THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Armstrong, Stevic put stamp on Nature Valley
Kristin Armstrong and Ivan Stevic both put a decisive stamp on this race Friday, but there was plenty of cake to go around for consolation.
Toyota-United's Stevic, who regained the yellow jersey from Health Net's Kirk O'Bee in Friday morning's time trial by a six-second margin, had his hand firmly on the wheel for almost the entire race — the second of the day, run on an exciting 1km course set in the heart of Minneapolis in front of a captive audience of 30,000.
With a fair sky and cool breezes, Toyota-United weren't just protecting Stevic's lead — they were aggressively adding to it. Stevic personally bagged the first two sprints, gobbling up 25 seconds in time bonuses.
In the remaining sprints, Stevic could not break free; still, someone on the team did. It was like watching a wealthy gambler cover all his bets.
Just so, an impressive three-man break managed to escape at 45 minutes into the one-hour race. BMC's Michael Sayers broke free and set a blistering pace 13 seconds in front of the field.
He was joined by Jelly Belly's James Meadley and Health Net's Frank Pipp. The break stuck for 14 minutes. In the last lap, though, Toyota-United turned up the heat and hung the mavericks out to dry.
Naturally, Stevic's team was well positioned for the final sprint in the canyons of Minneapolis's fashion district. But when the bill came due, it was Health Net's Kirk O'Bee who wrote the check and beat Stivec by half a wheel.
"They led out beautifully. But it doesn’t matter, because I was faster," O'Bee said with a smile.
Toyota-United bounces back
On Thursday, Toyota’s Chris Wherry was feeling a bit under the weather. On Friday, Wherry scratched. But the fact that Stevic had regained the yellow jersey with an impressive performance in the morning's TT seemed to motivate the team. When Stevic got on the bus after his third-place finish, his team was ecstatic.
"I looked at the guys, and they were super pumped. They were saying, 'Let’s take this thing,'" he said.
O'Bee, who had a respectable but ultimately losing TT ride, was quietly defiant after his quality sprint to the line in stage 4.
"I personally don’t like to see a race won on bonus time, but we'll see what happens," he said.
Stevic confirmed that the team plan to attack without mercy through the first three of four sprints, to pick up crucial time buffers, had worked to perfection. Asked if that justified a celebration, Stevic put on a serious face. "No, we party at the end of the season." He paused. "Not!"
Armstrong and Miller lock bars
The women's field held together like tightly grained oak. Armstrong's Team Lipton worked hard at the front to protect its leader and cover even the most innocent, half-wheeling probe.
Earlier in the day, the world champion time trialist had launched well into the GC lead in the 5-mile TT, erasing the small advantage Cheerwine's Catherine Cheatley had achieved in the first two stages.
Still, factoring Armstrong out of the equation, the Cheerwine squad is woman-to-woman just as strong as Lipton, and they illustrated this point at the finish line, where previous NVGP winner Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine) sprinted ahead of Team Group Health's Nichole Wangard and TIBCO's Brooke Miller.
Miller is especially motivated here in Minneapolis.
"Last year, this race was really a breakout moment for me," she said. "So it really has a special place in my heart."
Her win in Thursday's road race had been a repeat performance, and she carried that form to the line Friday, despite locking bars with Kristin Armstrong about halfway through the match.
Cheerwine's Van Gilder seemed particularly satisfied to let loose and charge the line, as she did last year while she was still on the Lipton squad.
"Yes, I think the Cheerwine team knew that I wanted back-to-back victories here in Minneapolis … we've been protecting the jersey, which we lost today, but we had a good performance here tonight."
For her part, Armstrong couldn’t be happier. For her, the day was all about doing what she does best — time trialing into a dominant position, and then demilitarizing the zone at the front for all but the final sprint.
"It was pretty sketchy. I'm not a sprinter in a crit," she said with a smile. Sometimes it all comes down to surviving that last lap, even for a world champion.
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