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La Vuelta de Bisbee - NE
USA, April 23-25, 2004
Main Page Results Previous Stage
Stage 3 - April 25: Tombstone Road Race, 65/59 miles (M/W)
Solo breaks rule the day; Frattini and Gaggioli wrap up overall
By Steve Medcroft
Davide Frattini (Team Monex) and Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) wrapped up the general classification wins at La Vuelta de Bisbee Sunday morning despite both final stages being won by gutsy solo breakaways. Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators) found a reserve of strength after having to contend for his top-three spot without team support and powered the infamous Tombstone Canyon climb for his solo win. In an almost 50-mile solo breakaway, two-year cycling veteran Michelle Beltran (Red 5 Racing) stormed up the final climb minutes ahead of the field to claim her solo victory.
At 81 degrees and bone-desert dry, racers fought heat as well as each other to the dramatic finales. The day opened with GC leaders holding known, but not secure, advantages over the rest of the potential podiums. The long looping stage rolled first down away from town along open desert highways then back to the base of the 14-mile Mule Pass climb before finally turning up to the Tombstone Canyon finale.
Women
An early break of three riders slipped off the front after only several miles in the women's event. With more than 45 miles left in the race, the two team's containing GC threats to overall leader and unsupported racer Lynn Gaggioli, didn't have an investment in chasing it down.
Beltra, one of the three breakaway riders, who was 5:45 behind on GC at the start of the day, managed to get away from her break-mates. "A friend told me a few weeks ago that there's magic in boldness," she said of her mentality on the course. "I was thinking of that when I got away."
Back in the main group sat Gaggioli, team Tamarack/Goldy's (of second-place Suz Weldon) and Team Victory Brewing (with third-place Brooke Ourada). "Because the break didn't contain anyone from Goldy's or Victory," Gaggioli said, "the field kept sitting." So Beltran's break held.
In fact, she extended it on the road into dangerous territory, threatening GC at one point. "The officials told me the gap was up to five minutes," said Beltran. "So I just kept doing all the things I thought the group wouldn't do - power over climbs, press on the downhills."
With no teammates to help, Gaggioli had to depend on others to bring the break back. In intelligent tactical plays by both of the other podium contenders, neither team would work. Gaggioli instead found herself off the front too often, being marked for the climb and getting help only from random other riders.
Which left Beltran, a former bodybuilder and fitness trainer who's only been cycling competitively for two years, 2'54" up the road at the bottom of Tombstone Canyon. Beltran crossed the line far enough ahead for a two-handed salute and a pat on the back from almost every other finisher who came after, but with not quite enough time to overtake the general classification.
Gaggioli approached the final climb with all her rivals safely in sight, pacin' to secure the overall. The competent and tactical way in which she won Bisbee seems to indicate that she's is, in fact, recovering properly and returning to form after an injury she sustained toward the end of last season. She will be rejoining some of her T-Mobile teammates for next week's Tour of the Gila and will be seen later this year at the Joe Martin and Captech Classics.
Men
In the men's race, the gaps between the top-three GC spots were much tighter so control on the road was more critical. Davide Frattini's Team Monex and Drew Miller's Landis Trek/VW had the most at stake and were seen constantly patrolling the front of the field.
"The team worked hard all day to chase breaks," Frattini said in fractured English. "There was more wind (on the highways) and it was more difficult."
Miller's team shared the load. "It was mostly a comfort thing (to stay at the front of the field). Keep me near the front. Keep things under control."
The pressure from Monex and Landis Trek/VW kept the race together over the climb up Mule Pass. From there, riders had only the run up to the climb back into and up Tombstone Canyon.
It was at that point that Burke Swindlehurst decided that, as an unsupported rider, this might be his only chance to win. "I attacked about three miles out," he said. "There was no time to take inventory (about who was close behind and how far back they were). I just gave it everything I had."
The now-select group of about twelve riders, which contained Frattini and Miller, watched from behind. "Frattini played a really smart race," Miller said. "I kept waiting for him to chase Burke."
