Colavita/Forno D'Asolo Sweeps NRC Standings

With the season winding down and criterium points still up for grabs, the Chris Thater Memorial attracted a solid women's field ready to give it their all for the big win. The Colavita/Forno D'Asolo Pro Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light brought a formidable squad including Rushlee Buchanan, Theresa Cliff-Ryan, Lauren Hall, Janel Holcomb, and Kristin Sanders.

The race was 35 miles with a decisive hill and fast downhill on the backside, four sharp corners, and one final sweeping turn that brought the field back to a downhill finish. Colavita/Forno D'Asolo stuck with its winning playbook: get Theresa to the line first in a bunch sprint. The other teams did their best to avoid that outcome with consistent attacks, trying for a break to separate themselves from Theresa and her mighty sprint. But Theresa's teammates were vigilant, patrolling the front of the peloton to deter any and all attacks.  

With just a few laps remaining, the Colavita/Forno D'Asolo train lined up and the pace accelerated. The bunch strung out to single file and Theresa bided her time behind her teammates. Dropped off just after the tight final left turn, Theresa used her tenacity and skills to jump ahead of the jostling bunch and cross the finish line to claim the win.

With Theresa's victory, Colavita/Forno D'Asolo has swept the NRC standings. Theresa's back-to-back wins move her into 3rd in USA Cycling's NRC individual rider rankings - behind teammates Janel Holcomb, who remains #1, and Leah Kirchmann in 2nd.   Colavita/Forno D'Asolo retains its sizable lead in the team competition and, as confirmed by USA Cycling, will finish the season as the #1 team for the second consecutive season.

Colavita/Forno D'Asolo's success at Chris Thater received extensive coverage in the Binghamton NY area:

·         Theresa's win was captured on video by the CBS-TV affiliate in Binghamton, NY.

·         Extensive article and photos in the Press & Sun Bulletin (Gannett newspaper)

·         Velo News

Tom Zirbel Takes Second in Stage One Time Trial

The three-day Tour of Elk Grove is considered one of the fastest and most intense stage races of the season with a short time trial and two circuit races with seemingly endless corners. With the technical difficulty of the circuits so high, aggressive riding and daredevil cornering are often rewarded with multiple trips to the podium. Having some of the quickest racers and best bike handlers in the country on the roster, the Tour of Elk Grove is tailor-made for the Jamis/Sutter Home Pro Cycling Team. Representing the team were time trial specialists Tom Zirbel and Fernando Antogna, sprinters Alejandro and Anibal Borrajo, 2010 NRC champion Luis Amaran, and strongmen Eric Schildge, Guido Palma, and Jackie Simes.

The flat and fast opening 4.3-mile time trial was the perfect opportunity for the Jamis/Sutter Home riders to show their strength and set the tone for the race. Tom Zirbel flew down the start ramp and never let off the gas until he crossed the finish line a mere 8 minutes and 26 seconds later. In a season filled with close calls and near misses, Tom's time was good enough for 2nd place, just a few hundredths of a second from the win. Fernando Antogna also had a great ride, finishing just four seconds behind Tom in 5th place.

In Stage Two's 93-mile circuit race, Guido Palma found himself off the front with a strong group of nine riders early on. Less than one lap later, they were joined by another small group containing Tom Zirbel. The group worked well together, and as they approached the mid-race sprint, Tom attacked and crossed the line solo, pocketing $1,000, and more importantly, a six-second time bonus that made him the new race leader. When Tom and Guido's group was caught, Luis Amaran immediately jumped away with another four riders and quickly established a comfortable gap of several minutes. Once other teams realized Luis, a prominent GC threat, was in the break, more riders attacked and tried to bridge up to him. But by then it was too late. With several strong surges, Luis was able to come to the line with one other rider. Luis finished second in the stage but moved to the top of the GC thanks to his aggressive riding.

Jamis/Sutter Home entered the final Stage Three 70-mile circuit race with Luis in the leader's jersey. As the race got underway, the entire squad moved to the front and set a strong pace, controlling the race while also protecting Luis. About halfway through, it started raining and the team's worst-case scenario unfolded: the rider sitting in second place, just two seconds behind Luis, won a time bonus sprint which allowed him to leap from ahead of Luis. The team immediately went back on offense and wasted no time picking up the pace in anticipation of the final time bonus sprint. This time, everything went according to plan: the lead-out was textbook as Luis took the bonus and reclaimed the race lead. As the finish approached, other teams looking for the stage win took over the pace making. Alejandro Borrajo launched a strong sprint to finish sixth. Luis finished safely in the main bunch and sealed the overall victory.

Photo: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us

Securing the top two spots on the podium tonight enabled the Blue Train from UnitedHealthcare to walk away with one-third (three of the possible nine) of the podium placing opportunities at Elk Grove. In addition to the Clarke and Keough tandem taking the top two spots in tonight’s finale, Teammate Karl Menzies won the opening stage Time Trial on Friday night, August 5.

This weekend’s race in Elk Grove marked Clarke’s first return to racing since suffering a severely separated shoulder in a late June crash at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Clarke, who is a former overall winner of the Tour of Elk Grove, said of his return, “It feels great to be back. I separated my shoulder seven weeks ago and I thought Elk Grove might be a race that I could be ready for. It is a favorite race of mine and I trained and trained for it. My shoulder felt good this weekend. I just wanted to pick up where I left off, jump back in with my Teammates and make a difference. Yesterday it all clicked and I knew I was going to have a good one tonight.”

The sprinter continued, “We lost the lead yesterday and we weren’t too happy about that. We had a meeting, we stuck together and we said that we always work as a Team. The guys raced so great today and they took me to 50 meters to go and I finished the deal.”

“This has been a great weekend of racing for us, especially to deliver two stage wins for our title sponsor, UnitedHealthcare. All of our sponsors continue to give us so much support to do what we do best, so when we are in a position where we can win, we’re going to do everything possible to get us that win,” Clarke concluded.

Team Director Eric Greene said, “Hilton, Jake and the whole squad were outstanding tonight. Anyone watching these guys race can see how well they operate as one unit. This was a good night of racing and a good weekend overall. We’re proud of Hilton, too. To see him get the win tonight was great. One thing is for sure, he left no doubt in anyone’s mind that his shoulder is healthy and he is back.”

Team Roster for the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove 2011

Rory Sutherland (AUS)
Hilton Clarke (AUS)
Jonny Clarke (AUS)
Karl Menzies (AUS)
Robert Förster (GER)
Jake Keough (USA)
Adrian Hegyvary (USA)
Scott Zwizanski (USA)

Ritchey Bicycle Components: Designed to Win.

Vogel showed he is fully on schedule towards world championships in a month from now by winning the bronze medal at the continental championships. Vogel shared the podium with Jaroslav Kulhavy, who defended his title, and Olympic champion Julien Absalon.

Early in the race, the trio got away from the rest of the competition. Because the two race favorites, Absalon and Kulhavy, were watching each other it was mostly Florian Vogel who set the pace. He did not want the big group behind to catch up. His hard work payed its' toll. The trio stayed together until one lap to go. But Flo had no chance to stay ahead of Kulhavy and Absalon.

"I just came from my high altitude training camp in St. Moritz straight to here. I knew I was in good shape but uncertain how I deal with the heat. It's been a drastic change coming from the cold mountains. I'm totally stoked about my medal. I know I'm on schedule now and look forward to the next two coming up world cups." stated Vogel after his success.

Nino Schurter missed the Europeans due to his training camp. He is focusing fully on worlds.

Results: