October 2009 News Articles

Massive crowds lined downtown Melbourne’s Lygon Street for the final stage of the Sun Tour. The rain which had plagued the race all week temporarily seized for the men’s 61.5k circuit race. However rain or shine, the course containing 4 u-turns was a dreaded one for the riders.

Garmin controlled the race from the start keeping a quick but steady tempo, and the group stayed together for the first hour of racing. On the final 2 circuits the battle between Garmin and Fly V culminated. Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V) got the stage win but Bradley Wiggins (Garmin) took the overall win over his teammate Chris Sutton.

The BISSELL Team maintained their team classification ranking as the 3rd best team. Ben Jacques-Maynes finished 7th overall. Pete Latham and Paul Mach were 14th and 19th in the GC, respectively. The Sun Tour delivered great racing under tough conditions.

Garmin conquered Friday’s time trial in Geelong by turning in the two fastest times of the day. Bradley Wiggins blasted the 10k course with a time of 13:08 and teammate, Svein Tuft, came through 14 seconds back to take 2nd on the day. Ben Jacques-Maynes had a solid day with a time of 14:04 to capture 7th for the stage. Cody O’Reilly and Pete Latham also had good results in the top 30.

The team securely holds third place in the team GC with 3 riders in the top 20. Ben Jacques-Maynes is 8th, and Pete Latham and Paul Mach sit 16th and 18th, respectively. Tomorrow’s final stage of the Sun Tour will be a brutal one. The twilight crit on Melbourne’s Lygon Street is sure to be a wild one with 4 u-turns on the course.

Stage 4 of the Sun Tour was a 138k course taking the riders inland over 2 KOMs before another seaside finish in the city of Barwon Heads. Again, the major turning point of the race occurred at the 2nd KOM which came 26k into today’s stage, and Garmin and Fly V pushed the pace on the 10k climb tearing the group apart. The long, fast descent allowed the opportunity for many of the riders to regroup. Coming off the descent, there were frequent attacks and some groups were able to get slight gaps before being reabsorbed. The occasional tail wind in today’s race pushed the speeds resulting in a faster than projected race time. Two riders, Adam Semple (Jayco) and Darren Lapthorne (Rapha Condor), were able to build up a two minute gap over a chasing group of 40 before the serious pursuit started about 20 k from the finish. The lead group was all back together coming into the finish with Chris Sutton (Garmin) again taking the win over Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V) who sits 5 seconds behind Sutton in the overall. Bissell riders, Ben Jacques-Maynes, Pete Latham, and Paul Mach finished in the lead group and are 9th, 15th, and 17th in the GC, respectively.

Stage 4 of the Sun Tour was a 138k course taking the riders inland over 2 KOMs before another seaside finish in the city of Barwon Heads. Again, the major turning point of the race occurred at the 2nd KOM which came 26k into today’s stage, and Garmin and Fly V pushed the pace on the 10k climb tearing the group apart. The long, fast descent allowed the opportunity for many of the riders to regroup. Coming off the descent, there were frequent attacks and some groups were able to get slight gaps before being reabsorbed. The occasional tail wind in today’s race pushed the speeds resulting in a faster than projected race time. Two riders, Adam Semple (Jayco) and Darren Lapthorne (Rapha Condor), were able to build up a two minute gap over a chasing group of 40 before the serious pursuit started about 20 k from the finish. The lead group was all back together coming into the finish with Chris Sutton (Garmin) again taking the win over Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V) who sits 5 seconds behind Sutton in the overall. Bissell riders, Ben Jacques-Maynes, Pete Latham, and Paul Mach finished in the lead group and are 9th, 15th, and 17th in the GC, respectively.

By: Neal Rogers

Garmin-Slipstream took control of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Tuesday during a 141km battle of attrition from Colac to the coastal town of Warrnambool that was marked by strong winds that fractured the peloton into pieces.

By the finish only six riders remained at the front of the race, three of whom wore the blue-and-orange argyle of the American squad, including stage winner Chris Sutton.

