Tour de 'Toona - NEAltoona, USA, July 31-August 5, 2001Main page Men Women Previous stage Stage 5 - August 5: Downtown Altoona CriteriumMenBy Team Saturn The Tour de 'Toona wrapped up today with a downtown criterium in the city of Altoona. The six day race proved to be extremely successful for the Saturn Team, with the men and the women winning the final stage today, and the Saturn Men winning the overall Title. Today's criterium offered five time bonus sprints, which were decisive in the victory of the General Classification for Saturn's Harm Jansen. After Jansen's excellent ride in Saturday's Road Race, the Lead belonged to Jansen by only 21 seconds. Jansen's Saturn Team worked to keep the peloton intact in Sunday's criterium so that he could win the necessary bonuses to defend his Yellow Leader's Jersey. The Saturn Team's cohesive teamwork enabled Jansen to out-sprint Navigator's Vassili Davidenko, who maintained second place in the overall, for the necessary bonuses and insuring Jansen's 2001 Tour de 'Toona Title before the criterium was finished. Thus, the Team then turned its focus to winning the final stage, giving a fantastic leadout to speedster Ivan Dominguez. Dominguez's win today was his second of the race. In addition to the overall win, the Saturn Men also won the Team General Classification. After passing off his Yellow Jersey to teammate Jansen, Eric Wohlberg finished the Tour strongly, third overall Results1 Ivan Dominguez (Saturn) 1.02.08 2 Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Cycling Team) 3 Derek Bouchard-Hall (Mercury Racing) 4 Charles Dionne (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 5 Alex Canderlario (Thf Racing) 6 Kirk Obee (Navigators Cycling Team) 7 Rainie Sanchez (Snow Valley) 8 Oscar Pineda (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 9 Eric Wohlberg (Saturn) 10 Gabriele Rampollo (Defeet/Lemond) 11 John Lieswyn (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 12 Christopher Pic (Mercury Racing) 13 Kevin Monahan (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 14 Mark Walters (Navigators Cycling Team) 15 Jonathan Wirsing (Snow Valley) 16 Harm Jansen (Saturn) 17 Christopher Harkey (Defeet/Lemond) 18 Jonny Sundt (Broadmark Capital) 19 Timothy Larkin (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 20 Dirk Friel (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 21 Jon Page (Wheelworks Cannondale) 22 Jon Hamblen (Wheelworks Cannondale) 23 Clark Sheehan (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 24 Alex Lavallee (Kissena Cycling Team) 25 John Peters (Mercury Racing) 26 Max Finkbeiner (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 27 Doug Ziewacz (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 28 Dale Sedgwick (Bianchi Grand Performance) 29 Patrick Heaney (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 30 Scott Zwizanski (Bicycle Therapy) 31 Dewey Dickey (Bianchi Grand Performance) 32 Eneas Freyre (Kissena Cycling Team) 33 Russell Stevenson (Broadmark Capital) 34 Luke Stockwell (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 35 Gregory Sieniewicz (Watchung Whelman) 36 James Hodnett (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 37 Jelle Mul (Go Mart) 38 Jacob Loverich (Bicycle Therapy) 39 Trent Klasna (Saturn) 40 Gustave Carrillo (Bianchi Grand Performance) 41 John Hunt (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 42 James Mattis (East Suburban Sports) 43 Siro Camponagaro (Navigators Cycling Team) 44 Frank Mccormack (Saturn) 45 Michael Sayers (Mercury Racing) 0.31 46 Mark Mccormack (Saturn) 0.41 47 Ryan Oconnor (Go Mart) 0.48 48 Michael Ley (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 49 Matthew Svatek (Wheelworks Cannondale) 50 Chris Frederick (East Suburban Sports) 0.50 51 Carl Swenson (Thf Racing) 52 Tim Unkert (Capital Velo Club) 1.00 53 Benjamin Sharp (Go Mart) 1.02 54 Nat Faulkner (Kissena Cycling Team) 1.48 55 Yasuhiro Yamamoto (City Scape/Higher Gear) 2.18 56 Josh Taylor (Snow Valley) 57 Jeff Johnston (Team Texas) 58 Glen Rendall (Snow Valley) 59 John Kelly (Kissena Cycling Team) 60 Chris Mcdonald (Kissena Cycling Team) 2.30 61 Jeremy Sartain (Bianchi Grand Performance) 62 Jesse Keefer (Broadmark Capital) 2.40 63 Wilson Vasquez (G.S. Mengoni) 64 Gord Fraser (Mercury Racing) 2.50 65 Jason Baer (G.S. Mengoni) 3.10 66 Geoff Burndred (Broadmark Capital) 67 Tim Carolan (Bianchi Grand Performance) 68 Kevin Westover (East Suburban Sports) 69 Patrick Sullivan (Capital Velo Club) 3.45 70 Eric Murphy (East Suburban Sports) 71 Kurt Hackler (Capital Velo Club) 72 Ryan Nenninger (Mack Racing) 73 Chip Kogelmann (Bicycle Therapy) 4.00 74 Dan Larson (Cyclescience/Trek) 4.30 75 Todd Sanders (Cyclescience/Trek) 76 Rad Cunningham (Broadmark Capital) DNF John Cipolla (East Suburban Sports) DNF Glen Mitchell (Navigators Cycling Team) DNF Kris Hedges (Snow Valley) DNF Rafal Urzedowski (Watchung Whelman) DNF Marc Silberman (Watchung Whelman) DNF Shawn Williard (Defeet/Lemond) DNF Viktor Laza (Defeet/Lemond) DNF Josh Neff (Mack Racing) DNF Anthony Coughlin (Team Texas) DNF Brian Tradina (Aquafina) DNF Hugh Moran (Cyclescience/Trek) DNF Sean Groom (Snow Valley) DNF Jacco Helmink (Go Mart) DNF Curt Davis (Wheelworks Cannondale) DNF Chris Peck (Wheelworks Cannondale) DNF Poul Holm (Bianchi Grand Performance) DNF Rob Cambpell (Broadmark Capital) DNF Jacob Fetty (Zaxby's Cycling Team) DNF Joel Chavez (Cyclescience/Trek) DNF Dana Olson (Bicycle Therapy) DNF Josh Beck (Aquafina) Final general classification 1 Harm Jansen (Saturn) 12.39.35 2 Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Cycling Team) 0.12 3 Eric Wohlberg (Saturn) 0.27 4 Timothy Larkin (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 0.42 5 Clark Sheehan (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 0.43 6 Mark Walters (Navigators Cycling Team) 0.44 7 Jonny Sundt (Broadmark Capital) 0.46 8 Derek Bouchard-Hall (Mercury Racing) 0.47 9 Doug Ziewacz (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 0.51 10 James Mattis (East Suburban Sports) 0.53 11 Charles Dionne (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 0.58 12 John Lieswyn (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 1.10 13 Dale Sedgwick (Bianchi Grand Performance) 1.14 14 Jon Hamblen (Wheelworks Cannondale) 1.19 15 Dewey Dickey (Bianchi Grand Performance) 1.21 16 Luke Stockwell (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 1.21 17 John Hunt (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 1.29 18 Kirk Obee (Navigators Cycling Team) 1.45 19 Jon Page (Wheelworks Cannondale) 1.58 20 Russell Stevenson (Broadmark Capital) 2.01 21 Scott Zwizanski (Bicycle Therapy) 2.02 22 Christopher Pic (Mercury Racing) 2.03 23 John Peters (Mercury Racing) 2.06 24 Patrick Heaney (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 2.08 25 Gregory Sieniewicz (Watchung Whelman) 2.12 26 Jacob Loverich (Bicycle Therapy) 2.13 27 Michael Sayers (Mercury Racing) 2.23 28 Carl Swenson (Thf Racing) 2.53 29 Michael Ley (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 2.55 30 Ryan Oconnor (Go Mart) 3.07 31 Mark Mccormack (Saturn) 4.11 32 John Kelly (Kissena Cycling Team) 4.23 33 Alex Lavallee (Kissena Cycling Team) 5.34 34 Jelle Mul (Go Mart) 5.54 35 Jonathan Wirsing (Snow Valley) 7.24 36 Yasuhiro Yamamoto (City Scape/Higher Gear) 8.25 37 Chris Mcdonald (Kissena Cycling Team) 8.31 38 Frank Mccormack (Saturn) 9.55 39 Oscar Pineda (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 10.30 40 Ivan Dominguez (Saturn) 10.47 41 Nat Faulkner (Kissena Cycling Team) 12.00 42 Gord Fraser (Mercury Racing) 12.11 43 Gustave Carrillo (Bianchi Grand Performance) 12.25 44 Alex Canderlario (Thf Racing) 12.32 45 Dirk Friel (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 12.44 46 Kevin Monahan (7Up Colorado Cyclist) 12.44 47 Gabriele Rampollo (Defeet/Lemond) 12.55 48 Eneas Freyre (Kissena Cycling Team) 12.58 49 Siro Camponagaro (Navigators Cycling Team) 13.21 50 Jason Baer (G.S. Mengoni) 14.01 51 Eric Murphy (East Suburban Sports) 14.26 52 Christopher Harkey (Defeet/Lemond) 14.48 53 Josh Taylor (Snow Valley) 15.43 54 Ryan Nenninger (Mack Racing) 15.48 55 Kevin Westover (East Suburban Sports) 16.05 56 Geoff Burndred (Broadmark Capital) 16.07 57 Jeff Johnston (Team Texas) 16.29 58 Trent Klasna (Saturn) 16.36 59 Patrick Sullivan (Capital Velo Club) 16.48 60 Tim Carolan (Bianchi Grand Performance) 17.10 61 Chip Kogelmann (Bicycle Therapy) 17.46 62 Rad Cunningham (Broadmark Capital) 18.20 63 Max Finkbeiner (Zaxbys Cycling Team) 18.37 64 Tim Unkert (Capital Velo Club) 24.47 65 Benjamin Sharp (Go Mart) 25.09 66 James Hodnett (Lombardi Sports/Ofoto) 25.13 67 Jesse Keefer (Broadmark Capital) 26.49 68 Wilson Vasquez (G.S. Mengoni) 27.15 69 Kurt Hackler (Capital Velo Club) 30.22 70 Todd Sanders (Cyclescience/Trek) 30.35 71 Glen Rendall (Snow Valley) 33.19 72 Rainie Sanchez (Snow Valley) 35.05 73 Chris Frederick (East Suburban Sports) 39.51 74 Dan Larson (Cyclescience/Trek) 54.22 75 Jeremy Sartain (Bianchi Grand Performance) 58.48 76 Matthew Svatek (Wheelworks Cannondale) 59.27 Women2001 Tour de 'Toona race overviewThe Unfulfilled Fantasies of Cosmo Kramer By Henry Chang Outside the legendary HP International Women's Classic, the six day, six stage Tour de Toona, held in Altoona, Pennsylvania, has been the premier stage race for women in North America ever since it began in 1989. It is a rare event of its type, sharing the same prize list, race distances and challenging courses as the normally more touted men. This year's edition lived up to its reputation with its $50,000 in monetary incentives, and more importantly to the participants, the addition of the devastating Left Hand Gap climb to Blue Knob in the decisive Altoona road race. In the week leading up to the prologue, the pre-race buzz would lead one to expect the race was going to shape up as a Cat Fight Royale between Team Rona's phenom, Genevieve Jeanson and Saturn's Lyne Bessette, two riders who share world-class climbing ability, nationality, unforgiving competitiveness, and a mutual antipathy for one another. As Kramer [of Seinfeld] said, "Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca Cat Fight?!" (punctuated by a wondrous, far-away expression). A winding, technical, up-and-down prologue produced no surprises with Jeanson winning easily with a time of 5'39, beating Bessette and Autotrader.com's Katrina Berger by 8 seconds. Bessette's 2nd place was by virtue of a 0.03 nipping of Berger and the stage was set for the expected showdown. 136 riders completed the prologue and started the next day's 73 mile Crown American Johnstown Road Race. The course's principle difficulty was a climb only 1km long and this fact combined with the huge field of fresh riders ready to pounce on even the most innocuous of attacks, meant the race was destined for the inevitable field sprint despite the mid-summer Pennsylvania heat and humidity. Surprisingly, the sprint up, over and down the other side of an old steel river bridge was won by Bessette. The bonus seconds for the win was enough to vault Bessette over Jeanson for the 'Toona leader's jersey. Throughout the race, Bessette and Jeanson had been shadowing each other like two 10 month old Golden Retrievers in the back yard, oblivious to the rest of the world. Saturn's Anke Erlank was observed to have her hair dyed the same colour as Bessette and tucked under her helmet - was it either an amusing coincidence or novel tactic? Either way, it only added fuel to the rumour