But Frattini knew that he didn't have to beat Swindlehurst up the climb, just keep him within the 17-second advantage he held in GC. He knew the gaps because he, and every member on his team, had the numbers and times of the top dozen or so contenders taped to their stems. "All attacked, all jumped," he said about the run up into town. "I chased but waited to the last kilometer."
"Frattini lit it up the last 200 meters," Miller said. Frattini only yielded eight seconds to Swindlehurst on the line -- enough to hold on to the win by just three seconds. "He managed it beautifully," Miller said.
Maybe with continued success like Frattini had in Bisbee, he'll be able to reconcile the problem that put him in the U.S. in the first place - lack of a contract to race in his native Italy.
Race notes
Yes, There Was a B Race: As well as the Elite men's and women's fields battling on the roads in and through Bisbee, there was a 75-rider strong Master's and Cat 3 and below B event. Team Honeywell Cycling and their designated GC leader, Eric Brownell, controlled the race through every stage. He won the prologue time trial and, with help from a large group of teammates, kept close control on each stage.
Brownell has been cycling for more than five years, competes with his team throughout the West and is occasionally seen nationally in selected events (such as the road race national championships). His association with Honeywell Cycling, a Phoenix-based club team comprised of Honeywell employees and some community members, began when he worked for what was then Allied Signal. "I was part of the founding team and love racing with these guys," he said.
"I was in Bisbee last year in the A race. My friends said they wanted to race but needed a GC rider so I said ‘sure, I'll ride the B race for you guys.'" Brownell gathered up the leaders jersey on the first day and his team never let him lose it. "We had fun. I'd love to do it again."
World championship stripes in Bisbee
If you had been paying attention to the results for the past couple of days you may have noticed one conspicuously female name in the men's A race. Mari Holden (T-Mobile), who won the Olympic Silver Time Trial medal, the Time Trial World Championship and the U.S. National Time Trial Championships in 2000, was in Bisbee to get valuable training miles. By competing in the men's race, which she wasn't here to contest she says, she gained greater mileage and avoided the competitive pressure that would have come from racing alongside the fierce, 60-rider women's field.
Look for Holden at the Tour of the Gila in Silver City, New Mexico next week, and at the National Championships in June where she'll attempt to qualify for a 2004 Olympic spot.
Photography
Images by Jason Elhardt/www.jasonelhardt.com
- The early break in the men’s race would gain just over 3 min before the chase began.
- Team Monex seemed to be in control, keeping the break within reach.
- The lead group of about fifteen came into Bisbee all together.
- Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators) took his second stage win but it wasn’t enough for the overall win.
- Davide Frattini (Team Monex) crossed the line second today, but first in the GC.
- Michelle Beltran was on the attack early on in the women’s race.
- Beltran had company for the first few miles but, no one could stay with her today.
- In the field, Lynn Gaggioli seemed content to let Beltran ride alone.
- Lynn Gaggioli (T Mobile) rides contentedly in the field.
- Sandy Espeseth (Victory Brewing) rode well in field to defend 2nd place for teammate Brook Ourada.