After finishing second in the opening criterium and again in the stage 1 bunch kick, Sutton finally got the victory he was looking for in Warrnambool, just beating out opening criterium winner Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) for the win. As Cantwell had done to Sutton two days earlier, Sutton came around Cantwell on an uphill drag into a headwind for the win.

Due to his third-place finish on stage 1 and his consistent time bonuses at intermediate sprints Cantwell moved into the race leader’s yellow jersey. However Cantwell’s assumption of the race lead was a bit of a hollow victory for his Fly V team after its main GC contenders Phil Zajicek and Ben Day lost contact with the front group near the end of the stage, while Garmin’s Bradley Wiggins, Svein Tuft and Sutton all finished at the front, almost a minute ahead of Zajicek and four minutes ahead of Day.

Following the stage Garmin had placed three men in the top six overall, with Sutton second, at three seconds, Wiggins fifth, at 28 seconds, and Tuft sixth, at 46 seconds.

Zajicek, now Fly V’s best shot at the overall podium, sits eighth at 1:21.

The decisive moment of the race came with 10km remaining, when Tuft rolled away from the leading group of 13 men, bringing Matt Wilson (Jayco Australian National Team) and David Pell (Savings & Loans) on his wheel. Sensing his opportunity to take both the race lead and the stage win was slipping away Cantwell valiantly bridged across a 15-second gap to the three men. The strongest sprinter in the group, it was a perfect move for the Fly V rider. However Tuft stopped rolling through, and just a few moments later, Wiggins followed suit with a powerful surge out of the remaining group of eight riders.

Only Sutton could hold Wiggins’ wheel, while the remaining seven men — Zajicek, race leader Jann Kirsipuu (LeTua), Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell), Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly), Nick Aitken (Jayco Australian National Team) and Rock Racing’s David Tanner and Aaron Kemps — were left to dangle behind in the wind.

Suddenly Cantwell’s promising chances to take the stage win, the race lead and a large GC advantage over Wiggins had been erased, and he was outnumbered by three Garmin riders with less than 10km remaining.

“It took a lot of work for me to get across to that break, because they already had about 15 seconds,” Cantwell said. “As soon as I got across Tuft was sitting on. It was a perfect move for me, but having three guys against the chasing pack was tough. When I heard Wiggins and Sutton were coming across, I was in a tough spot. (Fly V Australia director Henk Vogels) was telling me to sit on, but I wanted to keep working, because I knew behind I had the yellow jersey of Jann Kirsipuu to contend with. The way it panned out, anything was possible.”

Zajicek said Wiggins’ surge across to the leaders was humbling.

“When Wiggins smashed it there at the end, it was unbelievable,” Zajicek said. “I’m feeling really good, great actually, and looking forward to the climbs tomorrow. But after seeing Wiggins ride like that… it was pretty phenomenal. I mean, it was an amazing ride by Jonny, and if he keeps picking up time bonuses, that’s how we’re going to beat Garmin. But Wiggins is the strongest man in this race. No one is even close to him.”

Perhaps even more humbling is the fact that Wiggins took two weeks off the bike following the world road championships, and only started riding again with a few short riders after he arrived in Australia last week.

“If people knew how little he’d ridden in the last two weeks, I think a lot of people would be pretty scarred by that,” Sutton said. “To come here and be able to ride like that…. he’s such a talent, he’s a freak of nature. I love Wiggo, he’s like an older brother to me, he’s a mentor, he’s always looked out for me, and when I race with him, I always get results.”

A WINDY DAY AT THE OFFICE

Proving that the Sun Tour was so named for the Herald Sun newspaper that sponsors the race rather than the climate, racers were greeted at the start with rain clouds that opened up just moments after the start, combined with brutal 40mph winds from every direction as the course weaved its way through some of Victoria’s finest dairy country.

As Jacques-Maynes noted, “no one ever attacked all day long. The wind just battered the peloton and split the race up.”

Just 10km into the race the peloton split into four groups, with all seven Garmin riders making into the front selection, which led the first chase group by about a minute for more than 30km.

