July 23/11 10:17 am - Brixia Tour: Meier 5th in GC after Stage 3

Posted by Editoress on 07/23/11
 

UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team’s Christian Meier and Chris Jones sitting in 5th and 7th place respectively heading into the weekend’s final two stages at Brixia Tour 2011

Northern Italy – As the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team heads into Stages 4 and 5 of the 2011 Brixia Tour, Teammates Christian Meier (CAN) and Chris Jones (USA) occupy the 5th and 7th place spots in the race’s overall standings. Having moved up several spots in the general standings following valiant efforts on the bike in the first three stages, the duo from Team UnitedHealthcare looks to elevate their overall positions in the general classification (GC) this weekend. Both riders are two minutes and 11 seconds off overall race leader as they head into the 11th edition of Brixia’s penultimate and final stages.

Teammate Boy Van Poppel finished 5th on Friday in a bunch sprint finish following the 211km Stage 3. Solid teamwork enabled Van Poppel to finish in the top five, as Morgan Schmitt (USA) played the role of workhorse today, staying in a break of five riders for a good portion of the stage and keeping the Team within striking distance. Earlier in the week, Christian Meier finished 8th on Stage 2b, and Chris Jones finished 9th on Stage 1, which yielded the pair’s top-10 positions in the general classification.

Bovine Bruises Rider – NO BULL!

The 2011 Brixia Tour has played host to one of the more interesting events that has taken place in a pro cycling race this year – if not ever. As Chris Jones worked hard to secure 9th place in Wednesday’s opening stage of the Tour, one unlucky rider wasn’t so fortunate and was knocked off of his bike by a bull – yes, a bull – that found himself in the road mid-race!

As if crazy fans surging onto the course and tough weather conditions weren’t enough for the peloton to contend with, the idea of watching out for cattle crossing adds a new dimension to the definition of being safe on the road. The Associated Press (AP) reported that Martin Lind, a Danish rider racing for Denmark’s Christina Watches team, broke his collarbone and was knocked unconscious after crashing into two cows or bulls that “just came in from the side” according to Lind. The 20 year-old Lind, who was admitted to a hospital and released a few hours later, was riding downhill at around 60km per hour (37mph) in the Italian Alps when the bovine went ballistic, wandering onto the road and into the main field of riders.
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling press release