Stevens Surprises Again, Ben Jacques-Maynes Solos at Cascade

During this time of year, the cycling world gets caught up in a little event called the Tour de France. And while we here at the Triple have devoted much of our coverage to the Grand Boucle, it is not the only thing going, although it may just seem that way.

The 30th Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic kicked off this past Tuesday, July 21st, with the Deschutes County road race. The first of the six stage cycling event was won by Evelyn Stevens (Webcor Builders) and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissel Pro Cycling), respectively.

NRC Darling
Stevens, the surprise victor at this year's Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic as a guest member of the Team Lipsmacker, continued to amaze, this time as a guest member for Webcor Builders as she out-kicked her team's main sprinter and the rest of the field to take the 113km road race.

She would later tell Cyclingnews, “I jumped to do a lead-out for Gina but I think I went a little too hard - no one ever taught me how to do a lead-out,” said Stevens. “I had a gap, saw 200 meters to go and I kicked it - I got it. It feels really cool to win against good sprinters. I’ve never done it before, not at this level.”

The precocious Stevens has been nothing short of phenomenal, as she has quite literally exploded on to the elite scene. Because of her unique training methods and her relative inexperience, she will be a rider to watch for years to come. It is truly a scary proposition to think about how good she could become, and not long before professional team makes her a permanent member.

Stage 1 Results - Women
1. Evelyn Stevens (USA) Webcor Builders
2. Tina Pic (USA) Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light
3. Chrissy Ruiter (USA) ValueAct Capital Cycling Team

Ben For A Friend
In the men's race, Ben Jacques-Maynes would solo to victory on a scorching Bend, Oregon day. With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees Farhenheit, Jacques-Maynes was able to get off the front of a group that numbered 21 strong with one kilometer to go. A hard charging Jeff Louder (BMC) and Paco Mancebo (Rock Racing) would round out the podium.

A jubilant but sober Jacques-Maynes would dedicate the victory to the memory of a friend after the race.

"Winning solo is the only way to do it when there are so many sprinters in the group," said Jacques-Maynes. "I want to dedicate this win to the memory of Chris Hipp. He was a close friend of mine who died of an embolism one week ago suddenly while he was out riding his bike. It is very tragic. I have been think of him a lot this week and he meant a lot to me," he would tell Cyclingnews.

Stage 1 Results - Men
1. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) BISSELL Pro Cycling Team
2. Jeff Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team
3. Francisco Mancebo Perez (USA) Rock Racing

Photo: Team Lipsmacker (Stevens in yellow at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic)