April 28, 2010, Roeselare, NED – Team TIBCO/To the Top was a constant presence at the front of the GP Stad Roeselare (UCI 1.1) last Sunday, figuring in the main break of the day, and mixing it up in the sprint finish.
Joanne Kiesanowski was the team’s top finisher in 7th place, but her placing didn’t reflect the influence the team had on the race.
“The girls are racing great,” team directeur sportif Chris Georgas stated simply.
Team TIBCO continued its aggressive tactics, putting its stamp on the race. Both Devon Haskell and Emma Mackie put in long, aggressive attacks, and Ruth Corset figured in the main break of the day.
“(We) were on a mission today, to control the race from the front and create numerous opportunities to form a break,” Corset said
At the 70 km mark, Corset joined Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Columbia), with Cervelo Test Team’s Patricia Schwager along for the ride. With Kirsten Wild, Schwager’s teammate and one of the top sprinters in the world in the main group behind the break, Schwager was content to just sit on the break, leaving the bulk of the work to Corset and Stevens.
They held a gap between 0:30 and 0:50 on the main field for the next 60 km, only getting caught with 3 km to go by the remnants of the peloton, which had been fractured by several crashes.
With a roughly 60-rider bunch together for the finale, Team TIBCO was keen to set up Brooke Miller for the sprint. Kiesanowski worked to put Miller into position for the sprint, however, Miller lost her lead-out’s wheel in the shuffle and chaos of the final 500 meters. As a result, Kiesanowski took 7th in the sprint behind race winner Wild, with Miller coming across 11th and Mackie holding on for 14th.
“I was quite happy with the way the girls raced at Roeselare,” Georgas said. “We should be good for Tour de l’Aude.”
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