fire which burns brightly in the bike racing subculture. Day Three (out of Six), the Hollidaysburg Road Race, was not expected to be decisive in the fight for GC, however, the contenders all needed to be on guard as the narrow, winding, undulating course meant that a substantial portion of the now 120 women's field was destined to be gapped out of the race for first, despite the relatively short race distance of 60 miles. During the first half of the three lap race, a series of splinterings and regroupings whittled the field down and finally a group of five went off the front containing Amber Neben (Autotrader.com), Anke Erlank (Saturn), Dotsie Cowden (800.com), Jessica Phillips (Intersports) and Catherine Marsal (Intersports). With the exception of Erlank, who was sitting on in defense of the leader's jersey on her teammate's back, the group cooperated and the gap gradually mushroomed, getting nearly 2 minutes. With a teammate in the break, Bessette refused to help in the chase, leaving Jeanson's Rona squad to do the work. As the pace slowed on the climbs, Jeanson was a little stymied with Bessette getting the free ride. Then Chrissy Redden (Jane Cosmetics), whose team was also missing out of the break, came in to help with a teammate; Rona regained the initiative, and gradually the gap came down to 1:30 at the base of the final climb. At this point, Jeanson exploded off the front with Bessette and Katrina Berger in tow. A drag race to the finish line ensued as the breakaway struggled to hold onto their dwindling lead with the bridging group also holding off the rapidly diminishing peloton. Erlank, fresh from sitting on the breakaway the entire way, left the group for dead 3 km from the finish. Neben and Phillips countered but couldn't catch the relatively fresh Erlank. Cowden held on for fourth while Marsal and the bridging group were absorbed by what was left of the field, 1 minute down. The jersey passed from Bessette to Erlank and the tactical situation was looking good for Saturn. As always, fortunes can change quickly in a stage race, and while the fourth day's 80 mile Martinsburg Road Race didn't produce a shake-up in the standings, several dramatic crashes shook up the race. The course was a relatively flat 20 mile loop and most of the contenders were simply looking to say out of trouble as the climb to Blue Knob loomed the next day. Midway through the race, a Pennsylvania thunderstorm struck and Jeanson was unable to achieve the keep-it-upright goal as she went down on the wet pavement. As always, her ever attentive Rona teammates waited en-masse (almost causing even more crashes as they came to a screeching halt) for Jeanson to get rolling and quickly paced her back up to the group. The rain continued in periodic torrents and, as expected, numerous mishaps plagued the riders as they sped towards the bunch finish. The rain had stopped, but the pavement was still wet and two turns from the finish, Bessette went down hard at the head of the pack, spinning about the pavement like a rag doll. Nicole Freedman (Credit Suisse) rode through the ensuing chaos unscathed and took the victory with Jeanson in 2nd. As the field rode by the prostate Bessette, she could be heard making quite a bit of noise. Despite the day's dramatic events, the top portion of the GC standings remained unchanged as Bessette went down in the last kilometre and received the same time as the rest of her group. Left Hand Gap Road, which climbs 5 km up to the Blue Knob resort, is unlike the vast majority of roads in North America. Its pitches are steep and undulating, its width narrow, its pavement rough and patchy. Very Pyrenean. The 39x25 was de rigueur on most setups with many riders wishing they had even more rear teeth at their disposal. After her previous days' wet up-close-and-personal meeting with