March 10/02 10:33 am - Visalia, Women's World Cup #2, Murcia

Posted by Editor on 03/10/02
 

Saturn Wins the Second Stop of the World Cup Series
Courtesy Team Saturn

The Saturn Women's Team continued their quest for the World Cup Title, competing in the second stop of the series in Hamilton, New Zealand. On a course much different from the previous weekend's, the New Zealand course was a 6.3 kilometer seemingly benign circuit that by the end of the 107.1 kilometer race took the punch out of the nearly 60 competitors' legs. The inner city circuit was fast, technical circuit with tight corners and a short steep uphill section.

The Saturn Cycling Team entered the second World Cup stop with Petra Rossner leading the Series by 25 points over Australian Rochelle Gilmore. The course suited the Saturn Cycling Team's strengths well, but they had their work cut out for them with Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers, Germany's Hanka Kupfernagel, and Belgium's Susanne Ljungskog all fighting for the rainbow jersey on Rossner's shoulders.

The race began from the gun with immediate attacks from the strong Australian team. Throughout the entire race the nerves were taut as the Saturn Team was forced to bring attack after attack back. The race was ridden with an intensity not frequently matched. As Rossner's very strong teammates were relentless in their efforts to bring Rossner to the line. In the last kilometer, and at the end of the two hours, thirty minutes, only 24 competitors were left with Rossner finding herself alone after Catherine Marsal and Kimberly Bruckner finally succumbed after an incredible job defending Rossner's Rainbow jersey.

In the last five hundred meters things did not look good for Rossner. Finding herself boxed in she was forced to watch a very strong Kupfernagel jump first. As Kupfernagel rocketed up the right side and Rochelle Gilmore went on the left, Rossner made her bid for the finish line. It was not until the final 100 meters that she was able to get by eventual second place finisher Gilmore, and Kupfernagel in third. She had just enough time to make an ecstatic salute to the cheering fans before she crossed the line, victorious for the second time in seven days. "I am delighted with the hard work my Saturn Team did for me today," exclaimed Rossner. "I had to win after they did so much work for me."

Rossner now leads the World Cup Series over Australian Gilmore by 50 points. The third race of the series is on March 23 in Italy. In the meantime, the Saturn Team departs for California tonight, where they will begin the Redlands Bicycle Classic on Wednesday.

Women's World Cup #2 - Hamilton, New Zealand

1 Petra Rossner (Ger) Team Saturn 2:58:22
2 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) Australian National Team
3 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) International Composite
4 Alison Wright (Aus) AIS Team Australia
5 Naomi Williams (Aus) AIS Team Australia
6 Debby Mansveld (Ned) Vlaanderen-T-Interim-Eddy Merckx
7 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Vlaanderen-T-Interim-Eddy Merckx
8 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Netherlands National Team
9 Arenda Grimberg (Ned) Netherlands National Team
10 Priska Doppmann (Sui) International Composite
11 Rosalind Reekie-May (NZL) New Zealand National Team
12 Heidi Van De Vijver (Bel) Vlaanderen-T-Interim-Eddy Merckx
13 Melissa Holt (NZL) New Zealand National Team
14 Elizabeth Tadich (Aus) AIS Team Australia
15 Miho Oki (Jpn) Japan National Team
16 Margaret Hemsley (Aus) Australian National Team
17 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) AIS Team Australia
18 Kym Shirley (Aus) Australian National Team
19 Olivia Gollan (Aus) AIS Team Australia
20 Emma James (Aus) Australian National Team all s.t.
21 Catherine Marsal (Fra) Team Saturn at 0:05
22 Susie Wood (NZL) New Zealand "A" 0:08
23 Bridget Evans (Aus) International Composite 0:10
24 Sara Carrigan (Aus) AIS Team Australia 0:22
25 Vanessa Guyton (NZL) Vlaanderen-T-Interim-Eddy Merckx 1:03
26 Kimberley Bruckner (USA) Team Saturn s.t.
27 Elsbeth Vink (Ned) Netherlands National Team 1:43
28 Susy Pryde (NZL) New Zealand National Team 9:14
29 Tania Duff-Miller (NZL) New Zealand "A"
30 Nichola Solomon (NZL) New Zealand "A"
31 Ayumu Otsuka (Jpn) Japan National Team all s.t.
DNF Judith Arndt (Ger) Team Saturn
DNF Esther Van Der Helm (Ned) Netherlands National Team
DNF Tamano Nakamura (Jpn) Japan National Team
DNF Sarah Ulmer (NZL) New Zealand National Team
DNF Toni Bradshaw (NZL) New Zealand "A"
DNF Josephine Groenveld (Ned) Netherlands National Team
DNF Hiroko Shimada (Jpn) International Composite
DNF Dale Tye (NZL) Cycle Surgery Team
DNF Fanny Lariviere (NZL) Cycle Surgery Team
DNF Emma Rickards (Aus) Australian National Team
DNF Jessica Phillips (USA) Team Saturn
DNF Harue Kimura (Jpn) Japan National Team
DNF Kirsty Robb (NZL) New Zealand National Team
DNF Miyoka Karami (Jpn) International Composite
DNF Sarah Blake (NZL) Cycle Surgery Team
DNF Elisabeth Williams (NZL) Cycle Surgery Team
DNF Rosy Mccall (NZL) Cycle Surgery Team
DNF Kristy Scrymgeour (Aus) Team Saturn

