Longtime Champion Steve Tilford Pads Palmares in 50-54 Race – Updated: Brief Photo Gallery

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

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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.

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