Menzies to Defend Title in Elk Grove
(United Health Care Pro Cycling Team)
The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis rolls into Elk Grove, IL with a formidable lineup, led by last year’s Tour of Elk Grove overall winner Karl Menzies, as well as sprinters Hilton Clarke and Jake Keough.
Joining them will be recent Cascade Classic overall winner Rory Sutherland. With the three-day race opening with a 7.2 km time trial, Sutherland will be one of the favorites to take the race lead on day one.
But the 155 km road race on Saturday and Sunday’s 110 km criterium are known as sprinter’s courses. And UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis sprinters have been nearly unstoppable when the full squad is together since Clarke joined the Team for the Air Force Cycling Classic in June.
‘We’ve been able to watch the progression of our sprinting crew since the spring,’ said Team Director Mike Tamayo. ‘With every race, Karl, Jake and Andrew (Pinfold) were coming together as a unit. And after battling Hilton for several months, when we added him to the mix he fit in perfectly and the guys just kept winning.’
Those wins included a sweep at the Air Force Classic, and victories in both criteriums of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.
‘Now we come to Elk Grove with those four guys going well, plus Rory coming off Cascade, and three huge diesels in Brad White, Jonny Clarke and Adrian Hegyvary, so we feel pretty good about this weekend’s races,’ Tamayo said.
But UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis will face some stiff competition as well, renewing the Team’s battle with V Australia, whose Ben Day was a close 2nd to Sutherland at Cascade. Jamis-Sutter Home brings a sprint-heavy squad led by Ivan Dominguez and the Borrajo brothers. Plus Bissell and Mountain Khakis are both fielding full squads for Elk Grove.
‘We know everyone’s going to show up ready to race their bikes this weekend,’ Tamayo said. ‘It’s going to be some good, hard racing, and it should be really exciting for all the fans who come out to watch.’
UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis for the Tour of Elk Grove, July 30-August 1:
Hilton Clarke
Jonny Clarke
Adrian Hegyvary
Jake Keough
Karl Menzies
Andrew Pinfold
Rory Sutherland
Brad White
Team Type 1’s Hanson Second On Rio Stage 2
Ken Hanson delivered Team Type 1 its second straight runner-up finish Thursday at the Tour do Rio in Brazil.
Hanson finished second to race leader Tomas Alberio (Trevigiani Dynamon Bottoli), who won his second consecutive stage. Hanson is fifth overall, while Team Type 1 teammate Chris Jones ? who was second on Wednesday’s opening stage ? remains 14 seconds off the overall lead with three stages to go.
“We are a little short-staffed with only five riders here against many eight-man teams,” Jones said. “But the guys are doing a solid job so far.”
Hanson, winner of three criteriums this year, said he might have earned his first victory in a road race had the course markings been more accurate.
“The 200 meters-to-go sign was actually at 75 meters,” Hanson said. “So I didn’t even get to open up my sprint. It was a bit confusing and frustrating.”
The 100-mile (161 km) race was expected to shake up the overall standings. But Hanson said the climbs were not as daunting as the race bible professed, leading to a field sprint. He lies fifth overall, 1:10 off the lead, and will wear the green points jersey Friday.
“I feel good and I’m climbing pretty well,” he said. “Chris is riding really well. He was impressive at the Cascade Cycling Classic last week. So if I have good legs, I’ll help him as much as I can.”
Friday’s third stage is a 94-mile (152 km) race that goes uphill almost immediately, snaking its way from Trs Rios to Nova Friburgo.
“It’s going to be really, really tough,” Hanson said.
Team Type 1’s Jones Second With Two Days Left In Brazil
With two stages remaining at the Tour do Rio, Team Type 1’s Chris Jones remains within striking distance of the overall lead.
Jones finished 15th on Friday’s Stage 3 to hold onto his second place overall, 18 seconds behind Tomas Alberio (Trevigiani Dynamon Bottoli). The Italian won the first two stages and finished third Friday.
The 94-mile (152 km) race was expected to produce a considerable shake-up in the standings. But the mountainous route from Trs Rios to Nova Friburgo ended with 34 riders contesting a bunch sprint behind Spaniard Sergio Casanova (MMRBikes.com), who soloed to the finish four seconds ahead of the field.
Team Type 1’s Ken Hanson finished fourth on the day and will wear the green jersey again Saturday. Hanson is within six points of Alberio in the sprint competition and lies sixth overall, 1:14 behind.
“We didn’t expect Alberio to survive the climbs today,” Team Type 1 Director Sportif Vassili Davidenko said. “At one point he got dropped, but then he fought back. It was a really hard stage for everyone.”
Team Type 1’s Fabio Calabria ? who, along with teammate Joe Eldridge ? has Type 1 diabetes ? was in the large early break that formed before the day’s major climb. But only four riders remained when the escapees topped the summit, with Casanova making it all the way to the finish.
Stage 4 will travel up the coastline from Nova Friburgo and head inland west to finish 97 miles (157 km) later at Cabo Frio. The first half of the course is extremely up and down, followed by a nearly flat run-in to the finish.
Jones said his priority is to hang onto his position overall and try to set up Hanson ? who was fifth on Stage 1 and second on Stage 2 ? for the stage win.
“The profiles of the next two stages appear to be flat so it will be hard to move up on the general classification for me,” Jones said. “We will look for any opportunity to make up time, but our primary focus is to win tomorrow’s stage. Ken has shown that he is climbing and sprinting well.”
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