2nd San Rafael Classic - NE

USA, September 14, 2002

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Van Gilder outduels them all to take San Rafael; Fraser wins tune up to San Francisco Grand Prix

By Chris Baldwin, Cyclingnews correspondent in San Rafael

Laura Van Gilder
Photo: © Rob Karman

Laura Van Gilder of Trek Plus won the San Rafael Cycling Classic in a field sprint on Saturday, beating Diet-Rite's Joanne Kiesanowski, Freddie Fu's Tania Duff-Miller and everybody from Saturn to the line. Mercury's Gord Fraser won the earlier men's race in a tune up to tomorrow's San Francisco grand Prix.

Conditions were idyllic in Marin county as 75 professional women stepped into their pedals shortly after 1 pm local time. From the get go it was the Saturn and Diet Rite teams clamouring for control , as Kimberley Bruckner and Kori Kelly traded jabs off the front throughout the day. A five-second gap springing from the legs of those two would expand and contract for most of the 60 minute race, while at various interludes Suzanne Sonye and Cheryl Binney offered to relieve their teammates from the burden of leadership, attacking wide to the right as the peloton came through the slightly uphill lap line.

Rona's Nicole Freedman and Freddie Fu's Tania Duff-Miller woke up their legs to win field primes amid wolfpack tactics, as sisters Helene and Kristen Drumm of Team Spine cracked the peloton's middle vertebrae to push things forward near the end.

Saturn's mid-race dominance, however, came to nought at the final sprint, as Van Gilder slipped wide to the outside of a tight turn three, boxing in Sonye and edging out Kiesanowski for the winning line. "I went to come inside, and then (Van Gilder) was coming from the outside-in, and I knew that she would just cut me off," said Kiesanowski. "It was either go or come down, you know, because everyone wants to come up at the front."

"It was a race between me, Laura, Nicole Freedman and Tania Duff-Miller to turn three. Kimberley took me to the perfect spot, but I just didn't seem to have the jump till that turn," said Sonye. " I went into the last turn fifth and ended up fourth."

Van Gilder, who rode without team support, was exultant in victory. Thanking her Bay Area host family for their guest bed, the 40 Pro Cycling Tour points she garnered from taking first in San Rafael were enough to push her into first over Saturn's Petra Rossner, 88 to 80.

"I was pretty confident that there were a lot of women today who were anxious for a field sprint. A lot of the local California riders seemed to be really capable in bringing everything back, so I just decided that I would be patient and hope that they kept people close enough that if anything was threatening, I could jump across as quickly as possible," said Van Gilder.

Gord Fraser wins.
Photo: © Rob Karman

Mercury's Gord Fraser won the men's 90 minute race, which stayed glued together almost in its entirety. A standing puddle of water took out Fraser's teammate Adham Sbeih mid-race, sending both him and local Team Zombies rider Erik Wochna to the hospital with painful upper limb damage. The race was a leg opener for tomorrow's San Francisco Grand Prix and for the most part not heavily contested. At times both Saturn and Prime Alliance seemed to be fighting for the rear of the peloton as aggressively as they sometimes do at the front. US Postal was absent, content to train in seclusion rather than risk the trauma of a half-mile crit.

Photography

Images by Rob Karman/www.roadbikephotos.com

• Clif Bar/Luna Team's Carmen d'Alusio takes a corner in the women's race.
• Diet Rite team member Joanne Kiesanowski powers down the road.
• Laura van Gilder from Trek Plus obliges a fan with a post-race autograph.
• Joanne Kiesanowski from Diet Rite came a close second to Laura Van Gilder.
• Laura Van Gilder prepares to celebrate victory in the women's race.
• Laura Van Gilder rode unsupported to win the 2nd San Rafael Classic.
• Race winner Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus) concentrates on her cornering.
• The women approach a turn on the attractive San Rafael course.
• Laura Van Gilder takes the sprint from Joanne Kiesanowski and Tania Duff-Miller.
• The men's field strung out for the sprint, won by Mercury's Gord Fraser.
• Mercury's Gord Fraser notches up another victory

Results

Women - 60 minutes

1 Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus)
2 Joanne Kiesanowski (Diet Rite)
3 Tania Duff\ Miller (Freddie Fu)
4 Suzanne Sonye (Saturn Cycling Team)
5 Jenny Eyerman (Spokesman Bicylces)
6 Nicole Freedman (Rona)
7 Carmen  D' Aluisio (ClifBar/Luna Team)
8 Susanne Jolidon-Krauer (Jura Suisse)
9 Kate Maher (3BRT)
10 Kori Kelly (Diet Rite)
11 Cynthia Maree (Helens Trek  VW)
12 Karen Brems (Webcor Alto Velo)
13 Cheryl Roth (Helens Trek  VW)
14 Katie Safford (Minute Maid Dasani)
15 Amy Babcock (Spokesman Bicylces)
16 Kristin Drumm Collins (Team Spine)
17 Heather Albert (Goldy's)
18 Lynn Gaggioli (M.F. Defeet)
19 Shawn Heidgen 
20 Naomi Gollogly 
21 Helene Drumm (Team Spine)
22 Desira Utzig (Minute Maid Dasani)
23 Sandra Kolb (Lgbrc Content Lab)
24 Rhonda Quick (Syntace / Red 5 Racing)
25 Kimberly Bruckner (Saturn Cycling Team)
26 Laurel  Green (Team Mack )
27 Ashley Hamilton (South Bay Wheelmen)
28 Eryn Hanna (Lgbrc Content Lab)
29 Lisa Hauck (Spokesman Bicylces)
30 April Henderson (Helens Trek  VW)
31 Jennifer Stevens (Minute Maid Dasani)
32 Kirstin Fisher (ICO)
33 Taitt Sato (Lgbrc Content Lab)
34 Liza Rachetto (ICO)
35 Anya Hinkle 
36 Nicole Brandt (Minute Maid Dasani)
37 erika schwarz (Syntace / Red 5 Racing)
38 Dara Rogers (Helens Trek  VW)
39 Norrene Godfrey (Rubicon)
40 Julie Monagle (Verizon Wireless - Cervelo)
41 Deborah Durand (Helens Trek  VW)
42 Cybil DiGuistini (Diet Rite)
43 Joy Shaffer (Lgbrc Content Lab)
44 Jacqeline Scott (Minute Maid Dasani)
45 Cheryl Binney (Diet Rite)
46 Megan Elliott (Saturn Cycling Team)

