Bridging the Gap January 25 Through January 31

-by Jamie Naragon

There’s a nip in the air… you know what that means-cycling season is well under way! Okay-maybe the cool weather as a sign is a bit of a stretch but regardless, the fact remains that cycling is heating up so here is some coverage you may have missed...

First, last week Amy had left us two races needing to conclude--the Tour de San Luis and the Tour Down Under. In San Luis, Stage 6 ran 150 kms from Quines to Merlo. Luis Mate of Androni-Giocattoli won the stage ahead of his teammate Jose Serpa and race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo). From the US, Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home) was 31st, 2.12 back. His teammates Andrew Guptill was 56th and Nicholas Frey was 67th, 6.51 back. The final day of the Tour was January 24th with a 167.1km stage around San Luis. This time, Androni-Giocattoli’s Alberto Loddo took the sprint win ahead of Katusha’s Italian Danilo Napolitano and Xacobeo-Galicia’s Francisco Pacheco. Wren was once again America’s highest finisher, taking 65th on the stage. Andre Guptilltook 81st,and Frey was 93rd. Overall, Nibali was able to hold onto the race victory with a 28 secondmargin over Jose Serpa (Androni-Giocattoli) and 1.19 ahead of Rafael Valls (Footon-Servetto-Fuji)./ Wren was 31st, 11.19 back; Guptill was 58th,22.22 back; and Frey was 105th, 40.25 back. Guptill was 10th overall in the sprints classification, and Jamis-Sutter Home was 16th in the Teams Classification.

In the last two stages of the Tour Down Under, the 149 km stage from Willunga to Snapper Point was held on January 23rd. A well-timed attack by Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) garnered the Spaniard his first win of the season. Luke Roberts (Milram) crossed the line 2 seconds later, and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) was two seconds past that. The peloton rolled in 5 seconds later, including George Hincapie (BMC Racing) and Lance Armstrong (RadioShack). Jason McCartney (RadioShack) was 6.23 behind Sanchez. The final stage of the Tour Down Under was a 90km stage around Adelaide. As predicted, this stage came down to a sprint finish with Team Sky’s Christopher Sutton taking the victory ahead of Greg Henderson (Sky) and Graeme Brown (Rabobank). Hincapie was in the peloton, taking 17th, but Armstrong and McCartney were 16 seconds behind Sutton. Overall, Andre Greipel (HTC-Columbia) was able to retain the leader’s jersey ahead of Sanchez and Henderson. Hincapie was 12th, .29 back. Armstrong was 1.03 back in 25th, and McCartney was 112, 25.53 back. In the teams classification, Ag2R La Mondiale took the top spot with Garmin in 3rd, Columbia in 5th, and RadioShack in 6th.

Onto new races for the week…..

First was the Coupe du Monde IV held in Beijing, China on January 22-24. On the first day of racing, Cari Higgins placed 5th in the women’s scratch race qualifying heat 1, and she took 17th in the finals. In the men’s points race qualifying heat 2, James Carney (Team Salamander) was 7th, and Colby Pearce was 13th. In the finals, Carney took 12th. The next day of racing began with the men’s kilo where Giddeon Massie was 11th. Cody O’Reilly was 4th in the men’s scratch race. On the last day of racing, Cari Higgins took 13th in the women’s keirin.

On January 25th, the five-day Trans Andes race was held in Patagonia, Chile. The first day of racing began with a 65km route from Pucon to Menetue Thermal Complex. Overall, Mary McConneloug & Michael Broderick (Kenda/Seven/No Tubes) won with a 26 second margin over their nearest competitors. Rebecca Rusch and Jennifer Smith (Las Diosas) were 8th, Tom Ritchey & Pedro Marzolo (Ritchey Andes Mountain) were 21st, and Scott Biddinger & William Glore were 35th. In the open men’s event, Ritchy & Marzolo were 6th. McConneloug & Broderick won the open mixed, and Rusch & Smith won the open women’s event. The next day was a 107km stage from the Menetue Thermal Complex to the Conaripe Thermal Complex. This time, McConneloiug & Broderick were 2nd, 14.33 behind the Chilean Giant Nuun team. Ritchey & Marzolo were 10th, Rusch & Smith were 12th, and Biddinger & Glore were 34th. Ritchey & Marzolo were also 6th in the open men’s event; Rusch & Smith won the open women’s event; and McConneloug & Broderick won the open mixed race. Lastly, the third stage was a 58km stage around the Conaripe Thermal Complex. McConneloug & Broderick once again took the victory. This time Ritchy & Marzolo were 10th, Rush & Smith were 14th, and Biddinger & Gore were 48th. Amy will have to catch you up on the rest of the events in this race…