The tough conditions brought several crashes and splintered the pack into several groups. A puncture or a moment’s inattention saw riders permanently lose contact with their respective groups. Drapac Porsche had a particularly tough day, with three riders — Gene Bates, Zak Dempster and Joe Lewis — sent to the hospital following three different crashes; none were seriously injured.

By the time the peloton rolled over the day’s second KOM at 85km, three main groups had formed, with a chase group of approximately 20 riders merging with the front group of roughly 40 riders.

Once back together, the front group of 60 battled a block headwind until a right-hand turn into a strong crosswind with 30km remaining shattered the pack. It was there that 13 men got away, including Wiggins, Tuft and Sutton from Garmin and Cantwell and Zajicek from Fly V Australia. That group remained intact until a rider lost Tuft’s wheel, and the big Canadian rolled away from the bunch. Wilson and Pell chased down the Garmin rider, and next to come across was Cantwell, prior to Wiggins’ demonstration of force.

“It would be nice to have an Olympic and world medalist to pull you across to the breakaway at 1000 watts, or whatever it was,” Vogels said.

Both Tuft and Wiggins attacked the group of six in the closing kilometers as Sutton sat on Cantwell’s wheel until the final uphill drag.

“Wiggo opened up the sprint early, which was a good move, because it forced Cantwell to hit the gas and I just lined him up and came straight around him,” Sutton said. “It was close, but it was a big enough gap that I could put my hands in the air.”

Cantwell finished second on the stage, and though Sutton won the first intermediate sprint, by taking the second and third intermediate sprints Cantwell was able to take the race lead by three seconds as well as hold on to the green points jersey. He said he realized his Fly V Australia team was now responsible for defending the jersey against a Garmin squad that was more heavily stacked on the general classification, but for the moment, he was going to savor his time in yellow and concentrate on putting as much time between himself and Wiggins as possible before Friday’s 10km time trial.

“It’s a dream come true to put this yellow jersey on my shoulders,” Cantwell said. “I’ve been trying to get as many time bonuses as I can on guys like Tuft and Wiggins before the time trial on Friday. If I can go with 30 seconds on them, I’ll be happy. A 10km time trial is definitely in my reach.”

First, however, Cantwell will have to climb like he never has before. Wednesday’s stage, a 164km route from Warrnambool to Apollo Bay along the scenic Great Ocean Road, features two categorized climbs, including the cat. 1 ascent of Lavers Hill and a cat. 2 that tops out just15km from the finish. Heavy winds and more rain are forecasted — as is another demonstration of force by Wiggins, who will look to put time into all comers prior to Friday’s time trial.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/10/news/garmin-takes-control-in-wind-at-sun-tour_99187

The brutally strong sideway winds were the significant factor for the day and the rider’s focus was consumed with staying out of the gutter. The racers were pre-warned about the treacherous conditions and, as expected, the skies opened precisely at the end of the neutral kilometers in Colac. Garmin and Jelly Belly quickly came to the front and pounded the group with fast speeds from the start. Crashes quickly ensued and gave way to the separations that would form the two main groups for the day.

A lead group formed and BISSELL was again well represented in the front with 6 riders including Ben Jacques-Maynes, Frank Pipp, Jeremy Vennell, Pete Latham, Paul Mach, and Cody O’Reilly. A chase group of about 30 containing BISSELL’s Omer Kem came together as dropped riders consolidated efforts. The time gap fluctuated throughout the day but was never comfortably secure given the wind conditions that can turn things around in an instant. At 85k into the race, the 2 groups did come together to form a big group of 50 forging through the wind. Unfortunately, the BISSELL squad was dealt some bad luck with a few mechanicals all within a couple of minutes of eachother. Frank and Jeremy were the victims and were forced to chase for the rest of the day in small groups into the blasting wind.

