July 25, 2011
BISSELL #1 Team at Cascade Classic
The six days of racing at the Cascade Cycling Classic wrapped up with the tough Awbrey Butte Circuit Race. The 5 laps of a 33k circuit totaled 120k and included two tough climbs each time around. The first ascent was OB Riley followed by a second, more decisive climb up Archie Briggs. The race opened with continuous attacking over the first two circuits with great pressure from BISSELL; however, nothing stuck. On the 3rd time over OB Riley, the field shattered and a lead group of roughly 20 riders formed. Then over Archie Briggs, a break of 7 got away. BISSELL tried to bridge across but was in a difficult position of trying to make a move without dragging race leader, Francisco Mancebo (RealCyclist), to the finish. With 3k to go, eventual stage winner, Bobby Sweeting (Kenda), attacked out of the lead group and gained enough time to carry him to the finish. Frank Pipp led the chase group across for a 7th place finish. Jeremy Vennell was also in this group to finish 11th and secured his 3rd place overall.
BISSELL continues to show its great strength as a team and won the overall team classification. Jeremy stood 3rd on the final podium. Chris Baldwin had a tremendous race with 2nd place on the queen’s stage to finish 6th overall. Chase Pinkham continues his quick rise to the top and raced consistently each day to finish 13th overall. Unfailing leader, Frank Pipp, consistently delivered power and guidance to his team and finished 16th overall.
July 24, 2011
Cascade Classic: Downtown Bend Crit
As expected Saturday’s Criterium in downtown Bend was a stage for the sprinters and BISSELL’s Andy Jacques-Maynes was in the action. The 75 minute crit was on a flat 4-corner course with a massive cheering crowd looking on. A three man break got off early in the race, and AJM joined three others who bridged across. The group of 6 set a hard pace and eventually lapped the field. The BISSELL train was ready to go when Andy and the group came around. In a chaotic field sprint, Andy came through for fifth.
Vennell continues to sit in 3rd place overall and Baldwin is in 7th as they face a tough circuit on Sunday.
July 23, 2011
Cascade Classic: Baldwin 2nd Atop Mt. Bachelor
BISSELL was a force to be reckoned with on Friday’s Queen Stage. The unrelenting 135k race opened with a 25k climb and finished with the 30k climb to the top of Mt. Bachelor. According to plan, BISSELL lit things up from the start as Ben Jacques-Maynes joined a 7 rider break at the base of the day’s first climb. In an effort to get BISSELL riders up the road and put pressure on the race leader’s team, BISSELL also had Rob Britton in a chase group. Attacks and counterattacks continued throughout the day but the top teams kept things in check. Going into the final climb, the pressure split the field and a lead group of 7 went clear. BISSELL’s Jeremy Vennell and Chris Baldwin were perfectly placed among the leaders. With the severe grades in play, Vennell was the first to launch an attack and he was followed by Baldwin. The BISSELL climbing duo established a gap and remained focused on the finish. With just 200m to go, a chasing Cesar Grajales (RealCyclist) caught and passed Chris for the win. Baldwin finished just a second behind for 2nd and Jeremy finished with the remaining five chasers for 4th. Chase Pinkham brought the next group across twenty seconds back, and finished in 8th place.
BISSELL had a tremendous race and put everything on the course. Confirming its standing as the best team, BISSELL had three riders in the top 10 for the stage. In the general classification, Jeremy sits in 3rd place and Chris is in 6th place.
July 22, 2011
Cascade Classic: Skyliners Time Trial
BISSELL’s time trialist, Jeremy Vennell, had an outstanding race against the clock on Thursday with the third fastest time of the day. The Skyliners Time Trial was on a 14 mile course with an uphill-out and a downhill-back. Jeremy put in a great effort placing him on the podium with stage winner and overall leader, Francisco Mancebo (RealCyclist), and second place finisher, Tom Zirbel (Jamis Sutter Home).
BISSELL had four riders in the top 20 with Frank Pipp in 12th, Chris Baldwin in 13th, and Chase Pinkham in 18th. The team leads the team GC standings by over a minute. Jeremy sits in 3rd place overall and Chris Baldwin is in 8th place overall. Chase Pinkham and Frank Pipp round out the top fifteen and sit in 12th place and 15th place in the overall, respectively.
