La Vuelta de Bisbee - NE

USA, April 23-25, 2004

2003 results Stage List Preview Start List Past winners

The Stages

Prologue - April 23: Mule Pass Individual Time Trial, 2.8 miles
Stage 1 - April 24: Sulphur Springs Road Race, 79.3/39.7 miles (M/W)
Stage 2 - April 24: Warren Time Trial, 10.6 miles
Stage 3 - April 25: Tombstone Road Race, 65/59 miles (M/W)

Preview

By Steve Medcroft

The three-day, four-stage, La Vuelta de Bisbee (LVDB) road race, opens on Friday, April 23, in Southeastern, Arizona. A USA Cycling National Race Calendar event, LVDB has been hosted by this small community for 26 years. A prominent national race since the eighties, past winners include Greg Lemond (who won as a 16-year old in 1978), Bob Cooke (1977, 79), Alexi Grewal (1992), Scott Moninger and Jeannie Longo (2002) and most recently, Drew Miller and Manon Jutras (2003).

The Players: The Bisbee field is divided into three elite categories. The A race is comprised of professional Senior and amateur Category 1 and 2 men, the B race is for Masters men and the C race is for Senior and Master women of all categories.

Racing this year is returning winner Drew Miller and his Landis Trek/VW team, a contingent from Team Monex, women of the US National, T-Mobile squad and scores of national and regional racers.

Miller won last year's event in an amazing display of form, experience and strategy; especially meaningful when you consider that this self-proclaimed 'old' club rider squeezes Elite level cycling performances into a life filled with family and a full time career as a mechanical engineer. Last year's Bisbee win was the beginning of a stand out season in which Miller went on to win the Tour of the Gila as well as come second, 5 seconds behind Jonathan Vaughters, in the famous Colorado uphill race: the Mt. Evans Hill Climb.

Can Landis Trek/VW and Miller repeat last year's drama? The competition seems geared for a tough fight, says Miller. "Monex had a good climber at Redlands (Davide Frattini, Italian pro and former winner of the Baby Giro) and Seasilver has lots of potential winners (Erker, Livingston, Knudsen, etc.). Burke (Swindlehurst, Navigators) is also a great climber and a very savvy tactical rider. I think he had Bisbee won years ago but flatted in the final time trial and lost the lead. Bisbee owes him one."

The Landis Trek/VW squad is also missing Scott Price, one of its foundational leaders. "It sucks, but he had a nasty crash at Redlands," Miller said. "We lose a lot of horsepower and leadership without him." But he says the squad is ready. "Even though, just based on numbers, we are weaker this year, everyone's gonna give their all. If someone on the team has the legs to contend, I know that everyone will put forth maximum effort!"

The Venue: With a population of about 10,000, Bisbee sits at 5,500 feet and is about 100 miles Southeast of Tucson, Arizona and neighbour to the infamous Tombstone, Arizona. A defunct copper ore mining camp, Bisbee is now a quirky community nestled along a narrow valley in a high desert mountain range since artists, hippies, and retirees transformed the town after mining moved on.

The terrain that made Bisbee Queen of the Copper Camps, is a perfect challenge for cyclists. Rural highways both lace through mountainous desert canyons and slope down and away from town allowing event promoters several race course choices. Two of the four stages, include, include crown jewel feature of racing in Bisbee - the brutal climb up Mule Pass (Almost 1,000 feet elevation in 2.8 miles). These roads were distinct enough to attract the 1980 U.S. national championships and offer an excellent, affordable forum for national-caliber cyclists to contest valuable NRC series points.

Weather: Average climate for Bisbee in late April means racers usually receive a dry and warm welcome (70's, low 80's) in Arizona. If the heat grows, it can play a significant role since the finales are fought on strong climbs in peak daylight. But predictions for this weekend's weather mean racers may have to contend with rolling thunderstorms throughout the race.

The Stages

Prologue - Friday April 23rd: the Mule Pass Individual Time Trial is a punishing time trial that gains 837 feet of elevation in just 2.8 miles.

Course records for the prologue are: - Men: 9:18 by Malcolm Elliot in 1993 - Women: 10:33 by Leslie Schenk in 1987 - Master Men: 11:22 by Mark Weideman in 2001

Stage 1 - Saturday April 24th: in the Sulphur Springs Road Race, riders are tested on the rolling rural highways around Bisbee. The A men complete a two-lap circuit that includes 2,300 feet of total climbing over 79.3 miles. The women and B men race one of the circuits.

Stage 2 - Saturday April 24th: the Warren Time Trial, named for a city founder, tests the riders for a second time on Saturday over 10.6 miles.

