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Tour of Connecticut - NE
USA, May 20-22, 2005
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Stage 1 - May 20: New Haven criterium, 40 miles
Navigators eventually navigate through Connecticut traffic
Davidenko takes field sprint in first stage
By Mark Zalewski in New Haven, Connecticut
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The opening stage of the 2005 Tour of Connecticut almost didn't happen for the nearby-based Navigators Insurance team -- slowed by typically bad traffic up I-95 from the Big Apple. But even without a warm-up, the Russian sprint specialist Vasilli Davidenko was able to stoke his fires enough by the end to take the leader's jersey in a fast and short field sprint. "Yeah, we had like five minutes [of warm-up,]" said Davidenko. "We were worried about it!"
Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home battled with Navigators most of the day, but were spoiled in the end after controlling the majority of the final laps. However Juan Jose Haedo and Sebastian Alexandre were able to finish in second and third after a hard-fought sprint. "Mark McCormack [pulled] for the whole last lap," Haedo explained. "I was outside in the last turn and there was no room. [The finish] was longer than I thought, but still not enough room."
Into the final lap, some rubbing between Navigator's Oleg Grichkine and Colavita was evident across the start/finish. "The finish was a little bit crazy," said Davidenko. "For the last lap, there were three guys from Colavita in front. Oleg was my last guy. He didn't want to lose his position. He's afraid of nothing."
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But Davidenko admitted that it almost didn't happen for him today, due to the last-minute start. "The first half of the race I was just suffering!"
The suffering was minimal thanks to the first stage being a flat four-corner sprint around the New Haven Green, a half-mile rectangle with wide-open turns and smooth roads. This small course ensured no breaks would get away, even though a few teams tried. Timmy Duggan (TIAA/CREF) and Tim Johnson (Jittery Joe's/Kalahari) were the most active early on, pushing the pace at the front.
Duggan is looking more towards the next two stages that feature a good deal of climbing. "We tried to give the sponsor a good show," said Duggan. "We're not much in the way of sprinters -- we're geared more for the hills. And with it being windy and wide open, it was tough."
Johnson was almost giddy after the race, explaining that he and his team are finally beginning to fire on a cylinders. "I feel like I can race again! I'm finally having fun again. We're clicking as a team for the first time this year."
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The next two stages will really tell the tale of the race, with a 100km circuit race tomorrow and 220km point-to-point road race on Sunday. Stage one's second place rider, Juan Jose Haedo (Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) gets the honor of wearing the KOM jersey tomorrow. The Argentine sprinter laughingly admits he will be happy to relinquish it soon.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Zalewski/Cyclingnews.com
- Defending champ and New England native Mark McCormack (Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) should be used to the colder spring weather here - or maybe he's just going for the Ivy League sweater-over-the-shoulder look.
- Tim Johnson (Jittery Joe's/Kalahari) also a New England boy, makes sure his jersey is zipped-up all the way for the cool temperatures. Ah, spring in New England.
- When did they show up? Marty Nothstein (Navigators Insurance) warms his hands while waiting for the start.
- New Haven's Green played host to the criterium first stage of the Tour of Connecticut.
- Breakaway starter Eric Saunders (McGuire-Langdale) gets into position early in the race.
- Geoff Kabush (Jittery Joe's/Kalahari) might attribute his 2005 success on the mountain bike to his less-than-aerodynamic sideburns - we will see if it has the same effect on the road .
- Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home controlled a lot of the race with multiple riders on the front.
- Jonny Sundt (Jittery Joe's/Kalahari) looks over to see Marty Nothstein (Navigators Insurance) hot on his wheel.
- Timmy Duggan (TIAA/CREF) sparked a lot of action by riding off the front today.
- Only one crash occurred today, but luckily didn't result in any major injuries.
- Ryan McKenzie (Subway/Express) grabbed the first two arm-warmers he could find today.
- New pro team Snow Valley p/b Seal-on stays in the mix thanks to Russ Langley.
- With less than ten laps to go Cesar Grajales (Navigators Insurance), usually a climber, rides on the front for his team with Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home moving up on the outside.
- Can you hear me now? Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home masses on the front and calls for more reinforcements into the final laps.
- Three laps to go and it's all Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home and Navigators Insurance.
