USA Cycling officials disqualified 2019 Redlands Bicycle Classic winner Cory Lockwood from the Cascade Cycling Classic in Oregon last week after the Semper Porro rider was accused of intentionally causing a crash near the end of stage 3 that took down Serghei Tvetcov (Floyd`s Pro Cycling) and Luis Villalobos (Aevolo). The incident occurred on the final climb of stage 3, which ended with a long, grinding ascent to the Kapka Butte Sno Park outside of host city Bend. Eventual overall winner Travis McCabe (Floyd`s Pro Cycling) won the stage from a group of seven riders that finished nearly six minutes ahead of the nearest chase group. Most of the biggest teams in the race were represented in the move, including Floyd`s, Aevolo, 303 Project, Team California and Hangar 15, but noticeably absent was anyone from Semper Porro. That`s where the trouble began. With other teams unmotivated to chase their riders well up the road, and the general classification all but over except for the seven riders about to book a huge advantage, Lockwood and his teammates found little if any help on the pull to the finish. Aevolo director Mike Creed told Cyclingnews his rider claimed Lockwood twice locked up his brakes in front of other riders during the stage, angry that no one would help him work.ADVERTISEMENT Lockwood`s final rapid deceleration on the climb caused a pile-up, taking out Villalobos, who was the first rider on his wheel, a rider from Hangar 15 and Tvetcov, who told Cyclingnews he did not see what caused the crash. `I was far back, so I didn`t really see it,` Tvetcov, a two-time winner at Cascade, said in an exchange of messages with Cyclingnews. `I think the Aevolo guy [Villalobos] was on his wheel, so I am crashed because all three guys were on the ground. `The race was gone; the breakaway was five-plus minutes up the road, so who was interested in working? Just Semper Porro, but it was too late,` Tvetcov said. Cascade is bac ...
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