ride tactically, particularly so on the course’s opening gravel road sections. Brandt latched onto the leaders in the early miles of the race and as the course turned onto the singletrack, Brandt, Barry Wicks (Kona), the eventual winner, and a handful of others had built a sizable lead on the chasing pack. Brandt’s Silverado/Sunnyside Sports teammate James Williams was one of those riders in the first chase group who was fighting the wind and the early blistering pace.

Wicks rolled off the front and left Brandt and two others chasing alone, each rider separated from the other by two minutes or less. Meanwhile, Williams began to sneak past riders on the singletrack in an effort to reconnect with the front of the race. An hour and twenty minutes into the race, Williams had worked his way into fifth place and had a visual on his high-flying teammate. He would later pay for the early-season effort.

Photo: Oregon Velo

Brandt held his position and finished strong in 2 hours, 17 minutes. His efforts were rewarded with prize money and valuable series points. Williams faded in the last 30 minutes of the race and finished 10^th, four minutes back from Brandt.

The rolling 28-mile Eastern Oregon race was the first of the Oregon XC Series.

2011wrap up, new beginnings

2011 rolled right into 2012 as cyclocross nationals were moved to January this year. The unseasonably warm weather kept the training through Dec and January better than average and as Matt, D, and Serena took off for Madison, WI.

The long weekend in Wisconsin was an amazing way to cap off the season. It was a roller coaster (as Serena reported) to be sure, but it was a stellar weekend with friends, teammates, and the cyclocross community from around the country. We had some strong races and some heart breaks, but we know that overall it was an amazingly successful weekend. Successful because with the support of friends, teammates, sponsors, loved ones, and fans we were able to be there and be part of it…and race our asses off! Read Matt’s report of the weekend for some perspective. If you want to read full race recaps there’s some great reports up on CX magazine:

-30-34 masters women’s race     – 30-34 masters men’s race  – Elite Men    -Elite Women

The team celebrated an amazing season, friendship, and the start of little rest, well into the night and it was back on the plane the next morning and back to Bend.

Some images from 541images.com

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We are psyched to be heading into 2012. 2011 was only possible becuase of some amazing sponsors, supports, friends, and families. Please thank these sponsors for their support of the cycling community and our team.

As the year gets underway we are making big plans. It was a stellar 2011 with wins in multiple series and solid finishes locally, state wide, and nationally. Sending riders to Mountain Bike Nationals, in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Cyclocross Nationals, in Madison, Wisconsin are two of the leading goals for the 2012 season. Plus we are super excited to add a new rider to the roster: James Williams will be joining us. We are excited as we all consider James not only a good friend, but a super fast guy on the dirt! 2012 is going to be another amazing year, we hope you are part of it too!

A nice write up…

…by Lucas Freeman of the Bike Around Bend blog on the impact of social media on the business of bike racing. It was great to chat with Lucas over some beer. Lucas is doing great work with this blog and is passionate about what he is doing. His site is a great resource for Bend and he is helping make Bend a better bike community. Thanks Lucas (for the photo too).

Madison, Here we come!

The team is fired and ready for a little trip to Madison, WI in a week or so.  Matt, Damian, Serena and Super-Star Sponsor and Racer, Don will be making the trip along with a number of kick-ass juniors from the Bend Endurance Academy.

We will try to keep y’all posted as we get closer, but for now, we’ll leave you with this:

On a Mission

Serena Bishop-Gordon - Team Silverado Gallery / Sunnyside Sports Bend, OR

A great write up from the Bend Bulletin appeared in this past weeks paper on the cover of the sports section about our very own Serena.

You can read the whole article from Laura Winberry over at Serena’s Blog

USGP of Cyclocross this weekend right here in Bend. We hope to see you out there. We’ll be taking names!

 

Photography Event Kicks Off USGP Action in Bend – Benefit for Junior Cyclocross Racers

Former professional cyclist and elite cycling coach Bart Bowen is hosting a “CXmas
Party” at Powered by Bowen in conjunction with the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross on
Thursday, December 8, at 6:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit talented local junior racers
who want to compete at the US Cyclocross National Championships in Madison, Wis.,
this coming January.

