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2nd Garrett Lemire Memorial GP - NEOjai, Ca, USA, April 10, 2005Lance Armstrong Graces Garrett LeMire Memorial Gran PrixBy Eddie Monnier To the surprise and delight of many, Lance Armstrong graced the field at the second annual Garrett LeMire Memorial Gran Prix in Ojai, California. Although only in its second year, the race enjoyed National Racing Calendar status this year. The challenging one mile circuit around Libby Park in the quaint town of Ojai, known primarily for its spas, has quickly become a favorite among riders in Southern and Central Coast California. The race was founded in honor of Ojai resident Garrett Lemire, a talented twenty-two year old cyclist who was tragically killed while competing at the Tucson Bike Classic in March, 2003. Garrett always wanted a pro race in his home town. His family and friends founded the race to honor his memory. They have also set up a memorial fund to promote bicycle safety and education. You can read more about Garrett and the fund at http://www.glmgp.com/. Ryan Yee, Garrett's close friend and training partner, is now a pro with Team Seasilver. The team made a strong showing today as it was represented in virtually every move of the day. Aaron Olsen (Colavita Olive Oil / Sutter Home) made a strong solo effort late in the race but could not get more than 10 seconds on the field and was absorbed with one lap to go. The hill had taken its toll on many of the racers and the increased pace on the last lap shattered the field. It was "retired" pro Harm Jansen of local team RPM who rocketed to victory. The former Saturn rider is busy finishing his graduate thesis but enthusiastically told cyclingnews "Ah, see, you can still win working 60 hour weeks!" No stranger to victory, the talented rider has won several NRC races in his "retirement", including the overall at both the 3-day Cycle Fest (West Palm Beach, Florida) and the multi-week omnium International Cycling Classic (Illinois and Wisconsin, aka "Superweek").
VanGilder & Pic deliver Quark one-twoWomen's report by Jim Williams, Quark Cycling team Beautiful downtown Ojai was the setting for the fifth stop of the NCR schedule as riders took to the streets for the Garrett Lemire Memorial Race. The second year event is to honor Garrett Lemire who was killed on March 15, 2003 while racing in the Tucson Bike Classic. He was just 22 years old at the time of his death and his parents are actively involved with the planning and staging of the race. Racing this year has been very aggressive as teams seem to be evenly matched and today was once again fast from the gun. Small breaks tried to get away on the first few laps but it was an attack by hometown girl Mari Holden (T-Mobile) that created the biggest excitement. Along with Holden a group formed containing Tina Pic (Quark), Kim Anderson (Colivita), Lyne Gaggioli (Monex), Jill McLaughlin (Vella Bella), and Holden's teammate Kori Kelly. T-Mobile was determined to use their numbers in the break and continued to attack the group. Being outnumbered Tina Pic had to cover successive attacks until her teammate Laura VanGilder was able to bridge up. In tow was another T-Mobile rider, Lara Kroepsch, and Stacy Peeters (Helen's Cycling). With better numbers it was Quark's turn to attack, which kept the action at the front hot and put the other riders in the break on the defensive. As the laps ticked by and the finish approached Stacy Peeters attacked the group and was able to get a good gap. Quark's Tina Pic went to the front and flew up the 200 meter climb on the back side of the course with Laura VanGlider glued to her wheel. Tina was able to pull clear of the bunch and deliver Laura 150 meters from the line. VanGilder crossed first with ease and Pic was able to gut it out and hold on to second with T-Mobile's Lara Kroepsch rounding out the podium. PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Steve Cohen
Images by Stefan Mayer
Images by Dan Holmes
Images by Ronald Howard/Premier Photography
ResultsMen 1 Harm Jansen (Ned) Helen's RPM 2 Rahsaan Bahati (USA) McGuire 3 Matty Rice (USA) Jelly Belly 4 Eric Wohlberg (Can) Symmetrics 5 Emile Abraham (Tri) Monex 6 Aaron Olson (USA) Colavita/SutterHome 7 Ivan Stevic (SCG) Aerospace 8 Jason Bausch (USA) SeaSilver 9 Kyle Gritters (USA) SeaSilver 10 Antonio Rios (USA) LaGrange 11 Joshua Goodwin (USA) Monex 12 Eric Saunders (USA) McGuire 13 Banning Ostrow (USA) Salsa 14 Carlos Vega (USA) Monex 15 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery 16 Luke Stockwell (Aus) Mondial 17 Thurlow Rogers (USA) Sonace 18 Pete Lopinto (USA) SeaSilver 19 Pulodo Luis Marango (USA) LaGrange 20 Randall Coxworth (USA) SDBC Women 1 Laura Van Gilder (USA) Quark 2 Tina Pic (USA) Quark 3 Laura Kroepsch (USA) T-Mobile 4 Kim Anderson (USA) Colavita Light 5 Lynn Gaggioli (USA) Monex 6 Kori Seehafer (USA) T-Mobile 7 Jill McLaughlin (USA) Velo Bella 8 Mari Holden (USA) T-Mobile 9 Stacey Peters (USA) Helen's 10 Laura Yolsten (USA) Diet Cheerwine 11 Michelle Hyland (USA) TDS-Schwalbe 12 Suzanne Sonye (USA) Helens 13 Kimberly Baldwin (USA) T-Mobile 14 Brenda Lyons (USA) Velo Bella 15 Rhonda Stickle (USA) Diet Cheerwine 16 Candice Blickem (USA) Quark 17 Liza Rachetto (USA) Subway 18 Helen Kelly (USA) Quark 19 Carli Figieroa (USA) Paramount 20 Brooke Ourada (USA) T-Mobile Past winners2004 Harm Jansen (Ned) Suzanne Sonye (USA) |
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