Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Altoona, Penn. — Ivan Dominguez of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team sprinted to a fourth-place finish on Stage 2 of the International Tour de ‘Toona on a day when only 58 of the 164 riders in the race finished in the lead group.

Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis) won the Stage 2, 48.6-mile (78.2 km) Waste Management Vitondale to Cairnbrook Road Race ahead of Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team) and Charles Dionne (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light).

Toyota-United’s Chris Baldwin was part of a small group that made a bid to escape the peloton late in the race, but the breakaway was reeled in.

“As soon as they caught, the guys tried to set up Ivan (Dominguez) for the sprint,” Toyota-United Team Director Harm Jansen said. “Unfortunately, it had been a pretty hilly race with three good climbs in there and crosswinds at the end, so his legs weren’t quite as fresh.”

Seven of Toyota-United’s eight riders were among the 58 in the lead group. Dominguez moves up to fifth overall, while Chris Baldwin, Caleb Manion, Chris Wherry, Justin England, Burke Swindlehurst and Heath Blackgrove slot in spots six through 11th, respectively. All seven are 19 seconds behind Menzies, who takes the overall lead from his teammate, Nathan O’Neil, thanks to an eight-second time bonus for winning the stage.

Tuesday’s stage was filled with steep climbs and twisting descents made even trickier by some afternoon rain showers. Wednesday’s Stage 3, a 95.9-mile (154.3 km) road race from Johnstown to Altoona’s Logan Valley Mall, will be even more of a challenge, Jansen said, due to a long climb at the end.

“We have to be patient,” he said. “Tomorrow’s stage has a hard finish. There are two teams with some serious contenders for the overall and we have to race smart – very smart.”

Labels: Burke Swindlehurst, Chris Baldwin, Chris Wherry, Harm Jansen, heath blackgrove, Ivan Dominguez, Justin England

Toyota-United's Heath Blackgrove spent more than 120 km in a seven-man breakaway.
Photos by Cascade Events Photography.
Bend, Ore. - Chris Baldwin’s second-place finish led four Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team riders in the top 12 on the Ironhorse-Brooks Resources Prineville Road Race on Stage 1 Wednesday at the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

Baldwin was out-sprinted to the summit of Pilot Butte by Ricardo Escuela (Successfulliving.com presented by ParkPre), who won the stage in three hours, 38 minutes and 13 seconds. Baldwin finished 21 seconds behind, followed by Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance Cycling), 27 seconds behind Escuela.

Joining Baldwin in the top 12 was Toyota-United’s Chris Wherry (sixth, at 41 seconds), Justin England (seventh, at 45 seconds) and Burke Swindlehurst (11th, at 53 seconds). Only 15 riders finished within a minute of the leader.

“The plan for today’s stage was to do whatever we could to make sure those four guys didn’t have to do anything,” Toyota-United Team Director Kirk Willett said. “We were going to be happy if it was an 80-rider bunch starting at the base of the final climb. With Heath (Blackgrove) covering the long break, it was sort of a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

By placing Blackgrove in a break of seven riders early on in the race, Toyota-United was afforded the luxury of sitting in the pack for much of the 91.2-mile (146.7 km) stage. Joining him in the escape were two riders from Successfulliving.com, plus Doug Ollerenshaw (Health Net presented by Maxxis), Ben Day (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team), Scott Zwizanski (Priority Health Cycling Team presented by Bissell) and Scott Nydam (BMC Professional Cycling Team).

Their lead reached a maximum gap of seven minutes and 45 seconds before the pack began chasing on the way up the stage’s other climb, which came about 30 miles (48 km) from the finish. Because not everyone in the break was fully committed to making it stick, Willett said Toyota-United chipped in to help bring it back.

“We put Chepe Garcia and Stefano Barberi on the front and Priority Health had two guys working and BMC put some guys in,” he said.

Navigator’s Day, who had been the primary driver of the break, began to fade with about 10 kilometers remaining – including the final ascent to Pilot Butte (elevation: 4,138 feet). Immediately, his Navigators team massed at the front to finally reel in the escapees about a third of the way up the final climb.

“Baldwin didn’t have the best position when he started the climb but he’s riding well and caught up to the leaders about halfway up the climb,” Willett said. “With about a kilometer or so, he started driving it to the line and only Zajicek and Escuela were there. Escuela came around him in the last 150 meters or so.”

Baldwin is looking for his first victory of the season while Wherry is the race’s defending champion. With Wednesday’s balanced placings, Toyota-United leads the team classification.

Thursday’s stage is the 79.5-mile (127.9 km) Meridian Realty McKenzie Pass Road Race, which travels through the Dechutes National Forest past jagged lava fields featuring spectacular mountain views. It finishes with a gradual, 35-mile ascent of McKenzie pass to one of Central Oregon's favorite attractions, the Dee Wright Observatory, which sits at an elevation of 5,187 feet.

Willett said without any time bonuses up for grabs, he expects Successfulliving.com will be motivated to keep the leader’s yellow jersey on the back of Escuela. That should help Toyota-United conserve its energy for Friday morning’s all-important 15-mile (24.1 km) Bend Research, Inc.–Skyliners Time Trial, he said.

“The last climb Thursday is never steeper than five percent but it’s hard enough that the non-climbers will be eliminated,” Willett said. “Still, for the top 10 to 15 riders, it is unlikely to be a decisive stage.”

Labels: Burke Swindlehurst, Chris Baldwin, Chris Wherry, heath blackgrove, Jose Manuel-Garcia, Justin England, Kirk Willett, Sean Tucker, Stefano Barberi

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