- Mark McCormack leads teammate Juan Jose Haedo (Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) as Oleg Grichkine fights his way through to bring sprinter Vasilli Davidenko (Navigators Insurance) to the front.
- Vassily Davidenko (Navigators Insurance) wins by a wheel ahead of Haedo and Sebastian Alexandre (Colvita Olive Oil/Sutter Home).
- Uhh, does this mean I have to climb tomorrow? Juan Jose Haedo finds himself in a rare position for a sprinter - leading the KOM competition.
Images by
Beth Seliga/
- Fans lined the streets of the Tour of Connecticut Criterium on Friday evening.
- Chris Baldwin and the Navigators train provided the perfect leadout.
- ... And Davidenko claimed the win!
- The course was a small flat loop around the green.
- A little TV time.
- Stage 1 podium.
- Navigators lead through a corner with less than 10 to go.
- Colavita-Sutter Home spent a bit of time up front too.
- Jeff Louder.
- Timmy Duggan was TIAA-CREF's most agressive rider, spending a fair amount of time upfront, too.
- A crash on the far side of the course occurred mid way through the race butno major injuries were reported.
- Bryan Smith (TIAA-CREF).
- Michael "Micro" Lange looks strong.
- Bryan Smith looks focused.
- The Colavita guys chat while they wait for the race start.
- Race promoter John Eustice does double duty and announces the race as well.
- Timmy Duggan looks confident as he is called to the line.
- Race sponsor TIAA-CREF presented the Mayor of New Haven with a autographed TIAA-CREF jersey to commemerate the event.
- Sierra Nevada/Kodakgallery.com pulls through a corner.
- Recent Ft. Lewis graduate Dan Bowman (TIAA-CREF) corners quickly.
Results
1 Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Insurance) 1.17.40 2 Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 3 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 4 Charles Dionne (Webcor Builders) 5 Alejandro Acton (North Atlantic Velo-Pedros) 6 Oleg Grichkine (Navigators Insurance) 7 Adam Hodges Myerson (Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth) 8 Marty Nothstein (Navigators Insurance) 9 Eneas Freyre (TARGETRAINING) 10 Todd Wells (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 11 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) 12 Mark McCormack (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 13 Jean Sebastien Maheau (Volkswagen-TREK) 14 Jonny Sundt (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 15 Mike Dietrich (Fiordifrutta) 16 Dan Timmerman (Fiordifrutta) 17 Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) 18 Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing) 19 Ryan DeWald (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 20 Matt Crane (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 21 Geoff Kabush (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 22 Hayden Godfrey (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) 23 Lisban Quintero (GS Mengoni) 24 Bryan Smith (TIAA-CREF) 25 Erik Saunders (McGuire-Langdale) 26 Tim Johnson (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 27 Jackson Stewart (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) 28 Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance) 29 Mark Walters (Navigators Insurance) 30 Tony Settle (Champion System Racing) 31 Amos Brumble (CCB-Volkswagen) 32 Phil Wong (Fiordifrutta) 33 Patrick Walsh (CCB-Volkswagen) 34 Evan Elken (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 35 Davide Frattini (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 36 Tyler Wren (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 37 Cesar Grajales (Navigators Insurance) 38 Bernard van Ulden (Webcor Builders) 39 Aaron Olson (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 40 John Legere (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 41 Ben Haldeman (Webcor Builders) 42 Christian Foster (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 43 Michael McGinley (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 44 Jeff Louder (Navigators Insurance) 45 Chris Kuhl (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 46 Trent Sullivan (GS Mengoni) 47 Patrick Dunaway (McGuire-Langdale) 48 Todd Herriott (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 49 Alexandre Lavallée (Volkswagen-TREK) 50 William King (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 51 Lucas Euser (Webcor Builders) 52 Scott Zwizanski (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) 53 Dominique Perras (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) 54 Jon Hamblen (Fiordifrutta) 55 Dan Bowman (TIAA-CREF) 56 Gustavo Artacho (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 57 Justin Spinelli (TARGETRAINING) 59 Michael Lange (TIAA-CREF) 59 Alaisandr Bialiauski (CCB-Volkswagen) 60 Timothy Duggan (TIAA-CREF) 61 Johnny Hayes (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 62 Matt White (Fiordifrutta) 63 Johs Huseby (Fiordifrutta) 64 Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) 65 Yahor Buben (CCB-Volkswagen) 66 Joseph Moody (Louis Garneau Racing) 67 John Chiu (Champion System Racing) 68 Ryan McKenzie (SUBWAY) 69 Chris Rozdilsky (Fiordifrutta) 70 Craig Wilcox (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 71 Peter Baker (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 72 Stefano Barberi (TIAA-CREF) 73 Scott Kasin (GS Mengoni) 74 Mike Norton (Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth) 75 Anthony Alessio (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 76 James Mattis (Webcor Builders) 77 Bruno Langlois (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 78 Roger Aspholm (Champion System Racing) 79 Jake Hollenbach (CCB-Volkswagen) 80 Alec Donahue (Louis Garneau Racing) 81 Josh Dillon (Louis Garneau Racing) 82 Robbie Giannini (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 83 Dan Greenfield (Louis Garneau Racing) 84 Mathieu Toulouse (Volkswagen-TREK) 85 Craig Upton (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 86 Zak Grabowski (TIAA-CREF) 87 Marc Anderson (TARGETRAINING) 88 Craig Lewis (TIAA-CREF) 89 Jason Allen (McGuire-Langdale) 90 Greg Wolf (TARGETRAINING) 91 Thad Dulin (Jittery Joe's-Kalahari) 92 Josh Taylor (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 93 Andrew Wulfkuhle (GS Mengoni) 94 Kevin Vanes (SUBWAY) 95 Ryan Blickem (TARGETRAINING) 96 Ted Huang (Webcor Builders) 97 Kyle Wamsley (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 98 Martin St-Laurent (Volkswagen-TREK) 99 Alexandre Cloutier (Volkswagen-TREK) 100 Tim Unkert (Independent Fabrication) 101 Russ Langley (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 102 Xavie Melendez (Champion System Racing) 103 Jason Baer (Louis Garneau Racing) 104 John Delong (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 105 Eric Pearson (North Atlantic Velo-Pedros) 106 Eric Kinney (North Atlantic Velo-Pedros) 107 Marc Collard (Webcor Builders) 108 Lee Rosenthal (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 109 Alvaro Tardaguila (TARGETRAINING) 110 Eugene Boronow (GS Mengoni) 111 Nathanial Cornelius (SUBWAY) 112 Leo Ventura (Champion System Racing) 113 Zachary Walker (McGuire-Langdale) 114 Dan Cassidy (Louis Garneau Racing) 115 Peter Petrillo (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 116 John Hanson (Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth) 117 Peter Femal (SUBWAY) 118 Jerry Kapko (Champion System Racing) 119 Matt Kraus (North Atlantic Velo-Pedros) 120 Ron Fantano (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 121 Jonathan Bruno (Independent Fabrication) 122 Dave Werling (Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth) 123 Shawn Forsyth (CCB-Volkswagen) 124 David John Tonks (Champion System Racing) 125 Brad Viera (Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On) 126 Josh Gewirtz (Fiordifrutta) 127 Colin Beardsley (McGuire-Langdale) 127 Andrew Knight (Louis Garneau Racing) 127 Alex Ferrero (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 127 Jason Bremer (GS Mengoni) 127 Anthony Colby (TARGETRAINING) 127 Bill Elliston (TARGETRAINING) 127 Ben Peters (Independent Fabrication) 127 Gregory Montello (Independent Fabrication) 127 Jason Beerman (Champion System Racing) 127 Martin Gilbert (Volkswagen-TREK) 127 Ari De Wilde (Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth) 127 Oscar Pineda (Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth) 127 Stephen Badger (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 127 Bob Weyman (CRCA-Sakonnet Technology) 127 Luke Krisch (Independent Fabrication) 127 John Funk (Independent Fabrication) 127 Jacob Hacker (North Atlantic Velo-Pedros) 127 Curtis Eastin (Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports) 127 Logan Hodson (Independent Fabrication) 127 Thomas Young (Independent Fabrication) Sprints Sprint 1 1 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 5 pts Sprint 2 1 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 5 pts Sprint 3 1 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 5 pts Best Sprinter Classification 1 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) 15 pts KOM Classification 1 Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) Best Young Rider 1 Jean Sebastien Maheau (Volkswagen-TREK)
