Baldwin Third in Gila Time Trial Opener
0 Comments Published by Unknown on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at 6:58 PM.
Tyrone, N.M. - Led by Chris Baldwin’s third-place finish in Wednesday’s Dan Potts Memorial Tyrone Time Trial, five Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team riders placed in the top 25 on the opening stage of the 21st annual Ben D. Altamirano Tour of the Gila.
Baldwin finished one minute and 29 seconds behind Nathan O’Neil (Health Net presented by Maxxis), who won the 16.15-mile (26 km) race against the clock in 33 minutes and 13 seconds. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health Cycling Team) finished second, 1:15 behind O’Neil. Baldwin is the race’s defending champion.
The revelation of the opening day of the five-day, five-stage, 339.1-mile (545.7 km) race was Toyota-United’s Stefano Barberi. Starting his second National Race Calendar stage race of the season, the 5-foot-9 Brazilian finished 10th, 2:14 behind.
The third-year pro (pictured at right), who makes his home in Boulder, Colo., already has one win to his credit this season. He captured the Stazio Criterium in Boulder on March 25 and rode to a pair of runner-up finishes in challenging mountain road races in Colorado in mid-April.“It’s good to see him come out and have a good ride like that,” Toyota-United Team Director Kirk Willett said.
Toyota-United’s other placers Wednesday were: Burke Swindlehurst, 13th, 2:29 behind; Ivan Stevic, 17th, 2:48 behind; Justin England, 23rd, 3:03 behind; and Jose Manuel-Garcia, 38th, 3:49 behind. In the team standings, Toyota-United is second behind Health Net.
Willett said the cancellation of the Tour of Utah – originally scheduled for a late June start – has bolstered the quality of competition in the 121-rider field.
“This is probably one of the deepest fields that have ever come here,” Willett said. “O’Neil will be very well-supported by his team and he’s been on form since the Tour de Georgia. But this race has so much climbing and wind that anything can happen. We’re optimistic that our guys can climb well and go after stage wins, which would move them up the general classification.”
Two Toyota-United riders who were penciled in on the team’s original eight-man roster for the race did not start Wednesday. New Zealander Heath Blackgrove continues to recover from a leg injury sustained in the Amgen Tour of California while American Chris Wherry was bothered by stomach problems earlier this week, Willett said.
Thursday’s stage is the 94.1-mile (152.3 km) Silver City to Mogollon Road Race, a race that finishes with a grueling 2,100-foot climb.
“The last five kilometers are really steep all the way to the line,” Willett said. “The course itself pretty much goes one direction (northwest). What we don’t know is which way the wind will be blowing. The forecast is for it to be rather windy, so the race could be really wide open early.”
Labels: Burke Swindlehurst, Chris Baldwin, Justin England, Stefano Barberi
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