Seattle, WA – April 4th, 2011 – The Audi Cycling team have just finished a hard weekend of stage racing in The Dalles, OR. The 3 day, 4 stages race was held under great conditions. Blue sky (not seen in the Seattle area for some time) and gusty winds were constant the whole weekend.
The first stage was a 25 mile loop on a rolling flat course. Audi's Shawn Ongers attacked early in the race with a group of 6 riders. Their lead was up over 2 minutes and was reduced to just over a minute when they eventually crossed the finish line. Shawn Ongers took 2nd place. This was a great result considering two years ago, Shawn lay in hospital with a broken back. So it was great to see Shawn finally back on top of his game.
In Stage 2, Ian McKissick in typical fashion took the win and also managed to take the overall lead in the 11 mile time trial. Huge winds were gusting over the course. It was very hard to even stay upright with the 40-60mph winds. Patrick Stanko placed 7th and Mike Hone took 10th. Following the time trial, the criterium took place at 9pm. All the Audi riders were active and managed to stay in the main group to prepare themselves for the final stage on Sunday.
Sunday's stage was a brute of a stage. Over 10,000 feet of climbing and a jersey to defend. A small group of riders took off from the gun. Audi controlled the front of the entire race. Patrick Stanko was the true hero of the day spending most of the time on the front in support of his leader Ian McKissick. A short dirt section which had to be ridden 4 times was also part of the days adventure. On the final lap of 6 laps, McKissick made his move. He was surrounded by only a few select riders at this stage. Pro rider Morgan Schmitt from United Health Care attacked McKissick on the final climbs. McKissick could not go with the attacks and had to claw his way back to the front on each climb. In the final 5km, the attacks became too much and Eric Riggs from the Yahoo racing squad took the stage win, though McKissick fought hard to keep the attackers within reach. He was able to hold off and win the overall GC by just under a minute to Morgan Schmitt.
Not only did the Cat 1/2 squad win the overall, also the Cat 3 squad rider Max Coleman took the overall title as well. So it capped off a great weekend of racing with the Audi Cycling Team on top.