Mr. Asphalt, Lyne Bessette made a good show of warming up and being seen around the start line, then vanishing. Nevertheless, for the first portion of the race everyone assumed she was still a participant, which was once again clever gamesmanship on the part of Saturn, however, the their three remaining riders were unable to make even the slightest use of the feint as riders from a few of other teams were soon to prove to be better on the day. Sorry Kramer, there will be no catfight for you. Oh yes, and lest I forget, what made this stage even tougher was the existence of three major climbs after Left Hand Gap and the distance: 100 miles - something the women are not used to as some questionable conventional wisdom dictates that women's bike races be consistently shorter than those of the men. Such is not the inclination of Rick Geist, the 'Toona promoter. Many of the participants were openly dismayed at the prospect of racing over not only an unprecedented distance, but also over the inclusion of one of the toughest climbs ever seen in a North American road race. Back to the racing. The first 50 miles were relatively uneventful even though a 20 mile section was unexpectedly quick, shelling a fair number of tired riders, nevertheless, most wisely saved their energy for the efforts to follow while team managers in the caravan were all trying to figure out where Bessette was hanging out. At a false flat leading into the Left Hand Gap Monstrosity, Rona went to the front en masse and set tempo, providing a strung out launching pad for the torrid antics of Jeanson. The long steep pitches in the initial 3 km are perfect for the proverbial Diminutive Large Wattage Producer, and take advantage of it she did, going to the front and setting a searing tempo. Soon only Pia Sundstedt (Intersports) and Sue Palmer-Komar (Jane Cosmetics) were left on her wheel and before steepness abated, they fell off as Genevieve proceeded to ride out of sight. Sundstedt continued to pursue while Palmer-Komar made the decision that moderation was the better part of valour and let her go. Neben bridged up to Sundstedt and going over the top it was Jeanson, Sundstedt and Neben, then Palmer-Komar and dribs and drabs. By the bottom of the descent, Jeanson maintained her advantage while the splintered riders behind her coalesced into a chase group of eleven, including three Intersports, three 800.coms, two Autotraders, one Jane Cosmetics, one Saturn and Roz Reekie-May. Palmer-Komar forced a split over the top of the 2nd climb with Sundstedt and Reekie-May, but Intersports must have figured 1 out of 3 isn't much better than 3 out of 11, so Sundstedt refused to work and the three went back to the other eight, causing the gap to Jeanson to mushroom to 4 minutes. At the base of the 4th and final climb, Reekie-May attacked with Sundstedt again in tow and the exhausted group watched them ride away. At the finish, Jeanson had understandably slowed a bit after a 50 mile solo excursion and her gap had shrunk to 2 minutes to Sundstedt and Reekie-May while the remaining eight came in at 6 minutes. The rest of the splintered field limped home in medium sized clumps at 15 minutes or more. It was a hard day for everyone, even for the runaway winner. 50 miles, solo. One term that cannot be used to describe Jeanson is "wheelsucker". The Final Day. A criterium. Not too difficult when viewed in the race bible, but a quick investigation of the course in person reveals significant elevation gain. Hard, when the legs are tired from 100 miles and that damn Left Hand Gap. The race strung out single file from the gun as no one wanted to get caught in the back part of the accordion. Tradition says that even strong riders can get shelled out of the race if motivation at staging well and sprinting hard off the line is lacking. This year was to