|
Velo Promo Madera
Stage Race
Madera, CA
|
|
Bissell Pro Cycling led by Ben Jacques-Maynes claimed 3 stage wins and the Overall Classification at the Velo Promo Madera Stage Race this weekend.
After several weeks of intermittent rain and cloudy skies, California's Central Valley displayed a welcome airy blue for this 3 day / 4 stage USA Cycling event.
The event marked the first time many of Bissell's new recruits would race as a team, and the stage race setting provided an opportunity for the riders to trial their Pinarello Montello FM1 TT bikes- with two consecutive Time Trial stages.
In the stage 1 Ben Hur hill Climb TT, Ben Jacques-Maynes came close to equaling Bobby Julich's course record with a 29:53 over the 10 mile uphill course, winning the event convincingly. Graham Howard was 5th and youngster Cody O'Reilly amazed the fans with 8th place on his standard Pinarello Prince road frame- a strong testament to both the speed of Cody and the aerodynamic properties of the stylish Pinarello.
Stage 2 marked the 20th consecutive year the Dalton 10mile TT course was run, and Ben once again stamped his authority on the race, rolling out his deep dish Easton tubular front and Easton TT specific Disc at an astonishing 56kph. Graham Howard raced a solid TT to put himself in 5th place on the day.
The Stage 3 Criterium was a highlight of the event, taking place next to the Madera County Park and giving the main strong teams including California Giant Strawberries, Webcor, HDR Lombardi and Safeway a chance to line it out for their sprinters. However it was not to be, with Bissell's Ben launching into a break that included second on GC, Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit
Strategies) and a representative from each of the major squads. At the midpoint of the race, the break had an advantage of nearly one minute, but a calculating peleton slowly closed that gap coming into the final laps.
In the sprint Ben was second to California Giant Strawberry's Keith Miller, with Cody O'Reilly launching so fast out of the bunch sprint he caught and passed the remnants of the break to score 6th.
The Final Road stage was a formality for the drilled Bissell squad, with Ben outlining how the other squads would race and then devising a race strategy that the Bissell squad executed to perfection.
With Tim Farnham and Joao Correira mixing it up in the early moves, the other teams began to set up for a sprint finale for their fast guys. Bissell pro Cycling worked off this to perfection, and in the punchy uphill sprint it was Sheldon Deeny from Bissell Pro Cycling who took out the queen stage of the tour with Ben in second place.
In overall GC, Ben won convincingly from Kelly Benefits Strategy's Scott Zwizanski, with Graham Howard in 5th and Cody O'Reilly in 20th.
Look out for Bissell pro Cycling as the season starts to heat up with the San Dimas Stage Race next weekend followed by the Redlands Cycling Classic.
Story by Jono Coulter
|