The remaining 4 BISSELL riders powered through and anticipated the changing road directions and corresponding wind direction. However as expected with 35k to go, the course changed directions and the ensuing cross winds tore the group to shreds. Ben Jacques-Maynes was the only BISSELL rider able to surge with the lead group. Attacks came from the leaders and eventually split the group. The leading 6 riders were able to maintain their narrow gap to the finish with Chris Sutton (Garmin) taking a photo finish win over Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V). Ben finished in the chase group.

It was an intense day of racing and BISSELL endured some bad luck today but continues to maintain good position. The fierce Aussie wind will continue to wreck havoc on the race and the battle is still very open.

The vicious sideway winds in today’s first stage of the Sun Tour created very difficult race conditions, and the BISSELL team powered through as one of the most dominant teams. The 149k out and back course from Ballarat included 2 intermediate sprints and 2 KOMs.

The first 35K dealt some harsh blows with several messy crashes. Bernie Sulzberger of Fly V Australia was one of the riders taken out early in the race. The opening chaos created splits and several distinct groups developed; however, all was sorted by 35k and two groups formed and sustained to the finish. The lead group contained 41 riders. BISSELL and Garmin were the two most well represented teams in the break with each team having 6 riders. BISSELL riders included Ben Jacques-Maynes, Frank Pipp, Jeremy Vennell, Pete Latham, Omer Kem, and Paul Mach. The chase group contained 60 riders, but they never were able to decrease the gap which eventually grew to 12 minutes by the finish. At the 83K point, Stuart Shaw of Drapec Porsche attacked out of the lead group and was able to build up a maximum 2:40 time gap. The move was never a major threat and was quickly brought back when the chase group decided to pick up the pursuit.

Dicey conditions returned at the finish where the riders were confronted with a block headwind and road hazards. Jaan Kirsipuu (LeTua Team) took the sprint win and the bonus points from the win put him in the leader’s jersey. The BISSELL Team rode a smart and dominant race. Paul Mach rode aggressively in the KOMs where he scored points and Pete Latham and Frank Pipp threw in late race action with attacks in the closing kilometers. The team sits in a good place as they look forward to tomorrow’s 141K stage from Colac to Warrnambool.

The BISSELL Pro Cycling is down under for the next month of racing in Australia and New Zealand. Sunday was the opening criterium of the Sun Tour. Although it is not factored into the overall race standings, it was an opportunity for the riders to experience the action to come in front of the enthusiastic crowd in the city of Ballarat. The BISSELL riders on hand in Australia include Ben Jacques-Maynes, Frank Pipp, Jeremy Vennell, Pete Latham, Paul Mach, Omer Kem, and Cody O’Reilly.

After some well attended community races in the early afternoon, the pros rolled out on the 2.2k course. As expected, a break got away early in the race. Most teams were represented in the break which contributed to its overall success for the day. BJM was BISSELL’s man in the lead group. The riders shared the work which contributed to carrying the group to the finish. BJM ignited a good attack in the closing lap; however, Jonothan Cantwell of the Fly V Team came through for the victory on his home soil.

The racing will continue tomorrow with stage 1 of the Sun Tour which is a 149k road race starting and finishing in Ballarat.

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Bissell return to Tour of Southland

By: Sue GeorgePublished: October 6, 2009, 21:22, Updated: October 6, 2009, 21:29

Wamsley, Holloway and Willams augment American squad's talent

The Bissell Pro Cycling Team signed three new riders and announced the first 10 members of its team for 2010. Kyle Wamsley will serve as the team's new criterium strongman while Daniel Holloway will come over from the felt-Holowesko-Garmin Under 23 team, and David Williams will step into the pro ranks for the first time.

"In shaping our 2010 roster, we have bolstered our finishing speed across the board and this will now complement the team's fantastic time trialing ability," said Team Director Eric Wohlberg. "Our new acquisitions are very gifted riders, who specialize in sprint finishes and are known commodities with regard to mixing it up all day long. We are all very excited for the 2010 season to get underway and anticipate some great days on the podium."

