March 6-7, 2010, Merced, CA – The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis put the MERCO races in Merced this weekend to good use en route to 4th and 5th places in the criterium and road race respectively.
“It was a good chance for the new guys and the veterans to start working together under race conditions,” said team Directeur Sportif Mike Tamayo. “And while we go into every race with the intention of winning, we also wanted to treat this weekend’s races as sort of like a pre-season game in football.
“We wanted to push the younger guys who are new to the program a bit.” Tamayo continued. “The races here in Merced gave them a chance to race with team leaders like Rory (Sutherland) and Tim (Johnson), and to learn our system and style of racing. And in that respect, this was a very successful weekend.”
Tamayo added that not having race radios this year will also affect the dynamic of the racing. “It’s important for the guys to really learn how to race in different situations,” he said. “They’ll need to know how to read races and react accordingly. The MERCO races had strong fields, and it gave the guys good preparation ahead of the first NRC race in Redlands at the end of this month,” Tamayo added.
UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis will continue that preparation next weekend at the three-stage Tour de Murietta, and the San Dimas Stage Race the following weekend ahead of the NRC opener in Redlands, CA, which begins March 25.
Photo: UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis
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