May 2, 2010 - Pinos Altos, NM – Max Jenkins of the UnitedHealthcare Pro cycling Team Presented by Maxxis closed out a hard week of racing with a strong 3rd place on final stage of the SRAM Tour of the Gila, the infamous Gila Monster stage.

Jenkins and teammate Morgan Schmitt were part of a roughly 20-rider break that formed off the front after the second bonus sprint about 38 miles into the 106-mile stage.

“It took a while for the break to develop,” Jenkins said. “It wasn’t like someone attacked really hard and guys covered. It was more gradual than that. We were in the valley on a false flat, and there was a strong cross-tailwind which made it hard to get things going. We were all pretty much covering moves the first part of the race. Morgan and I just happened to be at the front when this one got going.”

Despite its large size, the riders in the break worked well enough to open a gap of five minutes by the base of the first climb at about 53 miles in. The group maintained a steady tempo over the first climb up to Anderson Vista, and remained together approaching the second and hardest obstacle of the day, the return trip up to Anderson Vista.

This time, Schmitt hit the front and upped the pace, shedding several riders from the break. The break further splintered on the downhill. When the reduced front group hit the final big climb of the day up to Meadow Creek, the attacks started.

“I attacked on the climb and when I got caught, (Darren) Lill (Fly V) countered and got a gap,” Jenkins said. “I was pretty close to on the limit at that point and couldn’t follow, and neither could Morgan.”

The two UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis riders set off in pursuit of Lill along with former Gila Monster stage winner Burke Swindlehurst (Team Give). The trio was joined by Caleb Fairly (Felt-Holoweski), Pat McCartey (Matrix/RBM) and Rob Britton (Bissell).

Unfortunately, despite its manageable size, there wasn’t enough cohesion in the break to reel in Lill.

“I think if we had worked together a bit better we could’ve caught him,” Jenkins said. “He was less than 20 meters ahead of us on the line.”

Instead, the remnants of the break fought it out for the next two steps on the podium on the finishing climb up to Pinos Altos.

“Burke attacked first and I countered him with about 500 meters to go,” Jenkins said. “But I didn’t want to be on the front so I sat up and let Caleb and Rob get ahead of me. I sat on them until about 200 meters to go and then kicked for the line.”

Jenkins shook Fairly but Britton hung on and came around Jenkins in the final 50 meters for take 2nd place.

“It was a hard day,” Jenkins said. “It was snowing over the top of a couple of the climbs though it didn’t seem that cold. Morgan had a great ride today and he covered a lot of attacks.”

Meanwhile, Back in the Peloton
Behind the break, the race for the overall title of the SRAM Tour of the Gila was still very much in contention. Tom Danielson (DZ Nuts) sitting 2nd overall put in a hard attack on the second to last big climb that only Rory Sutherland of UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis, race leader Levi Leipheimer (Mellow Johnny’s) and Phil Zajicek (Fly V) could follow. But with two of Rory’s teammates up the road, as well as one for Zajicek, they were unwilling to help Danielson shed Leipheimer, and a regrouping occurred on the descent.

This small group, which also included Chris Baldwin of UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis, would stay together until the finishing climb up to Pinos Altos. Sutherland would stay with this elite group until the line, finishing with Danielson and Leipheimer 1:03 behind the stage winner, taking 8th on the stage. Baldwin would come in at 1:37 back in 17th on the stage.

The strong ride by the UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis trio enabled Sutherland to jump up to 8th overall, while Jenkins leapt up to 12th overall. Baldwin closed out in 11th overall. The placings were high enough to vault UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis to the top of the overall team competition.

Notes
Despite fighting a bit of a cold, Brad White of UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis put in another solid ride in the Gila finale, taking 22nd on the stage, rolling in with a small group just behind Schmitt (18th on the stage) that also included Lance Armstrong (Mellow Johnny’s). He finished out the Tour in 19th place overall.

Photos: Jonathan Devich, Epic Images

Print | posted on Monday, May 03, 2010 9:51 AM