Serghei Tvetcov, in the yellow jersey, and a pack of riders make a turn on the course during the Cascade Cycling Classic in 2014. Tvetcov won the overall title at the CCC in 2013 and 2014 and is back to race in the event this week.(Bulletin file photo)

MOUNT BACHELOR — Travis McCabe stayed in the breakaway nearly the entire day, and he still had enough energy for the sprint to the finish line.

McCabe, of team SmartStop, outsprinted seven other riders to win Friday’s 111-mile Cascade Lakes Road Race, the pro men’s third stage of the 2014 Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

His winning time was 4 hours, 21 minutes, 7 seconds. Toms Skujins of Hincapie finished second with the same time, and Ruben Zepuntke of Bissell claimed third, also with the same time.

McCabe, the National Racing Calendar leader, was in a lead group of 11 riders that dwindled to eight during the 10-mile climb to the finish at Mt. Bachelor ski area’s Sunrise Lodge. McCabe shot around Skujins about 100 meters from the finish in the Sunrise parking lot.

A 25-year-old from Prescott, Arizona, McCabe said he made sure to not work too hard while in the breakaway for much of the race, taking it relatively easy to maintain his position for the final charge.

“Once the gap dropped down to two minutes, it was on,” McCabe said. “Everyone really picked it up.”

On another hot day under skies still smoky from numerous wildfires in the region, Friday’s stage started at Bend’s Summit High School and took riders west on Century Drive to Mount Bachelor, then south on the Cascades Lakes Highway. The men circled Crane Prairie Reservoir twice before heading back on Forest Service roads 40 and 45 toward Sunrise Lodge. The counterclockwise direction of the race was a reverse of the clockwise route used in previous years for the Cascade Lakes Road Race.

McCabe said his legs felt “really good” on the final climb along Road 45 and Cascade Lakes Highway, which included a 2,000-foot elevation gain over about 10 miles.

“These highway-grade climbs are really … it’s hard … but you can stay on top of the gear,” McCabe explained. “It’s good for me. I struggle with real steep stuff.”

Serghei Tvetcov of Jelly Belly maintained the yellow leader’s jersey, but not by much. Zepuntke is now just 11 seconds behind Tvetcov, who came into Friday’s race with a 34-second lead.

Tvetcov said the breakaway was fairly easy to control, as he worked in the front of the main pack with his team.

“We just tried to keep the gap small, because it was a pretty big group (in the breakaway),” Tvetcov said. “They (the Jelly Belly team) kept me safe and saved my legs.”

Zepuntke, a 21-year-old German, said his Bissell team attacked relentlessly to make the stage extremely hard for Tvetcov and his teammates.

“We felt very good in this stage,” said Zepuntke, who reached the breakaway near the finish. “It was a hard stage and it went very well for us. We have a good team and we will try everything. We have good opportunities.”

Today’s Stage 4 is the Downtown Twilight Criterium in Bend. The pro men start at 7 p.m. and race for 75 minutes.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318, mmorical@bendbulletin.com.