Friday’s Queen stage is the 134 mile beast that finishes atop Mt. Bachelor. BISSELL will be aggressive throughout the stage.
July 21, 2011
Cascade Classic: McKenzie Pass
The first climbing stage of the Cascade Classic took the riders 118k over McKenzie Pass and finished at the top of Three Creeks Snow Park. The race had a tough start as nearly 40 riders went down in a high-speed crash on the day’s opening descent. However, this didn’t slow down the attacks which kept coming. Ben Jacques-Maynes was part of an early move of 6 riders. The group worked together through the base of McKenzie Pass, but the pressure of the climb and the chasing peloton doomed the group. The peloton was all back together on the descent and the barrage of attacks continued. The selectivity of the final climb resulted in the top GC contenders battling among the newly formed lead group. BISSELL had great representation in the group and began knocking off attacks; as soon as one move was brought back, another would launch. Stage Winner, Cesar Grajales (RealCyclist), timed the final attack perfectly. He was able to get twenty seconds on the group and hold it to the line. BISSELL’s Chris Baldwin and Jeremy Vennell crossed in the lead group for 7th and 10th place finishes, respectively. Chase Pinkham closely followed for 13th place on the day.
BISSELL sits in good position in the general classification with 4 riders in the top twenty. Vennell is BISSELL’s highest placed rider and sits in 5th place overall. Baldwin holds 6th place overall, followed by Pinkham in 13th and Pipp in 18th.
July 20, 2011
Cascade Classic: Old Mill District Individual Time Trial
The opening prologue of this year’s Cascade Classic was the Old Mill District Individual Time Trial. It was a brief 2 mile course which saw the riders suffer through neighborhood roads, up a small ascent, and back down to the start-finish. The winning time was 3:35 and BISSELL’s top rider was Frank Pipp who held the fastest time for most of the day before dropping to 4th place, only three seconds back. The other seven BISSELL riders had solid results and are all within fifteen seconds of the top rider.
Wednesday takes the riders to the mountains. The tough 118k road race finishes on top of the grueling McKenzie Pass climb on Three Creeks. BISSELL will ride conservatively and scout out the form of the competition.
July 18, 2011
BISSELL to Cascade Classic
The BISSELL Team sets its sights on Bend OR this week and the tough six days of racing at the Cascade Classic. BISSELL’s eight man roster includes Ben Jacques-Maynes, Andy Jacques-Maynes, Jay Thomson, Frank Pipp, Rob Britton, Chris Baldwin, Jeremy Vennell, and Chase Pinkham. The team has a dual plan of attack with GC hopes for Chris Baldwin and Chase Pinkham, in addition to, individual stage wins. This year offers a solid field with top continental teams including RealCyclist, Pure Black, Fly V, Kelly Benefits, and top development teams, Chipotle and Trek-Livestrong.
The racing begins with an opening prologue on Tuesday. This short 2 mile course is well suited for BISSELL and will allow the team to open things up on a good note. Wednesday’s tough stage is 74 miles with a ten mile climb to the finish. With the strong caliber of climbers at this year’s race, BISSELL will race conservatively and use it as an opportunity to assess the field. The team will also be watching out for the finishing time bonuses available for the first three riders to cross. Thursday’s 14 mile time trial is a focus for BISSELL specialist, Jeremy Vennell. Friday takes the race back to the mountains with the 84 mile race to Mt. Bachelor. Historically this stage has resulted in a small group contesting the finish. Frank Pipp will be closely monitoring any prospective powerful breakaways and is confident in his chances if he can take a small group to the finish. The team will be there in full support of Frank. With the team’s climber-heavy roster, BISSELL will let the sprinter’s teams contest Saturday’s twilight crit. Unless the team is in a position to defend the lead, BISSELL will race conservatively. The final stage is a five lap circuit race totaling 83 miles. BISSELL will look to be active in attacks and have riders in any early breaks.
BISSELL looks to build on its great history of results at Cascade.