Results
Men 1 Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators Cycling Team) 3.37.55 2 Davide Frattini (Team Monex) 0.09 3 Drew Miller (Landis/Trek/VW) 4 Jacob Erker (Team Seasilver) 5 Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing) 6 John Hunt (Village Peddler) 0.13 7 Mike Dietrich (Fiordifrutta) 0.20 8 Peter Baker (Team Snow Valley) 0.43 9 Philip Wong (Fiordifrutta) 0.46 10 Cam Evans (Symmetrics Cycling) 0.49 11 Carl Decker (Broadmark Capital Elite) 0.50 12 Geoffrey Rapoport (Velo Club LaGrange) 13 Scott Blanchard (Eclipse Racing) 0.55 14 Michael Lange (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 1.07 15 Bartek Fidelus (Ranchos Cycling Club) 1.13 16 Chris Gruber (Unattached) 1.23 17 Andew Guptill (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology) 1.26 18 George Ganoung (US Armed Forces) 1.27 19 Will Routley (Symmetrics Cycling) 1.28 20 Adam Livingston (Team Seasilver) 1.32 21 Enrique Ospina (Team Monex) 1.38 22 Todd Terlecki (Giant Factory Team) 23 Michael Hernandez (Reno Wheelmen) 24 David Wenger (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 1.46 25 Tom Crawford (Broadmark Capital Elite) 1.57 26 Curtis Gunn (Veloworx Racing) 27 Peter Penzell (US Armed Forces) 28 Jason Karew (Eclipse Racing) 2.12 29 Matt Sadauskas (Team Seasilver) 2.15 30 John Salskov (CZ Racing) 2.18 31 Todd Hageman (Cole Sports) 2.23 32 Ryan Dewald (Team Snow Valley) 2.38 33 Clayton Barrows (Rocky Mountain Cycling Ed Fnd) 2.43 34 John Osguthorpe (Ogden One) 3.33 35 Peter Fairbanks (GP - Bianchi) 3.36 36 Ryan Hamity (Rocky Mountain Cycling Ed Fnd) 3.38 37 Dylan Sybel (Symmetrics Cycling) 3.48 38 Matthew Holecko (Arizona State Cycling) 4.05 39 Erik Van Den Akker (Reno Wheelmen) 4.16 40 Evan Elken (Broadmark Capital Elite) 41 Mark Weideman (High Sierra Cyclists) 4.18 42 Sean Cahill (US Armed Forces) 4.44 43 Kevin Nicol (ACA) 4.55 44 Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver) 5.02 45 Tim Carolan (Landis/Trek/VW) 46 Chad Beyer (Domenics) 5.05 47 Evan Lawrence (Team Hammer Gel) 5.35 48 Matt Bromen (Velo Club LaGrange) 5.44 49 Andy Bestwick (HDCC) 5.58 50 Jacob Rubelt (Landis/Trek/VW) 6.04 51 Greg Bourque (Team Seasilver) 52 Logan Garey (Unattached) 6.06 53 Axel Santiago (CenturyTel) 6.31 54 Omer Kem (Broadmark Capital Elite) 6.53 55 Keith Miller (Team DARE) 7.03 56 Peter Knudsen (Team Seasilver) 7.10 57 Trent Hornus (US Armed Forces) 7.15 58 Matt Lorenz (US Armed Forces) 7.43 59 Michael Gallagher (US Armed Forces) 8.30 60 Kurt Hackler (Ibex/Fitwerx) 8.51 61 Gregory Abrahamson (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology) 9.08 62 Wayne Puckett (Team Spine) 63 Mike Zagorski (Velo Club LaGrange) 9.14 64 Marsh Cooper (Symmetrics Cycling) 9.20 65 Shawn Olin (US Armed Forces) 9.26 66 Steve Mlujeak (US Armed Forces) 9.35 67 Owen Jeffries (Rocknasium/CBE) 9.49 68 Karl Bordine (Team Monex) 10.24 69 Matt Gilbert (Team Monex) 70 Jason Spencer (Atlas Cycling) 10.53 71 David Robinson (Broadmark Capital Elite) 11.01 72 Aaron Smathers (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 12.30 73 Nick Kiernan (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 74 Roy Pickavance (CenturyTel) 12.33 