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2002 Sea Otter

MTB Sea Otter

Sea Otter Classic - 2.3

Monterey, California, USA, April 9 - 12, 2003

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Stage 4 - April 12: Road Race, Laguna Seca

DeCanio Shines in the Rain, Jutras leads Saturn 1-2s -
Jeanson and O'Neill 2003 Sea Otter Champions

By Kristy Scrymgeour

It was a 1-2-3 day at the 13th Annual Sea Otter Classic, powered by SRAM. Quebec women finished 1-2-3 in the final 99.5 mile stage of the road and 1-2-3 in the overall standings, led by Genevieve Jeanson (Rona-Esker). Saturn men finished 1-2-3 in the men's road stage race, with Australian Nathan O'Neill winning his first ever UCI stage race. Matt Decanio put the Prime Alliance team on the top step of the podium for the second day in a row, and moved into fifth overall with his victory.

Men: O'Neill gets the monkey off his back

Decanio goes solo
Photo: © Bob Wilson

The final stage of the Sea Otter Classic featured a 100 mile road race today throughout the rolling terrain of the Carmel Valley. After two days of sunny California weather, the forecast called for rain which would add to the difficulty of the already challenging course.

The US Postal and Prime Alliance teams were hoping to move their GC riders up a few spots to interrupt Saturn's stronghold on the top three podium positions which were held by Nathan O'Neill, Tom Danielson, and Chris Horner respectively. Since the course featured a difficult two mile climb within the first few miles of the race, it had the potential for the action to begin immediately.

The 90 remaining members of the peloton approached the climb, and as the crested, it was Danny Pate (Prime Alliance) and Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron) who opened up a slight gap and began to motor away from a field that seemed disinterested in chasing immediately. With Pate 3:17 down on the overall classification, a podium spot was not out of reach, especially with an eager Erker who worked well with Pate. As the two cruised through the rolling landscape of the valley, they steadily opened the gap to it's largest split of 2:10. Saturn, keeping a watchful eye on the break patroled the front of the peloton, never letting the gap grow to too dangerous a distance.

After 75 miles of racing, Erker and Pate managed to maintain a 1:10 difference on 35 riders that now made up the field. As the riders rolled to the base of the final ascent into Laguna Seca Raceway, Pate, sensing the imminent absorption of the break, put in one last attack from his breakaway companion, only to be caught himself by the peloton lead by a hard chasing Saturn team with 15 miles to go. The expected counter-attacks ensued with another duo containing Aaron Olsen (Schroeder Iron) and Hugh Moran (Santa Cruz Spokesman) sneaking away. Olsen quickly fell off the pace though, and Moran managed to dangle out front for a few miles until the group came back together with eight miles to go.

Drenched by off and on rain throughout the day, the surface of the track had become very slippery, adding another dangerous element to the final few miles. With a cautious bunch entering the finishing circuits, it was just a matter of seconds until the slick road claimed it's first victim. Danielson crashed in the second turn and mangled his bike which briefly caused some panic from the Saturn boys as the thought of losing one of their podium spots crossed their mind, but after a quick service and his teammates' help Danielson was back with the pack, but not before Matt DeCanio (Prime Alliance) launched a fierce attack on the finishing straight hoping to hold on throughout for the two laps.

DeCanio, turned the throttle up and held on for the solo victory 38 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. DeCanio crossed the line, basking in the excitement of his first pro UCI victory. Once again, it was Gord Fraser (Health Net) taking the field sprint ahead of Sierra Nevada Clif Bar's Matt Dubberley.

DeCanio put in enough time to shake up the GC just a tad, moving up to fifth, but it was again the overall strength and success of the Saturn men that left everyone wondering how to beat them. The US Postal team, who were down to three riders at the beginning of today's stage had little firepower to improve Dave Zabriskie's place, who managed to maintain 4th place behind the Saturn trio.

When asked about his ride, DeCanio reflected on his well thought out plan. "I was hoping Danny would stay away until the finish, but with about 50 kilometers to go, I thought that if he was caught, that would be the perfect opportunity for me to make my move."