Men - 90 minutes

1 Gord Fraser (Team Mercury)
2 Alex Candelario (Prime Alliance)
3 Jonas Carney (Prime Alliance)
4 Ciaran Power (Navigators)
5 Kevin Monahan (7UP/ Nutra Fig)
6 Siro Camponogara (Navigators)
7 Charles Dionne (7UP/ Nutra Fig)
8 Damon Kluck (Saturn Cycling Team)
9 Matt Dubberley (Sierra Nevada)
10 Jesse Lawler (Jittery Joe's)
11 Todd Littlehales (Navigators)
12 Guiseppe Ribolzi (Jura-Wuisse/Nippon Hudo)
13 Russell Hambey (Ofoto / Lombardi Sports/JD Sports)
14 Peter Rogers 
15 George Neuman (Jura-Wuisse/Nippon Hudo)
16 Roberto  Gaggioli (amore e vita)
17 Kirk Albers (Jelly Belly/ Carlsbad Clothing)
18 Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron Pro Cycling Team)
19 Jackson Stewart (Ofoto / Lombardi Sports/JD Sports)
20 Michael Johnson (Schroeder Iron Pro Cycling Team)
21 Henk Vogels (Team Mercury)
22 Patrick Briggs (marathon racing team)
23 Justin Morgan (Sierra Nevada)
24 Jeff Angermann (Rocknasium)
25 Mike Sayers (Team Mercury)
26 Soren Petersen (Saturn Cycling Team)
27 Cesar Grajales Calle (Jittery Joe's)
28 Robert Newman (F-2 Consulting)
29 nicholas  onate (lipovitan)
30 Chad Gerlach (Sierra Nevada)
31 David Fuentes (Sierra Nevada)
32 Gerardo Castillo (Powerbar - Mastercard Mexico)
33 karl bordine (Excel Sports)
34 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Sierra Nevada)
35 Peter Armitage (Helens Trek  VW)
36 Ryan Lane (Team Zombies/RPM)
37 Oscar Pineda (7UP/ Nutra Fig)
38 Ryan Guay (Navigators)
39 Doug Ollerenshaw (Bike Gallery/Trek/VW)
40 Ivan Dominguez (Saturn Cycling Team)
41 Jonathan Vanheel (Ofoto / Lombardi Sports/JD Sports)
42 Bradley  Saul (Jittery Joe's )
43 Hayden Godfrey (7UP/ Nutra Fig)
44 Jason Klikna (Sierra Nevada)
45 Mariano Fredrick (Jelly Belly/ Carlsbad Clothing)
46 Mark Scott 
47 Belloumini Luca (Team Jura Suisse)
48 Shawn Oliver (Morgan Stanley Cycling Team)
49 Cameron Hughes (Kissena)
50 Colby Pierce (Ofoto / Lombardi Sports/JD Sports)
51 Brian Forbes (Jelly Belly/ Carlsbad Clothing)
52 Erik VandenAkker (Reno Hilton/rw)
53 Daniel Hopley (Pacific Velo / F-2 Consulting)
54 Andy Jacques-Maynes (Sierra Nevada)
55 Chris Horner (Prime Alliance)
56 Plamen Stayanov (Team Mercury)
57 Chris McGovern (Jelly Belly/ Carlsbad Clothing)
58 Remi McManus (Jelly belly/ Carlsbad Clothing)
59 Russell Stevenson (Prime Alliance)
60 Jesus Zarate (Team Mercury)
61 Victor Ayala (Powerbar - Mastercard Mexico)
62 Chris Wherry (Team Mercury)
63 Chris Walker (Team Zombies/RPM)
64 Chris Hipp (Labor Power)
65 Chris Baumann (Sierra Nevada)
66 Mark Mc Cormack (Saturn Cycling Team)
67 Dean laBerge (Marathon)
69 Ryan Barrett (Schroeder Iron Pro Cycling Team)
70 Mike Taylor (Ofoto / Lombardi Sports/JD Sports)
71 Danny Pate (Prime Alliance)


Men amateurs

1 Takumi Shimomura (Oakland)

Men masters 35+

1 Mark Scott (Escondido)

Children, 2 laps

1 Cooper Parkerson (Mill Valley)