Cougar Mountain Classic - NE

Sonoma, California, USA, July 7-8, 2007

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Stage 2 - July 8 : Circuit Race,

Bazzana doubles as Rais takes victory

The Pro 1/2 men's field makes
Photo ©: Stephen Scharf

Italy's Alessandro Bazzana completed the sweep on Sunday at Infineon Raceway, winning the men's NRC Road Circuit race at the Infineon Cougar Mountain Classic. Bazzana (Team Successful Living) began the weekend on Saturday with a win in the 90-minute NRC Road Criterium Race over the seven-mile course in the Sonoma Valley.

Bazzana completed the weekend on Sunday, out-sprinting Freedom's Ben Jacques-Maynes over the final 200 metres for the win in the Elite Men Pro 1/2 class. It was Bazzana's third win of the season; he took the victory earlier this year at the Conquer the Canyons Stage Race.

"This is my first year riding in the U.S. and these were both NRC races so this is good for me and the team," said Bazzana, who resides in Ventura. "We just need to keep the momentum going."

Bazzana received some help from teammate Christian Valenzuela over the final lap to help secure the victory in the two-hour race.

"They had two riders out of the four (in the final sprint) so it was going to be tough, plus Alessandro is a great sprinter," Jacques-Maynes said. "I took second in this race in 2004 here and I took second again today. I'm okay with that."

The women sprint to the finish line
Photo ©: Stephen Scharf

Bazzana and Jacques-Maynes were followed at the finish line by Christopher Jones (Nerac Pro Cycling) and Valenzuela.

In the women's race, Palo Alto's Amber Rais worked with her Webcor Builders teammates to grab an exciting victory. Rais broke away with a lead pack of five riders, including Webcor Builders teammates Katheryn Curi and Beverley Harper, in the last three laps of the 90-minute race. Rais and Catherine Cheatley (Cheerwine) attacked in the last two turns, with Rais sprinting on to take the win. Cheatley finished second with Victoria Bastide (Team TIBCO) third.

"We were really looking for a team result today, and that was to win," said Rais, who works as a research assistant at Stanford. "The amazing thing about this team is that we all support each other and we don't care who wins, as long as she's wearing a Webcor jersey."

The riders competed on Infineon Raceway's challenging 2.52-mile road course, which is best known for hosting motor-sports events like the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and IndyCar Series.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Stephen Scharf

The Pro 1/2 men's field makes its way around the race track.
The women sprint to the finish line on Sunday.

Results

Pro 1/2 men
 
1 Alessandro Bazzana (SuccessfulLiving.com)      
2 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health)           
3 Christopher Jones (Nerac Cycling Team)         
4 Christian Valenzuela (SuccessfulLiving.com)    
5 Jorge Alvarado (Kahala-La Grange)              
6 Jose Manuel Garcia (Toyota-United)             
7 Daniel Ramsay (SuccessfulLiving.com)           
8 Curtis Gunn (SuccessfulLiving.com)             
9 James Mattis (California Giant/Specialized)    
10 Darren Lill (Navigators)                      
 
Pro 1/2 women
 
1 Amber Rais (Webcor Builders)                   
2 Catherine Cheatley (Cheerwine)                 
3 Victoria Bastide (Team TIBCO)                  
4 Katheryn Curi (Webcor Builders)                
5 Beverley Harper (Webcor Builders)              
6 Kelly Benjamin (Cheerwine)                     
7 Melissa Sanborn (Wenzel Coaching)              
8 Rachel Heal (Webcor Builders)                  
9 Rushlee Buchanan                               
10 Amanda Eaken (Metromint Cycling)