“Junior cycling is alive and growing in Bend,” Bowen said. “But these future champions
need our support to continue to develop as cyclists and great individuals. It takes a
community effort to keep junior cycling thriving, and we hope youʼll join us at Powered
by Bowen for the CXmas Party to help make this happen.”

Local cyclocross pro Ryan Trebon (LTS/Felt), who began racing as a junior, and heads
into the final two USGP races in Bend only six points out of the lead, will be honored at
the event with a multi-media presentation by Whit Bazemore, a former professional
racecar driver and sports photographer. The CXmas Party will also feature the work of
nationally known cycling photographers, including Daniel Sharp (ROAD Magazine,
Bicycling, Nike) and Wil Matthews (VeloNews, ROAD, Zipp), who capture amazing
images of cyclocross stars in action.

CXmas gifts for cyclists, courtesy of local retailers and cycling teams, will be on display
and given away during the event, with all proceeds going to the CX Junior Fund.

Suggested minimum donation is $5 per person at the door, and includes refreshments.
Special thanks to Sunnyside Sports for sponsoring the event!

Click here for more information on CXmas Party on Facebook.

We’ve been busy…

It’s been the thick of the season and we’re psyched there’s still a ways to go.

The Cross Crusade series wrapped up and the team had a real strong showing. Damian finished in the top ten for the series, Matt had some of his best results as an A, and Serena had an amazing crusade season taking first place for the overall elite women. It was a great series.

As Serena prepared to make her way to Iowa for jingle cross and 3 big UCI races, Matt and Damian made their way over to Eugene for the state CX championship race at Camp Harlow. Damian had a good battle for 5th and a strong race, Matt raced to a strong 9th in a stacked field. It was a great day with some Mud and a bit of sunshine.

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The Thanksgiving holiday found some of the team traveling. Serena was in Iowa where she ended up having a great three days, coming home with some much deserved UCI points from some tough racing. Matt was on the east coast and found time to jump in the Baystate Cyclocross race, a regional UCI race, and mix it up.

There’s still a lot of racing on the horizon for the team. The USGP of Cyclocross is coming to Bend next weekend for the Deschutes Brewery Cup and we will be out racing, we hope you can make it out to cheer, it should be a good show with some of the fastest racers in the country mixing it up here in Bend. Matt, Damian, and Serena will all continue their training and racing through December in preparation for Cyclocross Nationals in Madison, WI in January. Stay tuned here and read more about it on the blogs, our facebook page, and twitter.

Halloween weekend

Straight from the source…

Matt and Serena have some posts up, see how it went down and check out the slideshow below. Thanks for being out there cheering.

Matt’s Recap

Serena’s Report

Some Photos-

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We’re off to see the wizard

You won’t want to miss the festivities this weekend. There is a ton going on.  Check it all out here. >>Printable Schedule.

The team will be out racing Saturday and Sunday, but on Sunday you might have to look a little closer to find us.

We’re psyched that the crusades are coming to Bend for the weekend and we are thrilled for one of the more ridiculous weekends of the year. Get ready Bend.

Winning Races, Taking Names

Serena Bishop Gordon on her way to winning Cross Crusade #2 Rainer, WA Photo:Shiftofocus

The team had another great weekend of racing – Cross Cruasade #2, in Rainier.

Serena took the win, her first ever Cross Crusade “W”.  Check out CX Magazine’s coverage here and Serena’s recap here.

Matt and Damian both had great races, but both got cheated out of one final lap and didn’t

Damain making his way through the Rainer course. Photo DMRoth

sprint for the line, as they thought there was one lap to go….. bummer.

Also this week, Serena was featured on the Ibex Blog: Q&A with Ibex-sponsored Cyclist Serena Bishop Gordon, Part One.  Check it out!  Part Two coming soon.

Matt on the start line Photo: Shifttofocus