Wamsley's 2009 results include two top-five stage wins at the Tour of Missouri, as well as a stage win and the overall points jersey at the Redlands Classic. In 2008, Wamsley won the overall at the Fitchberg Classic and took the National Racing Calendar (NRC) victory at the Cox Charities Cycling Classic.

Holloway had wins both on US and European soil this year and is also a respected track competitor, having achieved four first-place wins at the 2008 US Elite Track Nationals. Newcomer Williams posted impressive local results in Michigan, where he is currently the state time trial champion. Williams also wrapped up his 2009 season with results on the track, where he recently won the men's individual omnium, 4km pursuit and team pursuit at the US Collegiate Track Nationals.

Ben Jacques-Maynes will continue to captain Bissell after another strong year, in which he demonstrated his ability to compete against the world's best at the Tour of California, Nevada City and Tour of Missouri. Co-leader Frank Pipp will support Jacques-Maynes with his wealth of experience and ability to captain the riders - a major part of the team's success in 2009. New Zealand time trial champion, Jeremy Vennell and all-around powerhouse, Andy Jacques-Maynes, will also return and provide depth to the roster, and New Zealand's Pete Latham will add to Bissell's threat in the sprint.

Returning rider, Paul Mach showed his climbing talents this past season as a neo-pro when he earned the overall win at the Mt. Hood Classic. Mach is expected to contribute even more to the team's success in 2010.

"Paul has really stepped up his tactical skills over the course of the season," said Wohlberg. "We are looking forward to his 2010 race season with great anticipation."

Finally, Cody O'Reilly will return to Bissell after a year of riding support for the team.

Team manager Glen Mitchell and Wohlberg will continue in their same roles for 2010.

After 2009 overall team wins at the Tour of Gila, Joe Martin Stage Race, Mt. Hood and the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the team aims to best the best American squad for 2010.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bissell-signs-three-new-riders

By VeloNews.com Updated: Oct 6th 2009 4:26 PM EDT

The Bissell team will have seven returning riders for 2010, including the Jacques-Maynes brothers, Frank Pipp, Paul Mach, Cody O’Reilly, Pete Latham and Jeremy Vennell. And the team will pick up three new riders: Kyle Wamsley, Daniel Holloway and David Williams.

The most notable absence from the team next year will be Tom Zirbel, who will race for Garmin-Slipstream in 2010.

The team is expected to announce more riders later.

Wamsley, the winner of the recent TD Bank Mayor’s Cup criterium in Boston, comes to Bissell from Colavita. Holloway comes from the Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin development team and David Williams is a first-year professional from Michigan, where he is currently the state time trial champion.

Williams also recently won the men’s individual omnium, 4k pursuit and team pursuit at the U.S. Collegiate Track Nationals.

Bissell Homecare, Inc., remains the team owner and title sponsor and Team manager Glen Mitchell and team director Eric Wohlberg will also continue in their roles for 2010.

“In shaping our 2010 roster, we have bolstered our finishing speed across the board and this will now complement the team’s fantastic time trialing ability,” says Wohlberg. “Our new acquisitions are very gifted riders, who specialize in sprint finishes and are known commodities with regard to mixing it up all day long. We are all very excited for the 2010 season to get underway and anticipate some great days on the podium.”

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/10/news/bissell-keeps-jacques-maynes-vennell-adds-some-crit-speed_98980

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., October 6, 2009 –The BISSELL Pro Cycling Team announces the signing of its first 10 riders for the 2010 season, including seven returning riders and three additions to the roster. BISSELL Homecare, Inc. will remain the team owner and title sponsor, as part of the company's commitment to healthy living inside and outside of the home, and its support of competitive cycling throughout the world. Team manager Glen Mitchell and team director Eric Wohlberg will also continue in their roles for 2010. The team’s lineup of riders, sponsors and other supporters will help it achieve its 2010 goal to return as the commanding team in the United States. In 2009, BISSELL Pro Cycling captured the overall team classification wins at top U.S. races, the Tour of Gila, Joe Martin Stage Race, Mt. Hood and the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Ben Jacques-Maynes leads the team after another strong year, in which he demonstrated his ability to compete against the world’s best through his outstanding results at the Tour of California, Nevada City and Tour of Missouri. Co-leader Frank Pipp will support Jacques-Maynes with his wealth of experience and ability to captain the riders -- a major part of the team’s success in 2009. New Zealand time trial champion, Jeremy Vennell and all-around powerhouse, Andy Jacques-Maynes, will also return and provide depth to the roster.