Course Record for the Warren Time Trial Course: - Men: 19:11 by Chris Wherry in 2002 - Women: 23:02 by Marianne Berglund in 1994 - Master Men: 21:35 by Mark Weideman in 2001

Stage 3 - Sunday, April 25th: Tombstone Road Race: Starting and finishing in downtown Bisbee, Sunday's 65 (A men) and 59 (women and B men) mile road race promises to settle any tension and drama built over the weekend. The race gains more than 5,000 feet and finishes with a 5 mile, 6% grade uphill climb. Most LVDB's are settled on the final climb of the final stage.

In all, the elite male field will compete over 156 miles and climb more than 8,800 feet.

Start list

Men

101 Kevin Nicol (ACA)
102 Joel Hennings (Atlas Cycling)
103 Jason Spencer (Atlas Cycling)
104 Matthew Holecko (Arizona State Cycling)
105 Duane Dickey (Bianchi-Grand Performance)
106 Tom Crawford (Broadmark Capital Elite)
107 Russell Cree (Broadmark Capital Elite)
108 Carl Decker (Broadmark Capital Elite)
109 Evan Elken (Broadmark Capital Elite)
110 Omer Kem (Broadmark Capital Elite)
111 Justin Morgan (Broadmark Capital Elite)
112 David Robinson (Broadmark Capital Elite)
113 Todd Hageman (Cole Sports)
114 Roy Pickavance (CenturyTel)
115 Axel Santiago (CenturyTel)
116 Gregory Abrahamson (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology)
117 Andew Guptill (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology)
118 John Salskov (CZ Racing)
119 Keith Miller (Team DARE)
120 Thomas Hallock (Northwest Cycling Club)
121 Chad Beyer (Domenics)
122 Scott Blanchard (Eclipse Racing)
123 Jason Karew (Eclipse Racing)
124 Mike Dietrich (Fiordifrutta)
125 Philip Wong (Fiordifrutta)
126 Hugh Moran (Atlas Cycling)
127 Peter Fairbanks (GP - Bianchi)
128 Todd Terlecki (Giant Factory Team)
129 Andy Bestwick (HDCC)
130 Zach Winter (Hayden Frontier Cycling Team)
131 Devin Zoller (Hayden Frontier Cycling Team)
132 Owen Gue (Team Hammer Gel)
133 Evan Lawrence (Team Hammer Gel)
134 Mark Weideman (High Sierra Cyclists)
135 Kurt Hackler (Ibex/Fitwerx)
136 Zachary Vestal (Jimmy D Racing)
137 Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing)
138 Edward King (Louis Garneau Racing)
139 Scott Kasin (Team Lucky Lounge)
140 John Reed (Team Lucky Lounge)
141 Tim Carolan (Landis/Trek/VW)
142 Brian Lemke (Landis/Trek/VW)
143 Drew Miller (Landis/Trek/VW)
144 Dave Reid (Landis/Trek/VW)
145 Jacob Rubelt (Landis/Trek/VW)
146 Karl Bordine (Team Monex)
147 Pat Caro (Team Monex)
148 Davide Frattini (Team Monex)
149 Matt Gilbert (Team Monex)
150 Josh Goodwin (Team Monex)
151 Mike Herdman (Team Monex)
152 Enrique Ospina (Team Monex)
153 Ryan Yee (Team Monex)
154 Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators Cycling Team)
155 John Osguthorpe (Ogden One)
156 Jacob Hunter (Team Revolution Racing)
157 Owen Jeffries (Rocknasium/CBE)
158 Clayton Barrows (Rocky Mountain Cycling Ed Fnd)
159 Ryan Hamity (Rocky Mountain Cycling Ed Fnd)
160 Bartek Fidelus (Ranchos Cycling Club)
161 Michael Hernandez (Reno Wheelmen)
162 Erik Van Den Akker (Reno Wheelmen)
163 Jose Quintero (Ranchos Venezuela)
164 Sherman Gingerella (SC Velo)
165 Nick Kiernan (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers)
166 Michael Lange (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers)
167 Aaron Smathers (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers)
168 David Wenger (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers)
169 Marsh Cooper (Symmetrics Cycling)
170 Mark Cunningham (Symmetrics Cycling)
171 Cam Evans (Symmetrics Cycling)
172 Scott Goguen (Symmetrics Cycling)
173 Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics Cycling)
174 Will Routley (Symmetrics Cycling)
175 Dylan Sybel (Symmetrics Cycling)
176 Matt Usborne (Symmetrics Cycling)
177 Greg Bourque (Team Seasilver)
178 Drew Deters (Team Seasilver)
179 Jacob Erker (Team Seasilver)
180 Peter Knudsen (Team Seasilver)
181 Adam Livingston (Team Seasilver)
182 Daniel Ramsey (Team Seasilver)
183 Matt Sadauskas (Team Seasilver)
184 Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver)
185 Peter Baker (Team Snow Valley)
186 Wayne Puckett (Team Spine)
187 James Carney (Unattached)
188 Logan Garey (Unattached)
189 Chris Gruber (Unattached)
190 Sean Cahill (US Armed Forces)
191 Michael Gallagher (US Armed Forces)
192 George Ganoung (US Armed Forces)
193 Trent Hornus (US Armed Forces)
194 Matt Lorenz (US Armed Forces)
195 Steve Mlujeak (US Armed Forces)
196 Shawn Olin (US Armed Forces)
197 Peter Penzell (US Armed Forces)
198 Matt Bromen (Velo Club LaGrange)
199 John Hackman (Velo Club LaGrange)
200 Stuart Press (Velo Club LaGrange)
201 Geoffrey Rapoport (Velo Club LaGrange)
202 Mike Zagorski (Velo Club LaGrange)
203 John Hunt (Village Peddler)
204 Curtis Gunn (Veloworx Racing)
205 Mari Holden (T-Mobile)
206 Ryan Dewald (Team Snow Valley)

