Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Men's Title and Half of the Women's Top Ten Finishers Clinch Victories on Ritchey Product

With the ubiquity of Tom Ritchey's products on winning riders throughtout the professional peloton, both in the United States and abroad, the ongoing debate over the proverbial question of what begat what may just have tilted to one side.

On the International level, Ritchey partners with teams Saunier Duval, Lampre and Symmetrics. In the US Professional circuit, Ritchey partners with Health Net Presented by Maxxis and Jelly Belly. In the women's professional field, Ritchey partners with teams TIBCO, ValueAct Capital, PROMAN Paradigm (inset; with a sweet looking white stem that the team will be riding with later this year) Advil-ChapStick and Cheerwine. On the Grassroots level, Ritchey supports over 160 teams across the United States and Canada.

San Carlos, Calif. - During the recent Mt. Hood Cycling Classic (May 13-18), Ritchey WCS handlebars, WCS 4-Axis stems, WCS carbon 1 bolt and alloy 2 bolt seat posts, could be seen on all the top contender's bikes. Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis rider Rory Sutherland clinched the men's title, while in the women's race, Team ValueAct Capital's Leah Goldstein took 3rd overall, and both Team TIBCO and Team Cheerwine each came away with two top ten finishes.

The lightweight and durability of Ritchey's WCS level components as well as the broad spectrum of cockpit fitting options have been fundamental in serving Health Net Presented by Maxxis with countless titles and podium wins. Health Net Presented by Maxxis has now earned three consecutive Mt. Hood titles - all decked out with Ritchey components.

During a route that required more than 35,000 feet of climbing, ValueAct Capital, Team TIBCO and Cheerwine used WCS Logic II handlebars for the custom reach and drop proportional to bar width. The Logic II bar allows for the optimal rider position on the bike with the greatest ergonomic comfort. Female riders with smaller hands have increased handling capabilities and performance with Logic II, as the bar provides solid power in the drops and ideal accessibility to brakes and shifters.

Health Net Presented by Maxxis will race next at the June 1st CSC Invitation in Arlington, Va., and the next major race on the women's circuit is the Kelly Cup, May 24th in Baltimore, Md.

To see complete team schedules please visit Health Net Presented by Maxxis (www.teamhealthnet.com), Team Value Act Capital (www.teamvalueactcapital.com), Team TIBCO (www.teamtibco.com) and Team Cheerwine
(www.cheerwinecycling.com).

On the International level, Ritchey partners with teams Saunier Duval, Lampre and Symmetrics. In the US Professional circuit, Ritchey partners with Health Net Presented by Maxxis and Jelly Belly. In the women's professional field, Ritchey partners with teams TIBCO, ValueAct Capital, PROMAN Paradigm, Advil-ChapStick and Cheerwine. On the Grassroots level, Ritchey supports over 160 teams across the United States and Canada.

Photo: Courtesy PROMAN Racing newsletter