Kluck, Espeseth hold slim leads at Tour of Willamette

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• Results

By VeloNews Interactive

Going in to Friday’s third stage of the Tour of Willamette, Jelly Belly’s Damon Kluck wears the men’s leaders jersey, while Intersports Sandy Expeseth holds the same distinction in the women’s field. Both hold only slim leads (4 and 2 seconds respectively) with another tough climbing day slated for both fields on April 13. The men face 5000 vertical feet in its 109-mile route, with the women getting 3200 vertical in 88 miles.

Kluck earned the men’s lead with two second-place finishes in Tuesday’s Skinner’s Butte prologue (finishing 2 seconds behind Saturn’s Eric Wohlberg), and Wednesday’s Mid Valley Glass Greenhill Road Race (3 seconds back from Mercury/ Viatel’s Scott Moninger).

The 1km prologue was a sprint to the top of Skinner’s Butte, held in Eugene. Wohlberg blasted up the butte in 2:08 — two seconds out in front of Kluck, who tied with Matt DeCanio, Kenny Williams and Doug Ziewacz. GT’s Allison Dunlap shot up the hill five seconds ahead of Tina Mayolo (AutoTrader.com) while Katrina Berger (800.com) rounded out the top-three, just 1 second back.

Wednesday’s Stage 1 consisted of 82 miles and 2200 feed of climbing for the men, while the women contended with 68 miles and 200 feet less climbing on the rolling terrain of west-central Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Moninger nabbed the top spot with Kluck in second and Saturn’s Mark McCormack flying in just 6 seconds later.

In the women’s race, Julie Young crossed the finish line alone, with Lysle Wilhelmi (800.com) following 9 seconds back. Jessica Phillips (Intersports) earned the third spot, 22 seconds back, and the pack began to trickle in more than a minute after she finished. And that was the order for the women’s GC as well.

With Thursday’s Wheel Works Smith River-Vincent Creek RR, Saturn’s Mark McCormack stepped up the pace and took the top spot in a grueling 94-mile stage filled with some 8000 feet of climbing. Kluck crossed the finish just 7 seconds later, with Russell Stevenson (Broadmark Capital) riding in for the final podium spot. Wednesday’s win put McCormack four seconds off the overall lead with his teammates Matt DeCanio, Søren Peterson and Eric Wohlberg in third, fourth and fifth on the overall standings.

In the women’s category, Espeseth secured the top spot in the 74-mile race which consisted of 5500ft. of climbing and rugged gravel strewn roads on a course noted for giving mechanics more than a few headaches. Katrina Berger (800.com) rolled in just two seconds behind Espeseth, while Kim Smith (Autotrader.com) rounded out the top three. Espeseth’s win was enough to slingshot her past the previous day’s leader, Julie Young of Autotrader.com, while Berger and Dunlap moved into the second and third overall spots, respectively.

The remaining stages include:Friday, April 13: Cottage Grove-Lorane TT.Saturday, April 14: Wood Products Credit Union Dorena Lake TT.Saturday, April 14: Weyerhaeuser Cottage Grove Downtown CriteriumSunday, April 15-Globalstar Sharps Creek-Rock Creek RR

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Results

2001 TOUR OF WILLAMETTE, Oregon. April 10-15.

Prologue: Skinners Butte, April 10.

Men: 1. Eric Wohlberg 1km in 02:08; 2. Damon Kluck; 3. Kenny Williams; 4. Matt DeCanio; 5. Doug Ziewacz, at 0:02, all s.t.; 6. John Leonard at 0:03; 7. Brad Buccambuso at 0:03; 8. Ryan Allison at 0:03; 9. Mark McCormack 0:03; 10. Chris Pic at 0:03;

Women: 1. Alison Dunlap, GT, 1km in 02:28; 2. Tina Mayolo at 0:05; 3. Katrina Berger at 0:06; 4. Kim Smith at 0:06; 5. Stacey Peters at 0:07; 6. Sandy Espeseth at 0:07; 7. Andrea Hannos at 0:07; 8. Lysle Wilhelmi at 0:09; 9. Nicole DeMars at 0:10; 10. Clare Hall-Patch at 0:10;

Stage 1: Mid-Valley Glass Greenhill Road Race, April 11.

Men: 1. Scott Moninger, Mercury-Viatel, 82 miles in 3:54:49; 2. Damon Kluck, Jelly Belly at 0:03; 3. Mark McCormack, Saturn, at 0:09; 4. Danny Patte , Prime Alliance at 0:16; 5. Matt DeCanio at 0:16; 6. Søren Petersen, Saturn at 0:16; 7. Phil Zajicek at 0:21; 8. Andrew Bajadali at 0:21; 9. Brad Buccambuso at 0:21; 10. Tim Johnson, Saturn, at 0:24;

Women: 1. Julie Young 68 miles in 2:54:18; 2. Lysle Wilhelmi, 800.com, at 0:03; 3. Jessica Phillips at 0:10; 4. Alison Dunlap at 0:13; 5. Katrina Berger at 0:15; 6. Caroline Alexander at 0:15; 7. Kim Smith at 0:19; 8. Sandy Espeseth at 0:19; 9. Tina Mayolo at 0:40; 10. Petra Ford at 1:03;

Stage 2, Wheelworks Smith River–Vincent Creek Road Race, April 12.

Men: 1. Mark McCormack, 94 miles in 4:44:54; 2. Kluck, at 0:03; 3. Russell Stevenson, Broadmark Capital; 4. Aaron Olson, Prime Alliance; 5. Barrie Clarke, Great Britain-Spokes; 6. Matt DeCanio, Saturn; 7. Pate; 8. Petersen; 9. Eric Wohlberg, Saturn; 10. Svein Tuft, Broadmark Capital, all s.t.

Women; 1. Espeseth, Intersports, 74 miles in 3:36:40; 2. Katrina Berger, 800.com; 3. Kim Smith, Autotrader.com; 4. Dunlap, Team Gt, all s.t.; 5. Young, Autotrader.com; 6. Caroline Alexander, Intersports; 7. Pam Schuster, Autotrader.com, at 2:07, all s.t. 8. Nicole DeMars; 9. Stacey Peters, 800.com; 10. Andrea Hannos, at 4:46, all s.t.;

Overall (with 4 stages remaining)
Men: 1. Kluck, in 8:41:43; 2. Mark McCormack, at 0:04; 3. Matt DeCanio, Saturn, at 0:26; 4. Petersen, at 0:33; 5. Eric Wohlberg, at 0:35; 6. Pate, at 0:39; 7. Svein Tuft, Broadmark Capital, at 1:01; 8. Russell Stevenson, Broadmark Capital, at 1:02; 9. Aaron Olson, Prime Alliance, at 1:20; 10. Barrie Clarke, Great Britain-Spokes, at 1:23.

Women: 1. Espeseth, in 6:34:32; 2. Berger, at 0:02; 3. Dunlap, at 0:07; 4. Smith, at 0:15; 5. Young, at 0:56; 6. Alexander, at 2:30; 7. Schuster, at 3:27; 8. Wilhelmi, at 3:39; 9. Peters, at 5:37; 10. Petra Ford, veriZon, at 5:44