Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Toyota-United Team Soigneur Reed McCalvin helps Ivan Dominguez get ready
for the podium ceremony after Dominguez won the 110-mile road race.
Fayetteville, Ark. – Ivan Dominguez of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team grabbed the first-day lead at the 30th annual Joe Martin Stage Race with an impressive victory Friday in the Stage 1 road race.

Dominguez used the lead-out of teammate Ivan Stevic to jump past Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis) coming out of the final turn at the end of the 110-mile (177 km) race. Stevic held on to place second, while Toyota-United had three others finish in the top 10: Chris Baldwin (sixth), Caleb Manion (ninth) and Justin England (10th).

The win was Toyota-United’s 15th of the season and its fifth in a National Race Calendar event. It was the eighth victory of the season for Dominguez, but his first since April 1. He came into the three-day, four-stage race in fifth place in the NRC individual standings (after 12 events).

“I was a little worried how I would do because this is my first race since the Tour de Georgia,” Dominguez said. “But I felt good.”

For much of Friday’s race, it looked like three riders who escaped the pack after 12 miles (20 km) would battle it out for the stage win. The trio built an 11-minute lead before the combined efforts of Toyota-United, Health Net presented by Maxxis and the Jelly Belly Cycling Team started bringing the gap down. The last of the three was caught only 3.1 miles (5 km) from the finish.

“At one point, it looked like it was going to get a little tight, so everyone threw in an extra guy (to work),” Toyota-United Team Director Harm Jansen said.

As the finish drew closer, Toyota-United put several riders on the front to set up a lead-out train for Dominguez. Manion handled the initial lead-out, followed by Stevic, who said he liked the uphill finish that featured a six-percent grade in the final 350 meters.

“I didn’t want to put him (Dominguez) in a bad situation by attacking and taking someone with me,” Stevic said. “So it was perfect to stay together and get him the win while I gained a few seconds.”

Due to time bonuses awarded on the finish, Dominguez has a five-second lead over Stevic while third-place finisher on the stage, Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly) is 10 seconds back. Menzies is fourth at 15 seconds and is tied on time with seven other riders, including Baldwin, Manion and England.

Last year, only 21 seconds separated the top three overall finishers: Gord Fraser (first), Stevic (second) and Scott Moninger (third).

“Those eight seconds that separate 10th place with everyone else’s time are crucial. A few GC guys lost a few seconds,” Jansen said.

Toyota-United’s other three riders are among 103 riders who are 23 seconds back: Stefano Barberi (54th place), Jose Manuel-Garcia (55th place), and Sean Sullivan (108th place).

Friday’s race featured more than 5,400 feet of climbing, including a 9.2-mile section with an average grade of 2.7 percent. But Stevic said the tempo being set by the three teams to reel the breakaway back helped Dominguez save his strength.

“It wasn’t that hard so it was good for Ivan,” the Serbian national champion said. “We didn’t go hard on the climbs so he had good legs for the finish.”

Saturday, the 131 remaining professional men’s riders will compete in two stages: a 92-mile (148 km) road race in the morning and a 2.5-mile (4 km) uphill time trial in the afternoon. The road race features a 23-mile loop that includes more than 1,500 feet of climbing on each of the three laps the riders will complete. The individual time trial is a 680-foot climb out of Devil’s Den State Park. The average grade is 6.8 percent.

“I hope to ride a good time trial because it’s going to make the different on the GC,” Stevic said. “But a lot of things can change on the last day because the criterium (on Sunday) is very technical and very hard.”

Labels: Caleb Manion, Chris Baldwin, Ivan Dominguez, Ivan Stevic, Jose Manuel-Garcia, Justin England, Stefano Barberi