75 John Hackman (Velo Club LaGrange) 13.02 76 Mark Cunningham (Symmetrics Cycling) 13.30 77 Scott Goguen (Symmetrics Cycling) 78 Scott Kasin (Team Lucky Lounge) 13.35 79 Justin Morgan (Broadmark Capital Elite) 13.48 80 John Reed (Team Lucky Lounge) 81 Ryan Yee (Team Monex) 82 Mari Holden (T-Mobile) 83 Brian Lemke (Landis/Trek/VW) 84 Dave Reid (Landis/Trek/VW) 85 Zach Winter (Hayden Frontier Cycling Team) 14.38 86 Devin Zoller (Hayden Frontier Cycling Team) 87 Josh Goodwin (Team Monex) 17.10 88 Stuart Press (Velo Club LaGrange) 19.02 89 Mike Herdman (Team Monex) 22.07 DNF Russell Cree (Broadmark Capital Elite) DNF Thomas Hallock (Northwest Cycling Club) DNF Hugh Moran (Atlas Cycling) DNF Zachary Vestal (Jimmy D Racing) DNF Edward King (Louis Garneau Racing) DNF Pat Caro (Team Monex) DNF Jacob Hunter (Team Revolution Racing) DNF Jose Quintero (Ranchos Venezuela) DNF Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics Cycling) DNF Drew Deters (Team Seasilver) DNF Daniel Ramsey (Team Seasilver) Women 1 Michelle Beltran (Red 5 Racing) 2.51.53 2 Brooke Ourada (Team Victory Brewing) 1.49 3 Kate Sherwin (Team Kenda Tire) 4 Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) 1.52 5 Kristin Johnson (Basis) 6 Jennifer Todd (Red 5 Racing) 2.04 7 Carolyn Donnelly (Landis/Trek/VW) 2.12 8 Suz Weldon (Tamarack/Goldy's) 9 Sandy Espeseth (Team Victory Brewing) 10 Sandra Kolb (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling) 2.52 11 Maatje Benassi (Excel Sports) 3.00 12 Jennifer Stevens (Red 5 Racing) 13 Sima Trapp (Tamarack/Goldy's) 14 Maria Molina (Ortho-Evra) 3.27 15 Rook Campbell (Genesis Scuba/FFCC) 16 Kirsten Robbins (Team Victory Brewing) 17 Deneen Brown (Landis/Trek/VW) 3.34 18 Sheila Orem (BBC) 3.40 19 Maggie Luciano-Williams (Landis/Trek/VW) 3.47 20 Maureen Middleton (Landis/Trek/VW) 21 Cynthia Mommsen (The Olympic Club) 22 Chrissy Ruiter (Basis) 4.00 23 Maria Castaneda (Ortho-Evra) 4.05 24 Corinn Clark-Danielli (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling) 25 Lisa Hunt (The Olympic Club) 4.13 26 Rebecca Stengel (Mountain Velo Cycling Team) 4.43 27 Heather Woodhouse (Team Kenda Tire) 28 Dorothy Wong (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling) 29 Nadine Bruhn (Red 5 Racing) 4.57 30 Marielle Aunave (Unattached) 5.30 31 Rosanne Lent (Skirack.com/Provisions Intl Ltd) 32 Juliane Mortello (Landis/Trek/VW) 33 Jana Repulski (Tamarack/Goldy's) 6.26 34 Emily Westbrook (Tamarack/Goldy's) 35 Kele Hulser (Basis) 6.36 36 Marie Rosado (Ortho-Evra) 6.56 37 Sarah Barber (Richardson Bike Mart) 8.00 38 Jacqui Lockwood (Team Kenda Tire) 8.06 39 Betsy Sellers (Team Kenda Tire) 40 Mary Rudy (US Armed Forces) 8.19 41 Maegan Daigler (Helen's/Trek/VW) 8.55 42 Kate Gracheck (Unattached) 9.18 43 Mindi Martin (Team Kenda Tire) 11.10 44 Diane Shaline (Durango Wheel Club) 11.30 45 Mary Georgetti (Mystic Velo) 11.57 46 Paula Higgins (Landis/Trek/VW) 20.38 47 Lauren Dorsch (Tamarack/Goldy's) 30.03 48 Graciela Perez (Unattached) 31.29 49 Jennifer Stern (Arizona State Cycling) 33.31 50 Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire) 34.40 51 Holly Hagan (Durango Wheel Club) 36.00 52 Marlene Zuhl (Mountain Velo Cycling