New to the 2010 team is criterium strongman, Kyle Wamsley. Wamsley’s 2009 results include two top-five stage wins at the Tour of Missouri, as well as a stage win and the overall points jersey at the Redlands Classic. In 2008, Wamsley won the overall at the Fitchberg Classic and took the NRC victory at the Cox Charities Cycling Classic. Current New Zealand criterium champion Pete Latham will add to BISSELL’s threat in the sprint.

Returning rider, Paul Mach showed that he was a climber to contend with in 2009 – his first year as a pro -- when he earned the overall win at the Mt. Hood Classic. Mach is expected to contribute even more to the team’s success in 2010. "Paul has really stepped up his tactical skills over the course of the season,” says Wohlberg. “We are looking forward to his 2010 race season with great anticipation.”

Rounding out the roster are three riders who have demonstrated that they are the future of competitive cycling in this country. Cody O’Reilly will be returning to BISSELL after a great year of riding support for the team and is sure to have a bright future. New to the team in 2010 will be Daniel Holloway, who comes to BISSELL from the Felt-Holowesko-Garmin U23 Team. Holloway had wins both on U.S. and European soil this year and is also a respected track competitor, having achieved four first-place wins at the 2008 Elite Track Nationals. Newcomer David Williams will ride with the BISSELL Team in his first year as a professional cyclist. Williams has posted outstanding local results in Michigan, where he is currently the state time trial champion. Williams also wrapped up his 2009 season with exceptional results on the track, where he recently won the men’s individual omnium, 4k pursuit and team pursuit at the U.S. Collegiate Track Nationals.

"In shaping our 2010 roster, we have bolstered our finishing speed across the board and this will now complement the team’s fantastic time trialing ability," says Wohlberg. "Our new acquisitions are very gifted riders, who specialize in sprint finishes and are known commodities with regard to mixing it up all day long. We are all very excited for the 2010 season to get underway and anticipate some great days on the podium."

What do the BISSELL riders do with their quiet off season weekends? They ride the mud in Massachusetts, hit the velodrome in Carson City, and enjoy out-of-competition camaraderie in Sonoma County.

Andy Jacques-Maynes spent the weekend riding the two days at Grand Prix of Gloucester and came away with good and consistent results where he finished 5th on both days. Saturday saw the typical cross conditions with pouring rain, thick mud, and slick corners. Jonathon Page (Planet Bike) went out from the start with Jamey Driscoll (Bike.reg) maintaining 2nd throughout the day. The contest came from the chasers. The following group was occasionally reshuffled and AJM threw out some very strong attacks taking 5th place. The following day came with opposite conditions and was a gorgeous autumn day with plenty of sunshine. As expected due to the calm conditions, the group stayed together longer and race tactics became more crucial. Tim Johnson (Cannondale) took the win for the day ahead of his 4 break mates and Andy led the hunt in the first chase group finishing 5th.

Meanwhile, the BISSELL track riders have been at the USA Cycling Elite Track Nationals at the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Carson City. Things got off to a great start on the first day of competition when Cody O’Reilly (BISSELL) took the first-ever ominium national title. Following up on that result, Cody also had a solid 3rd place in the men’s points race. To wrap up great week of racing, Cody again rose to the top with his second national title of the championships with a win in the men’s Madison with partner, Iggy Silva (Iggy Racing). Also rounding out the top 5 in the men’s Madison was the WE Mean Clean Team of Ben Jacques-Maynes and Daniel Holloway.

