Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Dominguez (right) edges out Kirk O'Bee (Health Net presented by Maxxis) at the line.
Photo by Cascade Events Photography.

Bend, Ore. – A perfectly executed lead-out by the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team delivered Ivan Dominguez to victory Friday night at the Stage 4 Desert Orthopedics/Rebound Physical Therapy Downtown Criterium at the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

In front of a huge crowd stacked two- and three-people deep around the course, Dominguez held off Kirk O’Bee (HealthNet presented by Maxxis) while Dan Schmatz (BMC Pro Cycling Team) was third in the 90-minute race that had no effect on the overall standings.

The victory was Dominguez’s ninth win of the season, his fifth in a National Race Calendar event and his first since a crash May 17 sidelined him for eight weeks. It was also Toyota-United’s 27th win of the season and marked the second consecutive year the team has won the Friday night downtown criterium stage at the five-day, six-stage National Race Calendar event (Juan Jose Haedo won in 2006).

“It feels good to be winning again,” Dominguez said. “There were so many people here tonight that you can see a lot of people love cycling here. It was cool.”

Heading into Saturday’s 92.4-mile (148.7 km) Pacific Power Cascade Lakes Road Race, Toyota-United remains first in the team classification on the strength of three riders in the top 10 in the individual standings. Chris Baldwin is second, 13 seconds behind race leader Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team), defending champion Chris Wherry is fourth (1:12 behind) and three-time former Cascade Classic stage winner Burke Swindlehurst is 10th, 2:43 behind.

“I think our strength is definitely our depth,” Baldwin said. “We have a 1-2 punch with Wherry and every other team it’s a one-man show. So we’re going to have to use each other to put them in trouble. It’s going to be a real tall order, though, because they have the perfect team to defend his lead. Ben Day, Glen Chadwick and Darren Lill are all very strong and very good climbers and these last two races are not hard to control.”

Baldwin briefly held the race lead after finishing second in the race’s first two stages. But in Friday morning’s 15-mile (24.1 km) Bend Research, Inc.-Skyliners Time Trial, he conceded 30 seconds to Zajicek, who beat his Navigators teammate, Ben Day, by one second. Baldwin’s third place on the stage dropped him to second overall behind Zajicek. In third place overall is Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health Cycling Team presented by Bissell), 44 seconds behind Zajicek.

“My position on the bike was probably the best I’ve felt in a time trial all year,” Baldwin said. “So that’s a positive. But I’m used to winning time trials and I haven’t been winning in a long time so that’s frustrating. But I honestly think these guys are going faster. I’m not going slower.”

The overall team strength of Toyota-United was showcased in Friday night’s criterium. A nearly race-long breakaway of Oregon residents Ryan Trebon (Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling) and Doug Ollerenshaw (Health Net presented by Maxxis) that threatened to spoil the night for the sprinters never gained more than a 35-second lead, but it was not reeled in until the final laps. Zajicek’s Navigators squad kept the margin in check, but it was ultimately left to Toyota-United to help pull the escapees back.

Doing the lion’s share of the work on the front was Toyota-United’s Jose Manual “Chepe” Garcia, who recovered from a mid-race crash. Working with teammate Stefano Barberi, Garcia helped bring the gap to the break down to single-digits. From there, 12-time New Zealand national champion Heath Blackgrove took over, burying himself on the front and stringing the entire peloton into a single-file line as the final two escapees were absorbed with about four laps to go.

Justin England and Chris Baldwin each took turns on the front to keep the pace high, with Baldwin leading out Wherry three-quarters of the way around the course on the bell lap. From there, Wherry raised the tempo to its maximum, delivering Dominguez safely to the final corner for the block-and-a-half long sprint to the finish.

“You never know until you cross the finish line, but the way I was riding today, I knew it was mine to lose,” Dominguez said. “We had the last corner and I started giving chase. I passed him (O'Bee) very quickly.”

Baldwin’s last-lap turn at the front turned more than a few heads, who were startled at the sight of the rider in second place on general classification figuring so prominently into a stage where he was not destined to pull any time back.

“Usually how it works out is that guys who are going good are the guys who go to the front at the end who can turn up the heat the most,” Willett said. “The real only plan we had was that Wherry was going to be the last guy.”

Baldwin chuckled when asked about his turn at the front that caused huge gaps to open in the peloton as speeds reached more than 35 miles an hour.

“I used to win criteriums,” he said, smiling.

Labels: Chris Baldwin, Chris Wherry, Ivan Dominguez, Kirk Willett