The five stage Tour of Wellington was also held this week from January 27-31st. The peloton was mostly made up of Oceanic riders, but one American, Phil Zajicek (Fly V Australia) did take to the start. The first stage was a 118 km route from Upper Hut to Masterton. Defending champion Peter McDonald (Drapac Porsche) won the opening stage with a 7 second margin over Michael Matthews (Jayco Skins Team), showing he was here intending to repeat last year’s success. Zajick was 20 seconds back in 40th. The next stage was a 125.3km Masterton Circuit. This time, Michael Torckler (Cardno Team) was victorious with a 5 second margin over Drapac Porsche’s Lachlan Norris. Zajicek was 27th, 6.03 back. The third stage was once again primarily around Masterton, running 164kms. This time, Zajicek’s teammate Jay Thompson won the stage with a 4 second margin over Michael Matthews. Zajicek himself was 15 seconds back in 63rd. Stage 4 was a 150km stage around Gladstone. Matthews was finally able to cross the line in first with a 4 second margin over Joel Pearson (Genesys Wealth Advisers). Canada’s Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) took 3rd. Zajicek was 47th, just 10 seconds behind Matthews. Lastly, the concluding stage was 45kms around Wellington City. Unfortunately, terrible weather conditions forced race organizers to cancel the stage. A handful of riders showed up to race a 30 minute criterium to the enjoyment of local fans, but the race results were nullified. So in the end, Michael Trockler(Cardno Team) was the one on the top of the podium, ahead of Lachlan Norris and Jay Thompson. Zajicek was 33rd. His team, Fly V Australia, was 5th out of 20.

The last race of the week was the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships held January 30-31st in Tabor, Czech Republic. The junior men kicked things off Saturday morning, and the Czech Republic was pleased when its rider Tomas Paprstka was able to take the rainbow jersey. France’s Julian Alaphilippe and Emiel Dolfsma(Netherlands) flanked Paprstka on the podium. For the US, Cody Kaiser was 33rd, Chris Wallace was 39th, Jeff Bahnson was 44th, Skyler Trujillo was 53rd, and Matt Spinks was 57th.

Next came the U23 Men. This time, Poland was pleased, taking both the top two steps on the podium with Pawel and Kacper Szczepaniak respectively. France’s Arnaud Jouffroy was 3rd. Representing the United States, Zach McDonald was 28th followed by his compatriot Daniel Summerhill. Dave Hackworthy was 34th, Jerome Townsend was 38th, and Luke Keough was 44th.

The elite women kicked off the racing on Sunday. Continuing yet another strong and dominating season, Marianne Vos (Netherlands) was able to claim the rainbow jersey. Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) and Daphny Van Den Brand (Netherlands) were second and third. From the US, Meredith Miller was 12th, Amy Dombroski was 14th, Maureen Bruno Roy was 25th, and Laura Van Gilder was 31st. Sadly, Katherine Compton did not finish the event. She had been suffering severe cramps the past few weeks, but before the start of Sunday’s event, she seemed to be feeling better. Alas, by the second lap, Compton’s cramps returned, ending her hopes for a win in the race.

In the men’s race, one of the strongest riders going into the event, Neils Albert, also did not finish. Many had picked Sven Nys (Belgium) to take the top step, but he was only able to take 3rd. Klaas Vantornout (Belgium) was 2nd. And in first, living up to the multitude of expectations and hopes placed on him, Czech Republic’s Zdenek Stybar! From the Us, Timothy Johnson was 14th; James Driscoll was 19th; Jonathan Page was 30th; Jeremy Powers was 41st; and Ryan Trebon was 50th.

Well that was certainly an exciting week! And, the reports are getting longer! So, whether or not the weather reflects it where you’re at, there’s no doubt that cycling is well under way! So, with that being the case, be sure to come back next week to see if you missed anything!