May 23, 2010 - Thousand Oaks, CA – The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis fought until the final finish line of the Amgen Tour of California to preserve Rory Sutherland’s high placing in the overall classification.
In the end, Sutherland finished 7th overall, the top domestic based rider in the race, with teammate Marc de Maar finishing 13th overall. UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis also finished as the top domestic team in the race, with 4th place in the overall team competition, behind Garmin, Radioshack and HTC-Columbia.
“This was a great Amgen Tour of California for our team even though we had our share of bad luck this week,” said Team Directeur Sportif Gord Fraser. “Our guys gave a tremendous effort and showed we could ride with the best teams in the world.”
With the day’s main break up the road by a couple minutes, UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis sent Max Jenkins to the front on the third lap to help the HTC-Columbia team of race leader Michael Rogers bring down the gap to the break.
“We wanted to do everything we could to put Rory and Marc in position to go for the stage win today,” Fraser said. “Max went to the front near the top of the climb on the third lap and buried himself until the beginning of the climb on the final lap. We wanted to put Rory and Marc in a position to attack when the gap came down.”
De Maar put in the first attack but suffered a mechanical that slowed him down. A second mechanical put him in the third group on the road led by Jens Voight (Saxo Bank), who was sitting 4th overall and also motivated to close the gap.
When the attacks by the leaders started on the final climb and gaps formed, Sutherland tried to bridge up to the leaders’ group with Phil Zajicek (V Australia) but the duo needed another rider to help close the gap.
“I think if Marc was able to be with them it might’ve been different,” Fraser said.
The duo eventually integrated with the third group, and they did everything they could to limit their losses. In the end, stage winner Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin) and Radioshack’s Chris Horner, who were both able to bridge up to the break late in the stage, got enough time on Sutherland to each jump two places, moving him to 7th, with Voight slotting in at 6th overall.
“Every stage this week we were in the hunt for the win,” Fraser said. “We were always in the mix. To finish where Rory and Marc did amongst some of the top riders from the biggest teams in the world is a tremendous accomplishment for this team.”
Keough, Barlevav Jam in Baltimore
Jake Keough and Eric Barlevav of UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis took 1st and 2nd respectively in the Kelly Cup Bike Jam in Baltimore Sunday. The one-two punch followed teammate Jonny Clarke’s 3rd place in the Wilmington Grand Prix on Saturday.
Photo: Jonathan Devich, Epic Images
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