STAGE 1: Mogollon Road Race
April 28, 2010 - Silver City, NM – The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis Gila squad put in a solid start to the SRAM Tour of the Gila Wednesday, with Chris Baldwin taking 9th on the opening-stage Mogollon Road Race, 0:47 behind stage winner Levi Leipheimer (Mellow Johnny’s).
The stage followed a familiar pattern, differing only in that the winds which are notorious for the stage, made only a late appearance.
The first attack of the day actually succeeded, and a group of 10 riders jumped away from the peloton to eventually open a gap of nearly 10 minutes on the field. UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis contributed two riders to the chase, joined by riders from Jamis, Kenda and workhorse Jason McCartney (Mellow Johnny’s).
“Morgan (Schmitt) and Roman (Kilun) did yeoman’s work on the front to help reel in the break,” said Team directeur sportif Gord Fraser. “They were critical to neutralizing the break and keeping the rest of our guys fresh.”
The chase and the effort up front brought the break down to within a minute as the bunch made the right turn to begin the final climb in earnest. Kilun did more work on the front to protect his teammates on the first part of the climb. A quarter of the way up, when the roads flattened onto the mesa, the infamous winds remained a no-show, but the pace slowed for a couple kilometers anyway.
A series of attacks brought a return of hostilities, with only a front group of 20 still together by the time the riders reached the steeps of the final eight kilometers. A late attack by Luis Amaran (Jamis) brought out Leipheimer and Tom Danielson (DZ Nuts), as well as Cesar Grajales (OUCH-Bahati). That trio battled it out for stage honors, with Danielson coming second 0:10 behind, and Grajales another six seconds back.
Following Baldwin’s 9th place, Marc de Maar was the next UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis rider across the line, finishing 14th at 1:16, demonstrating that his form is coming up as he progresses toward the Tour of California. Young climber Max Jenkins crossed with a respectable 17th place at 1:28 back. Brad White also showed his tenacity and improved climbing ability, posting a solid 23rd place at 1:52, just six seconds behind Lance Armstrong (Mellow Johnny’s).
STAGE 2: Inner Loop Road Race
April 29, 2010 - Fort Bayard, NM - The second stage of the SRAM Tour of the Gila served up 80 miles of rolling terrain and winds that nearly matched the distance.
With gusts around 60 mph on the return trip to the finish in Fort Bayard, positioning was essential. When the battered peloton made the right turn back toward the finish with four miles to go, “the crosswinds put everyone in the right gutter,” said UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis directeur sportif Gord Fraser.
Marc de Maar used his experience racing in northern Europe to keep teammate Rory Sutherland protected and give him a shot at the sprint win.
But just inside 1 km to go, Stage 1 winner and race leader Levi Leipheimer (Mellow Johnny’s) put in an attack to foil the sprinters. Luis Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home) covered the move and got over the top of Leipheimer for the win. Sutherland sprinted in for 4th place, just behind Kyle Wamsley (Bissell).
“We did a couple of turns and the road got bigger and the crosswinds blew things apart the last few kilometers,” Sutherland said. “Levi went and Amaran covered and one other guy went, too. We waited to see if anyone would chase. Marc took me to 200 meters to go, but on the finishing sprint there was a big tailwind and it was hard at that point to catch anyone in the sprint.
“That was probably the windiest race I’ve ever done,” Sutherland added. “The last 20 miles, there was a constant 30 mph head wind. Tomorrow’s time trial will be interesting.”
Notes
Tomorrow’s 16-mile, out-and-back time trial serves up two trips over Little Burro Pass, occasionally high winds and a fast, downhill final five miles. Team mechanic Steve Sperling was hard at work Thursday evening prepping the Kuota TT bikes, but because of the high winds, he actually had to move his operation inside the team trailer to get the work done.
STAGE 3: Individual Time Trial
April 30, 2010 - Tyrone, NM - Rory Sutherland of UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis continued to show his form is on the rise ahead of the Tour of California, posting a solid 6th place in today’s SRAM Tour of the Gila time trial, 1:08 behind surprise stage winner Jesse Sergent (Trek-Livestrong). Race leader Levi Leipheimer (Mellow Johnny’s) took second in the TT, 0:14 behind Sergent, with U.S. time trial champion Dave Zabriskie (DZ Nuts) rounding out the podium another 0:12 back.
“I had a good ride today,” Sutherland said. “It was good to be so close to some of the best time trialists in the world. It seems like I’m getting better every day, and I’m hopefully on target for a good Tour of California.”
Today’s effort moved Sutherland up to 10th overall. Chris Baldwin remained the Team’s highest place rider on GC in 8th place.
STAGE 4: Downtown Silver City Criterium
May 1, 2010 - Silver City, NM - Rory Sutherland of UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis mixed it up in the sprint finish of the SRAM Tour of the Gila Stage 4 criterium this afternoon, taking 6th place behind Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong). Race leader Levi Leipheimer (Mellow Johnny’s) finished safely in the pack and maintained his race lead.
The race concludes Sunday with the epic and infamous Gila Monster stage.
Photo: Jonathan Devich, Epic Images
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