Dominguez No Stranger To Downers Grove
0 Comments Published by Unknown on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 12:02 PM.
The way Ivan Dominguez sees it, there are only two outcomes for the first riders who veer into the final turn at the USPRO Criterium Championships.
“You either crash and injure yourself or you win the race,” the Toyota-United sprint specialist said.
Dominguez makes no secret of his dislike for the final turn on the 1.2-mile (2 km), figure-eight course in Downers Grove, Ill. Riders who safely navigate their way through the sharp left-hander only have 150 meters to go to reach the finish line. Oftentimes that means being one of the top two or three riders into the final corner is key to gaining a spot on the podium.
“If you areally want to win, you really have to take a chance,” Dominguez said. “I know it’s a tradition, but I don’t know why they don’t move the finish line to another part of the course. That would open it up for a finish that involves a lot more good guys. Not just the first ones through the last corner.”
Dominguez heads into Sunday’s USPRO Criterium Championships as one of the favorites to win the 62-mile (100 km) race that has been won by a foreigner in three of the past six years.
Unlike the USPRO Road and Time Trial Championships, which are only open to U.S. citizens, foreign pros are eligible to compete in the USPRO Criterium. The first American to cross the finish line gets the honor of wearing the stars-and-stripes jersey of U.S. Criterium Champion for the next 365 days.
Last year, Toyota-United put its efforts behind the best American sprinter on its roster, Tony Cruz. In fact, in Saturday’s “warm-up” race on the same course, Dominguez won and Cruz was second. The following day, Cruz finished third behind winner Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) and Brad Huff (TIAA-CREF), who earned the title as the first American across the line.
This year, Dominguez (left) will be the team’s protected rider, particularly since Toyota-United is in a tight battle with Health Net presented by Maxxis for the team classification of the National Race Calendar
standings. Of the 10 riders on Toyota-United’s roster for the championship, only Dominguez and teammate Chris Wherry are eligible to score NRC points.
Wherry is no stranger to the race, having helped Toyota-United teammate Henk Vogels win the race in 2002, when both raced for the Mercury Cycling Team. Also familiar to the course is Toyota-United Team Director Harm Jansen, who won the race in 2001.
“We’ll see what happens,” Dominguez said.
“You either crash and injure yourself or you win the race,” the Toyota-United sprint specialist said.
Dominguez makes no secret of his dislike for the final turn on the 1.2-mile (2 km), figure-eight course in Downers Grove, Ill. Riders who safely navigate their way through the sharp left-hander only have 150 meters to go to reach the finish line. Oftentimes that means being one of the top two or three riders into the final corner is key to gaining a spot on the podium.
“If you areally want to win, you really have to take a chance,” Dominguez said. “I know it’s a tradition, but I don’t know why they don’t move the finish line to another part of the course. That would open it up for a finish that involves a lot more good guys. Not just the first ones through the last corner.”
Dominguez heads into Sunday’s USPRO Criterium Championships as one of the favorites to win the 62-mile (100 km) race that has been won by a foreigner in three of the past six years.
Unlike the USPRO Road and Time Trial Championships, which are only open to U.S. citizens, foreign pros are eligible to compete in the USPRO Criterium. The first American to cross the finish line gets the honor of wearing the stars-and-stripes jersey of U.S. Criterium Champion for the next 365 days.
Last year, Toyota-United put its efforts behind the best American sprinter on its roster, Tony Cruz. In fact, in Saturday’s “warm-up” race on the same course, Dominguez won and Cruz was second. The following day, Cruz finished third behind winner Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) and Brad Huff (TIAA-CREF), who earned the title as the first American across the line.
This year, Dominguez (left) will be the team’s protected rider, particularly since Toyota-United is in a tight battle with Health Net presented by Maxxis for the team classification of the National Race Calendar
standings. Of the 10 riders on Toyota-United’s roster for the championship, only Dominguez and teammate Chris Wherry are eligible to score NRC points.
Wherry is no stranger to the race, having helped Toyota-United teammate Henk Vogels win the race in 2002, when both raced for the Mercury Cycling Team. Also familiar to the course is Toyota-United Team Director Harm Jansen, who won the race in 2001.
“We’ll see what happens,” Dominguez said.
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