The men's domestic racing calendar moves South to the inaugural Tour of Georgia, a five day UCI 2.3 stage race. With the awaited return of the Navigators team, who is coming off of a highly successful European campaign, all eyes will be on them to try and disrupt Saturn's spring success. When asked about Georgia and the Navigator's return, O'Neill responded "I don't think it will make much difference really, there are only a couple of guys who are riding well at the moment."

"Things never got too out of hand." said O'Neill. "Our guys were on top of it all day, and we just did what we had to do." O'Neill also admitted to great relief at winning his first UCI stage race, after coming close in Malaysia in February, only to crash out of the leader's jersey. "I've always been the guy doing all the work, but never able to quite get this glory before, so it's nice to have that monkey off my back finally. To win here at Sea Otter is great, because this race has quite a history."

Women: French Canadians 1-2-3

Hey Mom, I won!
Photo: © Mark Shimahara

The women's 100 mile race shared a similar race pattern. With the course going uphill almost immediately after the start, it was the Rona team who began the attacks, although surprisingly it was not Geneviève Jeanson, but her teammates, Magali LeFloch and Karen Bockel. They were quickly joined by Ina Teutenberg (Saturn) and Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile) and the gap extended to 31 seconds.

As the hill steepened, Jeanson set the pace behind a little to high for an intact peloton and soon the bunch was split into many pieces. Lyne Bessette and Manon Jutras (Saturn) were the only riders able to keep Jeanson's tempo and the three soon caught the leading four. T-Mobile and Victory Brewing were chasing hard behind, so much so that they too rejoined the front and by the bottom of the descent a leading group of 17 were 1:38 ahead of the main peloton.

Teutenberg didn't wait long to attack again taking Dotsie Cowden (T-Mobile) and Melissa Holt (Rona) with her. They rapidly gained 55 seconds on the bunch at which point Holt was called back by her team director to look after Jeanson. Teutenberg and Cowden worked hard together over the following 50 miles that wound mainly uphill towards Carmel Valley. The rain was still pouring out of the sky and the wind was strong, but the two kept the gap steady at one minute.

It wasn't until the flat open fields that the chasers made any impact. Attacks started coming out of the field by T-Mobile covered by Saturn and Rona and eventually Teutenberg and Cowden were caught. T-Mobile continued to attack and counter attack until finally, with thirteen miles to go, Dede Demet-Barry (T-Mobile) managed to form a substantial gap with riders Amy Moore (Saturn) and Holt on her wheel.

When the break hit 18 seconds, Holt was once again called back to Jeanson's side as Moore and Demet-Barry rode off into the distance. Barry was driving the break with Moore working hard to contribute and it almost looked like this could be the decisive mood. However, this was not to be and as the riders approached the last gnarly climb of the day, Jeanson showed her climbing legs again, dropping the bunch and moving quickly up to the two leaders.

Jutras, Bessette, and Amber Neben (T-Mobile) were the only ones able to stay with Jeanson and the four climbers left Barry and Moore behind as they peaked the hill and descended onto Laguna Seca with one kilometer to go. Jutras and Bessette, realizing that Kimberly Bruckner (T-Mobile) was not with them, drove hard knowing that this was their opportunity to move up on the overall GC. Jutras flew around the final bend intending to lead out Bessette for the finish, only to realize she had a gap and could go alone. She soloed to victory and seconds behind, Bessette won the sprint for second over Jeanson and Neben.

Bessette and Jutras were happy to take another stage win for Saturn and move into second and third in GC respectively. "I was surprised at my win today", said Jutras, "I was simply trying to lead out my teammate when I realized I had a gap and Lyne told me to go."

"She's a very strong rider, she has just never had the opportunity to show herself as she is always working hard for others. I am happy to have her with me on Saturn this year, and I'm happy she won today's stage," said Bessette. The women now have a much deserved break after a long month of racing in California.

