Airgas-Safeway / Submitted photoBend residents and Team Airgas-Safeway riders Chris Horner, left, and Connor McCutcheon raced in the U.S. professional road race championship Monday in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Horner finished fifth and McCutcheon was 15th.

Central Oregon’s reputation as a hotbed for cycling was on full display Monday, when three cyclists from Bend finished in the top 15 of the U.S. professional road race championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bend’s Chris Horner, who rides for Airgas-Safeway, placed fifth, 21 seconds behind winner Matthew Busche of Trek Factory Racing. Carson Miller, of Bend and team Jamis-Hagens Berman, finished 10th, 1:08 back.

Horner’s teammate Connor McCutcheon, also of Bend, placed 15th, 8:45 behind Busche.

Warm and humid conditions gave way to heavy rain during the 108-mile race on the streets of Chattanooga, according to cyclingnews.com. Horner attacked with about two laps remaining to end up in fifth place.

Horner, the 2013 Vuelta a Espana champion, signed with Airgas-Safeway, a second-year UCI Continental team, in December. At the time, the 43-year-old told velonews.com that he was hoping to be a mentor to younger riders like the 24-year-old McCutcheon.

“I have achieved a huge amount of success in my career and I’m incredibly proud of that,” Horner said. “For me, the next chapter isn’t just about what I can do as an individual, but what I can give back to cycling as a sport. I had a number of options for this year, and what really struck me about Airgas-Safeway was their utter commitment to giving the next generation of young riders the opportunity for success.”

Horner has raced in the Tour de France six times, placing as high as ninth overall in 2010. Before racing for years in Europe, he enjoyed considerable success on the U.S. domestic circuit. Now he is back in his old stomping grounds.

Airgas-Safeway — whose team director is Bart Bowen, also of Bend and a former Tour de France rider — was not invited to the Tour of California, the biggest race in the U.S. staged earlier this month.

Horner, who has been battling chronic bronchitis since last season, hopes his team will be invited to other prestigious U.S. stage races such as the Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado, both in August. He placed seventh overall at the Redlands Bicycle Classic in California in April and ninth overall at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico earlier this month. Last season, he was second overall at the Tour of Utah.

“I put on a show at all the races I’ve gone to,” Horner told cyclingnews.com recently. “Even this year being sick, I’m still in the front group making the races exciting and stuff like that. Last year at Utah I was more sick than I have been all year, and I still put on a show there. Those races are perfect for me, Utah especially with the percentage of the climbs, how steep they are. It’s fantastic for my style of riding, and the length of the courses is good for me too.”

Often considered a tuneup for the Tour of Utah, Central Oregon’s Cascade Cycling Classic, this year set for July 22-26, is on the schedule for Airgas-Safeway, giving Horner and McCutcheon a chance to race in their hometown. The CCC is also on the schedule for the 26-year-old Miller’s team, Jamis-Hagens Berman.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com