Baldwin, Holden win Boulder Stage Race kickoff
Chris Baldwin (Navigators) and Mari Holden (T-Mobile) won the opening stage of the 2005 Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Friday, a short individual time trial that took in the hardest sections of the old Morgul Bismarck course outside Superior, Colorado.

Baldwin was the only rider to post a time under 16 minutes for the hilly TT, which climbed 1100 feet in seven miles, ascending the fabled Wall, Hump and feed-zone hills. Baldwin covered the course in 15:42, besting teammate Phil Zajicek by 29 seconds, with Tim Duggan (TIAA-CREF) third at 34 seconds slower.

Holden gets set to start

Photo: Matt Pacocha

Holden finished in 18:32, nearly a full minute ahead of Olympic mountain biker Ann Trombley (Excel Sports). Trombley’s teammate Maatje Benassi took third at 1:06.

Saturday’s stage 2, the Boulder-Roubaix Road Race, could give an edge to Trombley and the other mountain bikers in the race, including Kerry Barnholt (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Gretchen Reeves (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects), both of whom cracked the top 10 on Friday. The 8.5-mile circuit includes plenty of rain-soaked dirt, with rolling hills, trick corners and no follow vehicles – just three pits for spare wheels – which means that off-road skills and a little luck could make the difference between winning and losing. –Matt Pacocha

Excel Sports Boulder Road Race
Boulder, CO. May 13-15
Morgul Bismarck Time Trial
Men Pro/1-21. Chris Baldwin, Navigators, 15:42
2. Philip Zajicek, Navigators, 16:11
3. Timmy Duggan, TIAA-CREF, 16:17
4. Frank Overton, Al’s Barber Shop-GS CIAO, 16:20
5. Colby Pearce, TIAA-CREF, 16:23

Women Pro/1-3
1. Mari Holden, T-Mobile, 18:32
2. Ann Trombley, Excel Sports, 19:28
3. Maatje Benassi, Excel Sports, 19:38
4. Brooke Ourada, T-Mobile, 19:46
5. Kerry Barnholt, Subaru-Gary Fisher, 19:58

Brooks, Gaggioli snag Joe Martin opener
Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly-PoolGel) led a 62-man pack across the line to win the first stage of the 28th annual Joe Martin Stage Race on Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Brooks outkicked Karl Menzies (Advantage Benefits-Endeavor Cycling) and Greg Henderson (Health Net-Maxxis) in the uphill finish to the 110-mile stage, winning in 4:21:35.

The first two dozen miles saw relatively few attacks and none that stuck. Then, at the 26-mile mark, Compliance Depot’s Zachary Fiocca and Jelly Belly’s Brice Jones, who had been doing most of the work out front throughout the beginning of the race, took off and stayed out front for more than 40 miles before being retrieved.

As the bunch overhauled Fiocca and Jones, a three-man group took off. Brad Huff (Mercy) Caleb Manion (Jelly Belly) and Garrett Peltonen (Advantage-Endeavor), stayed away for 15 miles until the 1500-foot climb up Mount Gaylor, when a rapidly closing peloton absorbed them as they passed the second and final feed zone at the summit.

But Huff, Manion and Peltonen went right back to work as the terrain leveled off, and seven other riders soon joined them for the final attack of the day.

This 10-man group held the peloton off until the final 15 miles, when they were swallowed up in a bunch dash for line in downtown Fayetteville.

There was no sprinting necessary for Lynn Gaggioli (Monex). She crossed more than two and a half minutes ahead of the charging bunch to win the 64-mile women's race in 2:35:33. Quark's Laura Van Gilder won the field sprint for second with teammate Annette Beutler third.

Saturday brings a 92-mile road race and a demanding time trial that climbs 680 feet over 2.5 miles, with an average grade of 6.8 percent. –Neemah Aaron

Joe Martin Stage Race
Fayetteville, AR. May 13-15
Stage 1
Men
1. Ben Brooks, Jelly Belly-PoolGel, 110mi in 4:21:35
2. Karl Menzies, Advantage Benefits-Endeavor Cycling, same time
3. Greg Henderson, Health Net-Maxxis, s.t.
4. Cavaliere Clemente, Aerospace Engineering-VMG, s.t.
5. Jeff Hopkins, Jittery Joes-Kalahari, s.t.

Women
1. Lynn Gaggioli, Monex, 64mi in 2:35:33
2. Laura Van Gilder, Quark, at 2:31
3. Annette Beutler, Quark, same time
4. Sue Palmer-Komar, Colavita-Cooking Light, s.t.
5. Kelly Benjamin, The Bicycle Store, s.t.