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Steve Tilford on the run-up for the last time. © Cyclocross Magazine

Steve Tilford on the run-up for the last time. © Cyclocross Magazine

For full Cyclocross National Championships coverage and information, visit our 2010 USA Cycling National Championships Page.

BEND, ORE. – A nasty wintry mix awaited the Masters men’s races that started off today’s race action. The temperatures hovered around freezing and a cold rain coated racers and the course as the 50-54 year-old men took the course. Cycling legend and multi-time national champion Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy-Trek) would slowly carve out a lead in the early goings, but by then end Tilford was in cruise control and would finish with 1:30 gap. Kevin Hines (Corner Cycle) looked to repeat his stars ‘n stripes-winning performance of last year, but an early crash would make for an all-but-insurmountable setback.

“A rider T-ed right into me when we first came onto the dirt,” said Hines. He would careen through the tape as the peloton continued to storm by, and went from his first-row start all the way back to 55th. Once Hines got up and going again, he had a ton of traffic to work back through, and another tangle as he attempted to pass riders resulted in more time on the ground.

At the front, Tilford was one of only a few riders in this group with the technical skills and formidable power to ride the run-up, and he led Bobby Langin (Platinum Performance), Karl Kiester (Cody Racing), Rich Cramer (Bicycle Attorney.com), Randy Iddings, Brett Lambert, Alan Blanchard (Westwood Velo) and Randy Shields (Carolina Masters).

Tilford continued to pour coals on the fire for the first lap and into the second lap, and built a 30-second lead. From there, Tilford told Cyclocross Magazine that he went into steady-state mode, and he continued to string together consistent power and lap times en route to a dominating win.

On the second lap, Langin botched his attempt to ride the run-up and had difficulty getting up and over the top. In the process, Cramer made his catch and powered passed him in the muddy straightaway immediately following.

Further back, Hines was steadily progressing through the pack, and was already threatening the top ten. He used his history as a top off-road motorcycle competitor to find the fastest lines and rail around the course. Once Hines hit open ground without traffic crowding him, he raised the pace and looked to be step-for-step with Tilford, albeit some two minutes back.

Hines came all the way up to Cramer, catching the Oregon riders just as they hit the stairs leading into the final lap, and the two would battle for second place. The pressure caused Cramer to bobble slightly at the top of the stairs, and before long Hines came around and set off in second place.The two would stay there, with Hines and Cramer claiming second and third, respectively, and Cramer duplicating his bronze medal performance of 2009.

Tilford had more than enough time to enjoy his final go-around and post up the victory as he crossed the line. The new 50-54 age division champion will be one of the older competitors also gunning for a result in the Elite race – in fact, that’s the event Tilford told Cyclocross Magazine that he’s targeting. “This is really just a warm-up for the Elite race, that’s what I really care about,” said Tilford.

That’s not an unrealistic goal – Tilford reported that he had to go out of his way to avoid getting UCI points during the season, since doing so would have made him ineligible for the Masters event. “I had to avoid getting UCI points in the UCI races I did.” At Jingle Cross he had to finish 11th or worse for the C2 races and in 16th or worse for the C1.

Last year Tilford missed the Championship race due to an injury the day before, but made the trip and was out cheering. But he’s won National titles in three of the last four years, with the last one in the 45+ division in Kansas City, near his home town of Topeka.

Update: More photos here.

Photo Gallery:

Full Results:

