Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Chris Baldwin (third from right) took fourth in the sprint.
The Dalles, Ore. - Chris Baldwin moved up to third overall at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Wednesday morning without even climbing onto his bicycle.

Baldwin was listed as the fourth-place finisher in Tuesday’s Stage 1 Panorama Point Prologue time trial. But overnight, race officials determined the original stage winner, Devon Vigus (California Giant/Specialized), was credited with a time one minute faster than his actual finish. The revised results showed Baldwin in third, 11 seconds behind new leader and defending champion Nathan O’Neill (Health Net presented by Maxxis).

Hours later, Baldwin and his Toyota-United teammates were racing Thursday’s 110-mile (176.9 km) Columbia Hills Road Race, the longest stage of the six-day race. With the peloton averaging barely 20 mph for the first two hours, a three-man breakaway easily escaped up the road and built a 13-minute advantage.

It was left to O’Neill’s Health Net squad to do the chasing – and, with help from the Navigators Insurance Cycling Team – the leaders were caught within 15 miles of the finish.

“Guys were mostly suffering from the heat,” Toyota-United Team Director Kirk Willett said. “We haven’t really done a 90-degree race in the sun all year. Guys started to wilt off the back when the pace picked up.”

Toyota-United’s Stefano Barberi and Justin England were among several riders who went on the attack in the closing miles, further pressuring the Health Net team.

“Navigators chipped in again to help bring them back,” Willett said. “Unfortunately, if a Navigators rider had been in that move, it might have changed things.”

The race was all back together as it entered the final 10 km (6.2 miles), which was a rolling downhill to the finish. Toyota-United’s Bobby Lea led Baldwin out for the bunch sprint in the hopes of helping his teammate earn one of three time bonuses on the line. Baldwin just missed out on another podium finish, placing fourth, as Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health Cycling Team presented by Bissell) took the win and moved into the overall lead.

All six of Toyota-United’s riders finished among the lead group of 54 and are in the top 25 in the overall classification heading into Thursday’s 87-mile (140 km) Cooper Spur Circuit Race. The racers will complete four-and-a-half laps of a circuit that comprises 9,200 feet of climbing.

“Basically, one half of the course is a climb, the other half is downhill,” Willett said. “In the past, it’s been smaller groups that have come into the finish – mostly the overall contenders and a few climbers – usually a group of less than 20.”

Willett said the stage might not decide the overall race winner, but it can certainly eliminate someone from contention.

“Tomorrow is going to be a hard day,” he said. “We’ll find out exactly how strong the Health Net guys are because we’ll be on the attack.”

Labels: Chris Baldwin, Justin England, Stefano Barberi