The other major cycling event taking place in the country this weekend was Levi’s Gran Fondo and 4 members of the BISSELL Team, Eric Wohlberg, Paul Mach, Burke Swindlehurst and Tim Farnham were there. This traditional Italian cycling event is not strictly competitive but the spirited riders bring with them an element of contest. BISSELL’s Paul Mach was no exception and Paul came across the line in second behind BMC rider, Scott Nydam. To underscore the relaxed mood of the day, Eric Wohlberg joked about his ride. “I didn’t see the guys at the finish as I was that fast and so far ahead. Rolled hard on the climbs, drank 2 bottles of K2O, and didn't need to stop at the rest stations. Unfortunately I had the timing chip blow off as I was rolling 70kmph plus.”

It has been a great week for the team with tough riding and equally enjoyable celebration!

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., October 1, 2009 – Peter Latham of the BISSELL Pro Cycling Team took the win on Sunday at the RaboPlus National Criterium Championship to claim the title of New Zealand’s criterium champion. The day got off to a quick start with an early attack from N.Z. Road Champion, Gord McCauley. Numerous other attacks were chased down by a motivated and attentive field. Latham had support from his BISSELL teammate, Omer Kem, and Te Awamutu club team-mates who did the lion’s share of the work chasing down the breaks.

The day’s aggressive racing gradually diminished the field, and in the final seconds came down to a 15-man, bunch sprint to the finish. Latham was the strongest across the line and powered past second-place finisher, Patrick Bevin, and third place, Mike Northey.

Latham said that his motivation for a big result was a combination of the chance to wear the N.Z. criterium champion’s jersey in his upcoming season with BISSELL and putting on a strong performance for family and friends. Next, he is off to the National Track Training Center in Invercargill and will then join his BISSELL teammates to race the upcoming Sun Tour in Australia and the Tour of Southland in New Zealand.

By USA Cycling

he 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships opened in the velodrome at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, on Wednesday as Cody O’Reilly (Bissell) and Cari Higgins (Proman) were awarded the first-ever elite omnium national titles.

In all, three national champions were crowned on the first day of competition inside the country’s only 250-meter indoor velodrome.

Cody, son of former kilo world record holder and Pan American champion Rory O’Reilly, used a balanced attack to take what is considered the all-around title, finishing second in the individual pursuit and kilo time trial, third in the 200-meter time trial and the scratch race and sixth in the points race.

“I have a lot of endurance from all the road racing I’ve been doing and that combined with some speed makes the omnium suit me really well,” O’Reilly said.

Jacob Duehring (Felt Factory Team) mounted a formidable attack, including a blazing win in the individual pursuit, but had to settle for silver after an eighth-place finish in the points race. USA Cycling National Development Team rider Daniel Holloway (Felt-Holowesko-Garmin) also had a strong showing, winning both the points race and the kilo, but couldn’t recover from a slow start in the 200-meter time trial.

After collecting four medals at this year’s Pan American Track Cycling Championships, Higgins began her quest for the stars-and-stripes Wednesday, winning what is to be the first of eight events she will contest at these national championships.

The soon-to-be 33-year-old grabbed the sixth national title of her career in impressive fashion, placing first in three of the five omnium events.

“This was the most important race for me this week because I feel like on the world level this is where I’m most competitive,” explained Higgins. “I really wanted to show what I can do in this event and the dominance of our entire Proman squad.”

Long-time endurance racer Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Verducci-Breakaway) earned the silver with an all-around strong performance while Heather Jackson (Oceanside, California) grabbed the bronze after winning the points race.

Recently added to the national championship slate, the men’s and women’s international omniums are a compilation of the 200-meter flying time trial, scratch race, individual pursuit, points race and time trial. Each rider is awarded points in each event with the rider accumulating the lowest cumulative point total earning the title.

In the only other title awarded on Wednesday, Giddeon Massie (Bike Religion) clocked a time of 18.359 seconds to win the standing 250-meter time trial over David Espinoza (Bike America) and Kelyn Akuna (Veritas Cycling Team).

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/10/news/oreilly-santa-barbara-calif_98872