Myrah Crushes Masters 45-49 Championship Race UPDATE: Photos

Don Myrah never looked back. © Janet Hill

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BEND, ORE. – After a lap assessing his competitors, Don Myrah put the hurt on his 45-49 competitors en route to a dominating Nationals victory. By the time he crossed the finish line for the final time, Myrah had a gap of over two minutes on Mark Noble (Metalmtn Cycling) in second place.

Early on, the race looked to be a rematch of the 2009 45-49 match up between Jonny Bold (Corner Cycle) and Alan Coats (Cal Giant-Specialized), an epic battle that came down to the final climb and some contact that would prove controversial as Bold rode away to the title. Today, Bold stormed to the hole shot with Coats on his wheel, followed by John McCaffery (Bicycle Attorney), Don Myrah and Michael McShane.

A pile up in the first mud section, just after the riders turned onto the dirt and off of the pavement, quickly whittled the pack down and created a cushion for the early leaders. The deep peanut butter mud proved to be a popular area for crashes in the first lap of several races – it was a high speed sprint into a wheel-grabbing muck, with carnage as the recurring  result.

Bold held an early five-second gap as the front group descended into the main grass bowl section of the course for the first time, but it wouldn’t be long before Myrah uncorked an attack. By the second lap, it was Myrah on the front with a five-second margin of his own over Bold, followed by Coats, Noble, Michael Hogan (Justin’s-Titus) and Frank Gonzalez (Montana Velo).

“It was textbook,” said Myrah. “I couldn’t have asked for a better race. I felt good from start to finish, didn’t make any mistakes, no mechanicals – it was steady and great. I was hoping to get it last year but Weber had better legs. This is very cool.”

By the time Myrah hit the stairs, the complexion of the race changed dramatically – Bold was pushing to his max to close the gap and took a tumble as he rounded a corner, knocking his bars out of whack in the process. By the time he got up and running again, Myrah’s gap had stretched dramatically, and no one would see him again.

Myrah’s reputation as one of the best technical riders and an aficionado of mud was well-deserved as he was visibly faster than the rest. “I saw how fast Myrah was taking the corners, and I figured he’d have to crash. He didn’t – it was amazing how quickly he was going, there wasn’t much I could do,” said Bold.

1984 British Olympic track team member Noble would benefit from Bold’s miscue – he’d catch the New England rider and put daylight between the two to claim second place, although Bold narrowed the advantage down to within five seconds by the finish. “I lost both of my contact lenses towards the end there, and the light was fading, so I was definitely struggling late in the race,” said Noble. “And I knew that Bold was coming.”

Not far behind Bold was Coats in fourth, with Richard McClung (Hagens Berman) battling to steadily pass riders throughout the race, with Hogan his last victim as the Northwest rider snagged the final podium spot.

Myrah’s daughter raced earlier in the morning, in the 10-12 category. We asked Myrah about it. “Oh man, I got all teary eyed. It was inspiring watching her ride those technical sections.”

Photos by Janet Hill:

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