Team) 41.08 53 Katherine Farago (NEBC/Cycleloft) 49.48 DNF Karen Kraus (Team Kenda Tire) DNF Louella Holter (PSCC Gregg Specialized) Final general classifications Pro/1/2 men 1 Davide Frattini (Team Monex) 7.00.32 2 Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators Cycling Team) 0.03 3 Drew Miller (Landis/Trek/VW) 0.21 4 Jacob Erker (Team Seasilver) 0.30 5 John Hunt (Village Peddler) 0.47 6 Mike Dietrich (Fiordifrutta) 1.02 7 Scott Blanchard (Eclipse Racing) 1.43 8 Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing) 1.54 9 Michael Lange (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 2.02 10 Geoffrey Rapoport (Velo Club LaGrange) 2.08 11 Cam Evans (Symmetrics Cycling) 2.47 12 Philip Wong (Fiordifrutta) 2.48 13 George Ganoung (US Armed Forces) 2.50 14 David Wenger (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 2.56 15 Adam Livingston (Team Seasilver) 3.10 16 Carl Decker (Broadmark Capital Elite) 17 Michael Hernandez (Reno Wheelmen) 3.23 18 Peter Baker (Team Snow Valley) 3.26 19 Matt Sadauskas (Team Seasilver) 3.43 20 Will Routley (Symmetrics Cycling) 3.48 21 Bartek Fidelus (Ranchos Cycling Club) 3.51 22 Chris Gruber (Unattached) 3.53 23 Curtis Gunn (Veloworx Racing) 4.00 24 Tom Crawford (Broadmark Capital Elite) 4.16 25 Peter Penzell (US Armed Forces) 4.17 26 Clayton Barrows (Rocky Mountain Cycling Ed Fnd) 4.29 27 Dylan Sybel (Symmetrics Cycling) 4.30 28 Ryan Dewald (Team Snow Valley) 4.40 29 Todd Terlecki (Giant Factory Team) 4.44 30 Peter Fairbanks (GP - Bianchi) 4.54 31 Andew Guptill (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology) 5.26 32 John Osguthorpe (Ogden One) 5.44 33 Enrique Ospina (Team Monex) 5.52 34 Tim Carolan (Landis/Trek/VW) 6.00 35 Jason Karew (Eclipse Racing) 6.18 36 Todd Hageman (Cole Sports) 6.22 37 Erik Van Den Akker (Reno Wheelmen) 6.33 38 Ryan Hamity (Rocky Mountain Cycling Ed Fnd) 6.38 39 John Salskov (CZ Racing) 7.31 40 Jacob Rubelt (Landis/Trek/VW) 7.38 41 Chad Beyer (Domenics) 7.41 42 Kevin Nicol (ACA) 7.42 43 Matthew Holecko (Arizona State Cycling) 7.56 44 Mark Weideman (High Sierra Cyclists) 8.12 45 Sean Cahill (US Armed Forces) 8.20 46 Evan Elken (Broadmark Capital Elite) 8.22 47 Matt Bromen (Velo Club LaGrange) 8.38 48 Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver) 8.49 49 Keith Miller (Team DARE) 9.34 50 Evan Lawrence (Team Hammer Gel) 9.36 51 Greg Bourque (Team Seasilver) 10.14 52 Andy Bestwick (HDCC) 10.15 53 Trent Hornus (US Armed Forces) 10.17 54 Logan Garey (Unattached) 10.45 55 Omer Kem (Broadmark Capital Elite) 11.03 56 Shawn Olin (US Armed Forces) 11.35 57 Kurt Hackler (Ibex/Fitwerx) 12.00 58 Matt Gilbert (Team Monex) 12.32 59 Wayne Puckett (Team Spine) 12.33 60 Michael Gallagher (US Armed Forces) 12.38 61 Owen Jeffries (Rocknasium/CBE) 12.43 62 Matt Lorenz (US Armed Forces) 12.48 63 Axel Santiago (CenturyTel) 12.51 64 Mike Zagorski (Velo Club LaGrange) 13.05 65 Marsh Cooper (Symmetrics Cycling) 13.16 66 Steve Mlujeak (US Armed Forces) 13.26 67 David Robinson (Broadmark Capital Elite) 13.50 68 Gregory Abrahamson (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology) 14.31 69 Peter Knudsen (Team Seasilver) 15.41 70 Jason Spencer (Atlas Cycling) 16.03 71 John Hackman (Velo Club LaGrange) 17.41 72 Nick Kiernan (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 17.44 73 Justin Morgan (Broadmark Capital Elite) 17.48 74 Zach Winter (Hayden Frontier Cycling Team) 18.00 75 Mari Holden (T-Mobile) 18.14 76 Karl Bordine (Team Monex) 18.16 77 Aaron Smathers (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 78 Ryan Yee (Team Monex) 18.41 79 Scott Goguen (Symmetrics Cycling) 18.50 80 Scott Kasin (Team Lucky Lounge) 18.59 81 Mark Cunningham (Symmetrics Cycling) 19.51 82 Brian Lemke (Landis/Trek/VW) 20.08 83 John Reed (Team Lucky Lounge) 20.15 84 Devin Zoller (Hayden Frontier Cycling Team) 20.23 85 Dave Reid (Landis/Trek/VW) 20.31 86 Josh Goodwin (Team Monex) 22.56 87 Stuart Press (Velo Club LaGrange) 24.07 88 Mike Herdman (Team Monex) 39.00 89 Roy Pickavance (CenturyTel) 50.02 Women 1 Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) 5.27.04 2 Brooke Ourada (Team Victory Brewing) 0.49 3 Suz Weldon (Tamarack/Goldy's) 1.16 4 Sandy Espeseth (Team Victory Brewing) 1.41 5 Kristin Johnson (Basis) 2.18 6 Kate Sherwin (Team Kenda Tire) 2.24 7 Maatje Benassi (Excel Sports) 3.05 8 Michelle Beltran (Red 5 Racing) 3.23 9 Carolyn Donnelly (Landis/Trek/VW) 10 Jennifer Todd (Red 5 Racing) 4.03 11 Sandra Kolb (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling) 4.22 12 Jennifer Stevens (Red 5 Racing) 4.33 13 Sima Trapp (Tamarack/Goldy's) 4.36 14 Rook Campbell (Genesis Scuba/FFCC) 4.43 15 Maria Molina (Ortho-Evra) 5.26 16 Cynthia Mommsen (The Olympic Club) 5.49 17 Lisa Hunt (The Olympic Club) 5.59 18 Kirsten Robbins (Team Victory Brewing) 6.02 19 Sheila Orem (BBC) 6.06 20 Chrissy Ruiter (Basis) 6.08 21 Maureen Middleton (Landis/Trek/VW) 6.43 22 Deneen Brown (Landis/Trek/VW) 6.45 23 Maggie Luciano-Williams (Landis/Trek/VW) 6.51 24 Heather Woodhouse (Team Kenda Tire) 7.12 25 Maria Castaneda (Ortho-Evra) 7.47 26 Corinn Clark-Danielli (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling) 7.58 27 Rebecca Stengel (Mountain Velo Cycling Team) 8.12 28 Dorothy Wong (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling) 8.41 29 Juliane Mortello (Landis/Trek/VW) 9.07 30 Nadine Bruhn (Red 5 Racing) 9.09 31 Marielle Aunave (Unattached) 9.27 32 Emily Westbrook (Tamarack/Goldy's) 10.06 33 Marie Rosado (Ortho-Evra) 10.27 34 Rosanne Lent (Skirack.com/Provisions Intl Ltd) 11.32 35 Kele Hulser (Basis) 12.03 36 Jana Repulski (Tamarack/Goldy's) 12.05 37 Maegan Daigler (Helen's/Trek/VW) 12.34 38 Betsy Sellers (Team Kenda Tire) 13.57 39 Sarah Barber (Richardson Bike Mart) 14.38 40 Mary Rudy (US Armed Forces) 14.56 41 Jacqui Lockwood (Team Kenda Tire) 14.58 42 Kate Gracheck (Unattached) 17.10 43 Mary Georgetti (Mystic Velo) 17.57 44 Mindi Martin (Team Kenda Tire) 20.08 45 Diane Shaline (Durango Wheel Club) 22.12 46 Paula Higgins (Landis/Trek/VW) 31.52 47 Lauren Dorsch (Tamarack/Goldy's) 42.06 48 Jennifer Stern (Arizona State Cycling) 42.57 49 Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire) 44.41 50 Holly Hagan (Durango Wheel Club) 48.03 51 Marlene Zuhl (Mountain Velo Cycling Team) 52.28 52 Graciela Perez (Unattached) 1.03.30 53 Katherine Farago (NEBC/Cycleloft) 1.22.17