"It was a pretty aggressive race right from the start." said the 35-year-old Jutras, a former teammate of Jeanson who joined the Saturn squad this year. "Our goal was to put time on Bruckner, and it was my job on the final climb to lead out my team mate Lyne. Five hundred metres from the finish I heard Lyne yell 'Go, Go, Go' to me and saw that I had a little gap, so I went as hard as I could to the line. Now we have a French Canadian podium in California."

Jeanson echoed her former teammate Jutras: "Our goal is to motivate Quebecers to cycle, and three is definitely better than one. Today I owe my win to my team mates, because they kept things under control. Today we just had to dig a bit deeper to keep the jersey."

Bruckner had no excuses: "I just didn't have it today. I knew early in the stage that I didn't have the legs, and when the attacks happened on the final climb I just couldn't respond."

Photos

Images by Bob Wilson/Bob Wilson Photography

Danny Pate (Prime Alliance) and Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron) escaped at the 25 mile mark.
Pate (Prime Alliance) and Erker (Schroeder Iron) dangled off the front for over 80 miles before being reeled in by Team Saturn.
The Saturn boys on the front, closing down the break for their man Nathan O'Neill.
The peloton reach the top of the climb en masse.
Inclement weather made for a slippery descent.
The start of the women's race was almost a mirror image of the men's, with an early two-woman escape.
The two escapees breathed a sigh of relief at the crest of the climb...
... but the peloton weren't far behind.
The parcours made for a gruelling road race today, and the bodies and faces showed.
The men's field come back on the Laguna Seca raceway.
Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance) on his way to a solo win.
Always a professional - Decanio (Prime Alliance) looks behind just to make sure before raising his arms aloft.
With a 38 second margin, Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance) had plenty of time for a well-earned victory salute.
Gord Fraser (Health Net) pips Matt Dubberley (Sierra Nevada - Cannondale) in the sprint for second.
In another solo victory, powerful Saturn rider Manon Jutras won the women's gruelling road race ahead of her Saturn team mate, defending Sea Otter champion Lyne Bessette.
The sprint for the minor placings.
The men's podium for the final stage.
The points classification winners on the podium: Gord Fraser (Health Net, L, 3rd), Michael Creed (Prime Alliance, M, 1st) and Tom Danielson (Saturn Cycling Team, R, 2nd)
Chris Horner (Saturn Cycling Team) lends an ear to a mates-only joke.
It was all Saturn on the podium for the first three places on overall classification, with Nathan O'Neill standing tallest
Team Saturn have proven to be the dominant US team so far this season, and by some margin.
Petite yet powerful - as well as taking out the overall, Geneviève Jeanson (Equipe Cycliste Rona-Esker) also took the overall in the points classification at Sea Otter.
The women's stage winners salute the crowd.
Give me a T, give me a M… the smiling faces of Team T-Mobile are honoured as winners of the teams classification.
I'm going shopping! Geneviève Jeanson (Equipe Cycliste Rona-Esker) knows where she's going after this race.

Images by Mark Shimahara/Bikezen.com

On the ascent of Laurles Grade, four riders including Ina Teutenberg (Saturn) and Magali Lefloch (Rona Esker) break away.
With a break of four ahead, the women ascend "The Grade".
Manon Jutrus (Saturn) wins with teammate Lyne Bessette close behind.
Jutrus gives a thumbs up after winning the final stage of the Sea Otter Classic.
A break of three riders including Danny Pate (Prime Alliance) and Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron) gaps the field on Laurles Grade.
Danny Pate's (Prime Alliance) pace only allows Eckers to hang on; ultimately Pate's work would set the stage for DeCanio's victory.
While Pate's break is up the road, Saturn attempts to control the pack.
Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance) digs deep with one lap to go and the pack closing in.
The pack attempts to close down on DeCanio.
One of the more philanthropic members of the peloton, Matt DeCanio, who helps victims of sexual assault, digs deep to win the final stage of the Sea Otter Classic.
Gord Fraser (Health Net) wins the field sprint for second.
Charlottesville native, Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance) speaks with his father moments after the race to explain that he just won "a hundred mile bike race".
After holding his overall position after a wet and miserable road race, Danielson (Saturn) is hounded by the press.

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