prove to be no exception, especially when after two laps of the single file action, Jeanson, obviously recovered from her previous day's efforts, went to the front and drove hard, mercilessly, at the front for three consecutive laps of the 1 mile course. Ninety riders started the race and at least 30 lost contact during this rather anaerobic portion of the festivities. It was a smart move on Jeanson's part - getting rid of the 'dead wood' significantly reduced her chances of getting involved in a mishap. After Jeanson's massive pull, the race continued on with the natural ebb and flow that criteriums have. Jeanson unnecessarily contested every time bonus sprint (perhaps getting ready for that anticipated small group sprint finish at the World's because of the long gradual descent before the line?) and finally she got away with Kim Davidge (Saturn). A bit surprising since Intersports had been the strongest team so far (easy winner of team GC), but perhaps not so surprising since Intersports had put out so much effort the previous day. One item that surely wasn't was Jeanson's presence in the decisive move. The two were side by side with 100 meters to go and Davidge edged ahead towards the finish. Kudos to the promoters of this unique event for putting on such a high-quality event, complete with rolling enclosures, team vehicle caravans, good courses, large prize list, and enthusiastic local volunteers. Too much of Jeanson in this article? Perhaps, but that's how the race went. It's too bad Bessette crashed out. Genevieve hasn't been able to drop Bessette in the past month, but it would have been fascinating to see the two of them go at it on a horrendously steep pitch like Left Hand Gap. Maybe next year. If it happens, one eager spectator nearly certain to be waiting in open-mouthed, breathless anticipation at the steepest section will be Mr. Cosmo Kramer.
ReportBy Team Saturn The women raced on the same eight corner, technical course. However, with Genevieve Jeanson's impressive 40 mile solo win in the previous day's race, the bonus seconds were neither substantial nor contested in the women's race. The 35-mile race developed into a two-person contest when a break with Saturn's Kim Davidge and Jeanson escaped. The two worked together to gain a gap on the group but in the final sprint it was Davidge exacting her finishing speed and experience on the young Canadian with an impressive win. Laura Van Gilder won the field sprint for third. Anke Erlank maintained her fourth place in the overall behind winner Jeanson, second place Pia Sunstedt (Intersport) and Roz Reekie May (NZL). The Saturn Team's fourth place finish was impressive considering Lyne Bessette did not start Saturday's road race due to injuries sustained in Friday's crash, which left the team with only three to defend Erlank's lead in Saturday's 100 mile, very mountainous race. Results1 Kimberly Davidge (Can) Saturn Timex 1.09.33 (41.41 km/h) 2 Geneviève Jeanson (Can) RONA 3 Laura van Gilder (USA) Verizon Wireless 0.37 4 Nicole Freedman (USA) Crédit Suisse First Boston 5 Gina Grain (USA) 800.com 6 Roz Reekie May (NZl) UPMC Pittsburgh Cycling 7 Gail Longenecker (USA) Boise Cascade Office Products 8 Meshy Holt (NZl) RONA 9 Mirabella Erin Veenstra (USA) Jane Cosmetics 10 Stacey Peters (USA) 800.com Final General Classification 1 Geneviève Jeanson (Can) RONA 14.35.29 2 Pia Sunstedt (Fin) Intersports 3.32 3 Roz Reekie-May (NZl) UPMC Pittsburgh Cycling 4.03 4 Anke Erlank (RSA) Saturn Timex 6.32 5 Jessica Phillips (USA) Intersports 6.49 6 Amber Neben (USA) Autotrader.com 6.51 7 Sandy Espeseth (Can) Intersports 7.30 8 Leah Goldstein (Can) 800.com 7.49 9 Nicole Demars (USA) 800.com 10 Kim Smith (USA) Autotrader.com 7.51 27 Manon Jutras (Can) RONA 23.41 28 Gabriela Gonzalez de Ferrat (Mex) RONA 24.01 37 Meshy Holt (NZl) RONA 30.37 |