Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Merced, Calif (March 3) – Ivan Dominguez scored the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team’s fourth victory of the young season Saturday by winning the 14th Annual MERCO Credit Union Cycling Classic Downtown Grand Prix, the opening event of the National Race Calendar series.

The Cuban native easily outsprinted Ricardo Escuela (Team Successful Living presented by Parkpre USA) and Dan Schmatz (BMC Racing) at the end of the 40-mile (65 km) criterium through the downtown streets of Merced, Calif.

Toyota-United Team Director Kirk Willett said the victory could not have been achieved without cohesive teamwork. Toyota-United kept a pair of breakaways in check to set up Henk Vogels’ lead out of Dominguez. Vogels held on to finish fifth, while teammate Sean Sullivan was 13th.

“This was a hard-fought one,” Toyota-United Team Director Kirk Willett said. “We were pushed to the limit.”

The win was Dominguez’s fourth of the year and his second in less than a week. On Feb. 25, the “Cuban Missile” won Stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California in a sprint finish in Long Beach, Calif.

Toyota-United, Health Net presented by Maxxis, BMC Racing and Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifest were among a number of teams fielding full squads for the 50-lap race. Health Net was the early animator, determined not to let it finish in a bunch sprint, which would favor Dominguez.

One third of the way through the race, a 20-man group did get away, sparked by an attack by a pair of Health Net riders. Toyota-United covered the move by putting Ivan Stevic and Caleb Manion into the break while keeping the pace high of the peloton behind.

“That was a dangerous point because we had two guys up the road but we had to keep the gap close enough to motivate other teams to be able to jump across to it,” Willett said. “Guys like Chepe (Jose-Manuel Garcia), Burke (Swindlehurst) and Stefano (Barberi) were really riding well.”

After the peloton came back together, two riders jumped off the front and gained a maximum of 15 seconds’ lead. But just as the efforts of Toyota-United closed the gap to five seconds, a third rider - Health Net’s Kirk O’Bee - jumped across to the pair and boosted the margin back to 15 seconds with three laps to go.

But Toyota-United responded once more, with Sullivan, Manion and Stevic burying themselves on the front to get Vogels and Dominguez within striking distance. As the break was caught on the backside of the course on the final lap, Vogels charged into the lead with Dominguez right behind.

“Ivan hit the front with 250 meters to go with two guys on his wheel and they just couldn’t go around him,” Willett said. “Henk was going so fast he just rolled across the line and still finished fifth.”

14th Annual MERCO Cycling Classic Downtown Grand Prix
Merced, Calif. Saturday, March 3, 2007:
1. Ivan Dominguez, Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team
2. Ricardo Escuela, Successful Living.com presented by Parkpre USA
3. Daniel Schmatz, BMC Professional Cycling Team
4. Dominique Rollin, Kodak Gallery presented by Sierra Nevada
5. Henk Vogels, Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team
6. Ryan McKenzie, Volkswagen Trek
7. Shawn Milne, Health Net presented by Maxxis
8. Dusan Ganic, Successful Living.com presented by Parkpre USA
9. Jamiel Danesh, Kodak Gallery presented by Sierra Nevada
10. Karl Menzies, Health Net presented by Maxxis

Labels: Criterium, Dominguez, NRC, Vogels