Hood River, OR - Thousands of people lined the 1 km course in downtown Hood River to watch the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis successfully defend the race lead of Rory Sutherland Sunday afternoon. With his teammates patrolling the front, Sutherland easily maintained his 31-second advantage to give Health Net Presented by Maxxis its third consecutive Mt Hood Cycling Classic title, and help Sutherland achieve his second stage race win in as many weeks following the Australian's victory at the Joe Martin Stage Race a week earlier.

"Today was all about protecting Rory's GC lead," said team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo. "The guys simply rode a stellar race today. A break got away that didn't have anyone who was a threat to Rory's lead, so we were content to ride tempo at the front for most of the race and keep a leash on the break."

That leash extended to no more than 30 seconds, and was half that by the time the 75-minute race ended, with Sutherland tucked safely toward the front end of the main bunch.

Time on Sutherland's side

After a solid opening prologue in front of over 20,000 people in downtown Portland left him just five seconds off the race lead, Sutherland bided his time, waiting for his opportunity to grab the yellow leader's jersey, all the while showing he was easily one of the strongest riders in the race.

The next day, in front of another large crowd lining the difficult 1.3-mile course around Mt. Tabor Park, Sutherland landed on the podium with a third place on a difficult uphill finish.

A day later, with strong help from teammate Phil Zajicek, Sutherland finished second in the Cooper Spur Circuit Race, and inched his way closer to the race lead, moving up to second overall, one thin second from the top spot.

But in the Stage 3 Scenic Gorge Time Trial, Sutherland pulled off the best ride of the day, taking the stage win and the race lead by a solid 30 seconds. That left the team with the task of defending his lead during Saturday's queen stage, a 101-mile trek that ended with a 4,500-foot climb to the Meadows Ski Resort on Mt. Hood.

"Saturday was a hard day," Sutherland said. "It was 95 degrees in the shade most of the day. The heat took its toll and it definitely made the day harder and more stressful. But there were only two riders I had to keep an eye on, and the team did a great job of keeping the race under control and bringing the break back close enough at the base of the last climb to make it possible to catch them. And I had Phil with me for the final five kilometers. He road extremely well Saturday, especially given everything he's been through this year, and him just getting back into racing form."

When Sutherland crossed the line in third place on the stage, he did so with the confidence that the team would have no trouble maintaining his lead during Sunday's criterium finale, and seal his second consecutive stage race victory in May.

"I didn't have to touch the wind at all the last two stages," Sutherland added. "The guys held it together really well and made it easy for me to finish it off Sunday. We win races as a team, and there's no better training or morale building than defending like we did last week at Joe Martin and this week here at Hood. We can go into Philly week with a good, fit team and plenty of momentum."

Notes

Between last week's win at Joe Martin and this week's at Mt. Hood, all 12 riders on the Health Net Presented by Maxxis roster contributed to at least one of the victories.

Zajicek continued his return to health and good form. He rode strong on Saturday, earning a top-10 stage finish, and ended the race in 7th place overall, despite spending much of his time the last two days defending the race lead.

Health Net Presented by Maxxis finished the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic second overall in the team competition.

With his second consecutive stage race victory, Sutherland is expected to have a commanding lead in the race for his second consecutive NRC Individual Points championship. The team will also extend its lead in the NRC team competition, in pursuit of its fifth consecutive NRC team crown.

Meanwhile, back in Arkansas

Following the successful completion of the Joe Martin Stage Race, Karl Menzies and Frank Pipp of Health Net Presented by Maxxis stayed behind to compete in the Tour of Arkansas, a four-stage race born of the Tri-Peaks Challenge.

Despite facing full squads from a number of teams, the duo still found plenty of success. Menzies finished a close second on the opening Epic Road Race, making it through over 10,000 feet of climbing to contest the finish.

Pipp showed his climbing legs the following day, finishing a strong fifth on the stage to Mt. Nebo, a notoriously hard climb with 20 switchbacks and gradients reaching 18%.

In Stage 3, Pipp proved that his finish on Mt. Nebo was no fluke. He surprised a select group of 10 climbers with a sprint win at the end of the 16 km climb to Mt. Magazine. Pipp benefited from Menzies' work in the main break of the day, which he initiated 20 km into the 160 km stage, nearly holding on until the end for the win, but happily ceding that honor to his teammate and long-time friend Pipp.

In the Stage 4 criterium, Menzies once again put himself in the main break of the day, but this time it stuck until the end. Menzies took another close second out of the break to give him his second podium appearance of the four-stage race.