Women

401 Jennifer Stern (Arizona State Cycling)
402 Sheila Orem (BBC)
403 Corinn Clark-Danielli (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling)
404 Sandra Kolb (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling)
405 Dorothy Wong (Bicycle John's Serious Cycling)
406 Kele Hulser (Basis)
407 Kristin Johnson (Basis)
408 Chrissy Ruiter (Basis)
409 Holly Hagan (Durango Wheel Club)
410 Diane Shaline (Durango Wheel Club)
411 Maatje Benassi (Excel Sports)
412 Rook Campbell (Genesis Scuba/FFCC)
413 Rebecca Cooke (Grand Canyon Racing)
414 Lauren Dorsch (Tamarack/Goldy's)
415 Maegan Daigler (Helen's/Trek/VW)
416 Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire)
417 Karen Kraus (Team Kenda Tire)
418 Mindi Martin (Team Kenda Tire)
419 Betsy Sellers (Team Kenda Tire)
420 Kate Sherwin (Team Kenda Tire)
421 Heather Woodhouse (Team Kenda Tire)
422 Deneen Brown (Landis/Trek/VW)
423 Carolyn Donnelly (Landis/Trek/VW)
424 Paula Higgins (Landis/Trek/VW)
425 Maggie Luciano-Williams (Landis/Trek/VW)
426 Juliane Mortello (Landis/Trek/VW)
427 Rebecca Stengel (Mountain Velo Cycling Team)
428 Marlene Zuhl (Mountain Velo Cycling Team)
429 Mary Georgetti (Mystic Velo)
430 Katherine Farago (NEBC/Cycleloft)
431 Maria Castaneda (Ortho-Evra)
432 Maria Molina (Ortho-Evra)
433 Marie Rosado (Ortho-Evra)
434 Louella Holter (PSCC Gregg Specialized)
435 Sarah Barber (Richardson Bike Mart)
436 Rosanne Lent (Skirack.com/Provisions Intl Ltd)
437 Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile)
438 Jana Repulski (Tamarack/Goldy's)
439 Sima Trapp (Tamarack/Goldy's)
440 Emily Westbrook (Tamarack/Goldy's)
441 Lisa Hunt (The Olympic Club)
442 Cynthia Mommsen (The Olympic Club)
443 Johanna Buick (Team Victory Brewing)
444 Sandy Espeseth (Team Victory Brewing)
445 Brooke Ourada (Team Victory Brewing)
446 Kirsten Robbins (Team Victory Brewing)
447 Marielle Aunave (Unattached)
448 Kate Gracheck (Unattached)
449 Graciela Perez (Unattached)
450 Mary Rudy (US Armed Forces)
451 Leah Tingley (US Armed Forces)
452 Elizabeth Begosh (Velo Bella)
453 Suz Weldon (Tamarack/Goldy's)
454 Jacqui Lockwood (Team Kenda Tire)
455 Maureen Middleton (Landis/Trek/VW)
456 Becky Broeder (WFRA)
457 Nadine Bruhn (Red 5 Racing)
458 Michelle Beltran (Red 5 Racing)
459 Jennifer Stevens (Red 5 Racing)
460 Jennifer Todd (Red 5 Racing)

Past winners

Men 

2003 Andrew Miller (USA) Landis/Trek/VW

Women

2003 Manon Jutras (Can) Saturn Cycling Team