Place Points Name City, State Time License Bib Team
1 150 Stephen Tilford Topeka, KS 0:43:09 35598 668 Tradewind Energy/Trek
2 135 Kevin Hines East Wareham, MA 44:31:00 16266 651 Mid State Cycling Club
3 120 Richard Cramer Beaverton, OR 45:00:00 8058 658
4 105 Bobby Langin (1 – Cat2) Thousand Oaks, CA 45:22:00 254985 700 Platinum Performance Cycling Te
5 90 Thomas Price Overland Park, KS 45:35:00 28705 713 Mercy Cycling Team/Mercy Cycli
6 85 Karl Kiester Denver, CO 46:35:00 49398 695 Cody Racing
7 80 Brett Lambert Scotts Valley, CA 46:58:00 241560 672
8 75 Ron Huebner Waterford, VA 47:03:00 145895 698 Evolution Cycling Club P/B Long
9 70 Alan Blanchard (2 – Cat2) New City, NY 47:14:00 255105 652 Westwood Velo/Westwood Cycle/Tr
10 65 Robert Meighan San Jose, CA 47:38:00 40227 731 California Giant Cycling/Califo
11 60 Edwin Rambuski San Luis Obispo, CA 47:54:00 29071 720 Team Rambuski Law
12 55 Mark Henry (3 – Cat2) Incline Village, NV 47:58:00 121396 696 Team Clover
13 50 Jim Miller (4 – Cat2) Portland, OR 48:18:00 54985 699
14 45 John Wilson Corvallis, OR 48:20:00 222495 708
15 40 Randy Iddings Enumclaw, WA 48:24:00 94612 729
16 38 Tim James (1 – Cat3) Lafayette, CO 48:50:00 271425 724 Foxtrot-Echelon Racing
17 36 Bill Reed (5 – Cat2) Eagle, ID 48:57:00 104415 655
18 34 Joseph Burtoni (6 – Cat2) Durango, CO 49:01:00 5632 686 Durango Wheel Club/Rocky Mounta
19 32 Michael Nyberg (2 – Cat3) Bend, OR 49:08:00 40773 725
20 30 Roy Colven (7 – Cat2) Seattle, WA 49:15:00 285221 687 Union Bay Cycling/Bikesale.Com
21 28 Rudy Sroka (8 – Cat2) N Royalton, OH 49:39:00 33715 703 Lake Effect Cycling Team
22 26 Brad Laesch (3 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 49:44:00 20109 707 20/20 Fuel
23 24 William Kuster (4 – Cat3) Anoka, MN 49:44:00 59499 706 Loon State Cyclists
24 22 John Weyhrich (9 – Cat2) Missoula, MT 49:49:00 37860 659 Team Stampede/Five Valley Velo
25 20 John Thompson Shoreview, MN 49:50:00 63849 723 St Paul Bicycle Racing Club
27 18 Pete Krumins (10 – Cat2) Tacoma, WA 50:02:00 207996 654 Old Town Bicycle (Otb)/Old Town
28 17 Wayne Barlow (5 – Cat3) Lyme, NH 50:37:00 2609 719 New Hampshire Cycling Club
29 16 Alan Ott (11 – Cat2) Eugene, OR 50:58:00 302636 711
30 15 Jim Gentes (12 – Cat2) Soquel, CA 51:07:00 13042 662 Team Rambuski Law
31 14 Paul (rhino) Marquart (6 – Cat3) Tacoma, WA 51:09:00 136628 704
32 13 Joe Fabris (7 – Cat3) Los Gatos, CA 51:11:00 189959 670
33 12 Doug Smith (13 – Cat2) Bend, OR 51:17:00 302682 718
34 11 Paule Bates (14 – Cat2) San Francisco, CA 51:19:00 112364 663 Team Roaring Mouse
35 10 Don Wright (8 – Cat3) Bend, OR 51:19:00 328910 721
36 9 Karl Ehlert (9 – Cat3) Redwood City, CA 51:22:00 10559 685 Alto Velo Racing Club
37 8 Joseph Hoerner (10 – Cat3) Portland, OR 51:25:00 305351 688
38 7 Shawn Downing (11 – Cat3) Baltimore, MD 51:35:00 45276 683
39 6 John Vergis Portland, OR 51:39:00 330750 701
40 5 Richard Stone (15 – Cat2) Half Moon Bay, CA 51:54:00 34282 656 Sterling Sports Group
41 4 William Stevens (16 – Cat2) Bolton, MA 51:58:00 34102 677 Mid State Cycling Club/Gear Wor
42 3 Darrell Davis Salt Lake Cty, UT 52:08:00 8770 664
43 2 John Bliss (12 – Cat3) Boulder, CO 52:18:00 83145 671 Justin’S / Titus Mountain Bike
44 0 Logan Kelsey Mill Valley, CA @1Lap 18851 730 Team Rambuski Law
45 0 Thane Jennings (17 – Cat2) Hermiston, OR @1Lap 17767 666
46 0 Thomas Prehn (18 – Cat2) Boulder, CO @1Lap 53465 674 Rockymounts~Izze Racing
47 0 Roger Joys (19 – Cat2) Portland, OR @1Lap 82969 681
48 0 Alan Overholt Rancho Cordova, CA @1Lap 329110 691 Team Revolutions
49 0 Kevin Raymond (13 – Cat3) Seattle, WA @1Lap 272601 714 Union Bay Cycling/Bikesale.Com
50 0 Brian Smith (14 – Cat3) Bend, OR @1Lap 131413 728 Webcyclery Racing/Webcyclery.Co
51 0 Daniel Davis (15 – Cat3) Bend, OR @1Lap 51610 684 Webcyclery Racing/Webcyclery.Co
52 0 Tim Ellerbruch (16 – Cat3) Lakeoswego, OR @2Lap 302573 653
53 0 Jeff Traugott (17 – Cat3) Santa Cruz, CA @2Lap 328882 732
54 0 John Seivert (18 – Cat3) Grass Valley, CA @2Lap 212792 689 Sert/Sho-Air
55 0 Ambrose Su (20 – Cat2) Bend, OR @2Lap 34532 733
56 0 William Macy (19 – Cat3) Statesville, NC @2Lap 255531 709 Carolina Masters /Carolina Mast
57 0 David Smith (20 – Cat3) Portland, OR @2Lap 302550 679
58 0 James Thiele (21 – Cat2) Hillsboro, OR @2Lap 220305 665
59 0 Mitchell Moses (21 – Cat3) Birmingham, AL @2Lap 303934 694
60 0 David Williams (22 – Cat3) Cypress, CA @2Lap 300925 678 Celo Pacific
61 0 Brian Blackwell (23 – Cat3) Jeffersonville, IN @2Lap 137673 722 Rogue Racing Project
62 0 David Queen (24 – Cat3) Shoreline, WA @2Lap 236441 697 20/20 Fuel