Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Cooper Spur Mountain Resort, Ore. – The Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team took a gamble early on in Thursday’s 87-mile (140 km) Cooper Spur Circuit Race on Stage 3 at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.

The move eventually amounted to a six-man breakaway that included no fewer than four Toyota-United riders: Chris Baldwin, Stefano Barberi, Heath Blackgrove and Burke Swindlehurst.

Baldwin, who stood fourth on the overall classification heading into the stage, told Toyota-United Team Director Kirk Willett he wanted to “roll the dice” with a big move on a day when the race comprised four-and-a-half laps of a circuit that included 9,200 feet of climbing.

“We were hoping to try something different to try and win the race considering how well Nathan O’Neill (Health Net presented by Maxxis) is riding,” Willett said. “It was our one day to try and get some time on him and we gave it a try.”

In the end, no amount of time was gained, but Toyota-United’s best hopes for overall victory – Baldwin and Justin England – are still in good position with three stages remaining. England finished fifth Thursday, three seconds behind stage winner Glen Chadwick (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team) to move up to seventh overall, 44 seconds behind race leader Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health Cycling Team presented by Bissell). Baldwin was 23rd on the day, 22 seconds back, and stands 10th overall, 49 seconds out of the lead.

Friday’s stage will almost certainly be decisive for the overall contenders. The 18.5-mile (29.7 km) Scenic Gorge Time Trial features a two-mile climb that winds its way to the top of the Columbia River Plateau, followed by another climb up to the historic Mosier Tunnels.

“This time trial is unbelievably hard,” Willett said. “It’s probably the most challenging time trial these guys will see all year and quite possibly the hardest one on the domestic scene because of all the climbing and a headwind that’s expected to be 20 to 25 mph.”

Thursday, Toyota-United ignited the stage by attacking after the first of five ascents of the Category 2-rated Cooper Spur climb. With Baldwin, Barberi, Swindlehurst, Jeff Louder (Health Net) and Barry Wicks (Kona Lesgets Factory Team) in the break, the leaders quickly built a 75-second lead 25 miles into the stage.

Fewer than 10 miles later, Blackgrove bridged across to the group of five and helped push the lead up to a nearly two minutes with two 19-mile laps remaining.

“Heath attacked in the hopes that one of the Navigators guys would go with him, which would have put pressure on Health Net and Priority Health,” Willett said. “Unfortunately, nobody went with him.”

The chasing efforts of the Priority Health and Navigators teams eventually brought the margin down as the race closed in on the final lap. With the break about to be caught, Chadwick jumped out of the pack, marked by Toyota-United’s Bobby Lea. The pair worked together to build a nearly minute’s lead with only seven miles to go. But Chadwick eventually ventured off alone and held on to finish one second ahead of Jacques-Maynes, Zajicek and O’Neill.

One consolation for Toyota-United on the day was the effort of Barberi, who took the lead in the King of the Mountains competition. The Brazilian will wear the green-and-white jersey through Saturday, as Friday’s time trial does not figure into the climbing competition.

Labels: Burke Swindlehurst, Chris Baldwin, heath blackgrove, Stefano Barberi