July 11, 2011
Young Gets Win at Altoona Crit
Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de Toona was a tough technical 30-lap criterium in downtown Altoona. Making the race even more aggressive were 5 intermediate sprints with time bonuses available. BISSELL diligently pursued the opportunity to take time bonuses and earned top points in three of the five sprints stifling all efforts for a breakaway to form. With two laps to go, the perfect BISSELL lead out train took shape. Frank Pipp led Eric Young through the final corner and delivered Young to the finishing straightaway. Eric blasted out a phenomenal sprint to take the win which is his second NRC victory.
BISSELL wrapped up a good race weekend placing 4 riders in the top 10. Chris Baldwin finished 2nd overall and Chase Pinkham took 4th and earned the best U23 rider competition. After his great lead out, Frank Pipp crossed for 4th on the day and took 6th overall. BISSELL cleanly took the win for the team overall competition confirming its ranking as the best domestic team.
July 9, 2011
Altoona Road Race Report
Saturday’s 90 mile road stage at Tour de Toona was aggressive from the start which regrettably took BISSELL rider, Kyle Wamsley, out of the race. Wamsley went down hard in an early crash and was taken by ambulance. Reports indicate that Kyle is banged up but nothing is broken. The action continued on course and with 24 miles into the race Ben Jacques-Maynes cleanly put himself into a break of 8. As the break approached the first KOM, the gap grew to 3:10. Because of his climbing prowess, Baldwin saw this is a perfect opportunity to move across and he bridged solo to the lead group. The gap hovered around 1:30 but then began to drop. Not satisfied with this, Baldwin attacked out of the break and 3 riders followed. The four new leaders increased the gap back up to :55 with 3 miles to go. The group battled across the remaining miles and Chris came in for 4th on the day. Baldwin shaved some seconds to the lead and continues to sit in 2nd place overall only :27 seconds back. Frank Pipp, Chase Pinkham, and Ben Jacques-Maynes finished 7th, 8th, and 13th to secure their places in the overall. With BISSELL’s strong crit squad on hand, the team will definitely bring the heat to tomorrow’s crit.
July 8, 2011
BISSELL Action in Altoona
Stage 1 of Tour de Toona was a 73 mile course including a tough finishing climb over 4.5 miles long with grades reaching 9%. Early in the stage, BISSELL’s Chase Pinkham covered a move by Pure Black’s Scott Lyttle. A breakaway group of 6 formed out of the move, and they gradually built up a maximum time gap of 4:30. This eventually instigated action from the peloton and teams mounted a chase. The gap began to come down and with 1k into the finishing climb the gap was down to three minutes. At this point, BISSELL put its plan into action with a full team attack shooting Chris Baldwin out like a slingshot. Meanwhile in the front group, Lyttle attacked and dropped his break mates. The new race on the road was now between Lyttle and BISSELL’s Baldwin who rocketed up the climb passing all of the dropped riders from the original break. Chris closed the gap to 20 seconds by the finishing line to take second on the day.
With an amazing team effort, BISSELL now holds 2nd, 3rd, and 8th places in the GC with Baldwin, Pinkham, and Pipp, respectively. Chase also leads in sprint points and BISSELL holds the team classification. BISSELL is very confident in its overall strength and ability to dominate on Saturday’s very long and difficult stage.
July 6, 2011
BISSELL in Altoona
The BISSELL Pro Cycling Team is back racing after a brief recovery week and they are coming on strong at the Tour de Toona. BISSELL’s eight man roster include Frank Pipp, Kyle Wamsley, Chris Baldwin, Chase Pinkham, Eric Young, Paddy Bevin, Shane Kline, and Ben Jacques-Maynes who makes his return after a broken collarbone. Today’s opening stage was a short but technical 3 mile prologue time trial which threw in 18 corners. BISSELL had a solid start with two riders on the podium and 6 in the top fifteen. Frank Pipp held the lead for most of the day before falling to 2nd place with a time of 5:07 and is only two seconds out of the lead. Chase Pinkham took the third podium step with a time of 5:12.BISSELL looks forward to tomorrow’s 73 mile stage from Richland to Blue Knob.