World Cup Standings after #2

1 Petra Rossner (Ger) 150 points
2 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) 100
3 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) 62
4 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) 53
5 Priska Doppmann (Sui) 35
6 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) 34
7 Alison Wright (Aus) 30
8 Susanne Ljungkog (Swe) 29
9 Melissa Holt (NZL) 29
10 Naomi Williams (Aus) 27
11 Debby Mansveld (Ned) 24
12 Heidi Van De Vijver (Bel) 24
13 Rosalind Reekie-May (NZL) 21
14 Mari Holden (USA) 18
15 Arenda Grimberg (Ned) 15
16 Kim Shirley (Aus) 13
17 Margaret Hemsley (Aus) 11
18 Judith Arndt (Ger) 9
19 Elizabeth Tadich (Aus) 7
20 Kimberley Anderson (USA) 7
21 Miho Oki (Jpn) 6
22 Kimberley Bruckner (USA) 5
23 Catherine Marsal (Fra) 4
24 Jessica Phillips (USA) 3
25 Olivia Gollan (Aus) 2
26 Emma James (Aus) 2
27 Naomi Williams (Aus) 2


Rockoy Hill Road Race - Visalia, California

Saturn Report

Continuing their California campaign, the Saturn Team raced in Visalia, California on Saturday. Hot after their respective wins last Sunday, both the Saturn men and women were ready to do battle on Saturday's hilly road course. And, in the second major NRC race weekend of the season the Saturn Men and Women demonstrated to the rest of their respective peloton that they are #1 and staying there

The Rocky Hill Road Race was held on a hilly 9.5 mile circuit, and the Saturn Women started the morning out with their 1-2 punch. In their 50 mile, five lap race Ina Teutenberg took top honors in a solo break, with Lyne Bessette complementing it by a second place solo finish. On what is considered to be more of a climbers course, Teutenberg, who is considered one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton, showed all the climbers that not only is she fast, but strong as well. Teutenberg attacked on the second time up the one mile climb and never looked back. The Diet Rite lead chase was never able to gain much ground with Teutenberg's Saturn teammates, Bessette and Suzanne Sonye marking the bunch. On the fourth lap Lyne was able to counterattack off an another rider's attack and easily soloed in for second place over Tina Mayola (Diet Rite) who won a two up sprint for third.

Following the women's race, the Saturn Men worked seamlessly together throughout their 85 mile, nine lap race to eventually send Mark McCormack home with a nearly identical solo win to last year. The Saturn men used their strength to execute a very well planned offensive strategy which kept other teams on the defense for the whole race. Every Saturn team member was involved at one point. It was this total commitment to teamwork that enabled the team to take control in the final lap to win the bike race. After Trent Klasna, Soren Petersen, Eric Wohlberg, Damon Kluck and Chris Fisher were involved in a mid race breakaways things more or less came together coming into the final lap with the Mercury led peloton down to about 30 competitors in the front group. Up the final one mile climb McCormack and Jansen attacked with Chris Horner of Prime Alliance following. Gord Fraser, who has shown excellent form in the past month's racing, bridged across over the top of the climb, joining the three on the descent. Jansen and McCormack then laid a siege of attacks on the two riders to launch McCormack. McCormack held his solo lead for the last five miles, holding off a charging group of Mercury, Prime Alliance, and Navigators riders for a stellar win.

Women
1. Ina-Yoko Teutenberg Saturn
2. Lyne Bessette Saturn at 2:00
3. Tina Mayolo Diet Rite 2:35

Men
1. Mark McCormack Saturn
2. Hilton Carter Shroder Ironworks at 0:10
3. Gord Fraser Mercury s.t.


Mercury Report

The second stop on the NRC schedule is the Sequoia Cycling Classic, which features a 85 mile road race held Saturday. It is the toughest race held so far this year and the number of finishers was small as expected. The race tactics so far this year can best be described as cautiously aggressive. Riders are willing to attack, but if the move is not perfect, it is shut down and someone tries again.

Saturday's 85 mile race fell into this pattern. The first 6 laps were fast, but no significant action took place. On the 7th lap, a group of 14 riders went clear with Mercury's Chris Wherry and Plamen Stoyanov in tow. With all of the major teams well represented, the break did not seem to work well together, but still built up a maximum gap of 1'15". Mercury had only having 2 riders in the group, so it was time to keep the group close, and with a great team effort narrowed the gap to 45". On the last trip up the first of 2 climbs per lap, the group was all together as they headed through the feed zone.

Just after the feed, Saturn's Mark McCormack took off on a solo flyer. Although a cuople of riders tried to bridge across, McCormack managed to keep his gap at 10". For the rest of the 9 mile lap, he stayed out there with a maximum gap of 20". The group behind was 14 riders, including Mercury's Gord Fraser, Jesus Zarate, and Stoyanov. While Mercury tried to get the group rolling, the rest of the group could not get organized to bring back McCormack.

In the end, Saturn took the win by 15" with Shroeder's Hilton Clarke beating out Fraser for second. Mercury put in a great team effort for the day, but came up a bit short. Tomorrow, Fraser goes for his 4th straight win at the Sequoia Criterium.


Vuelta a Murcia- Spain

Stage 4 - Ceuti to Alhama 174 km

1 Angel Edo (Esp) Milaneza-MSS 4:25:33
2 David Etxebarria (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
3 Oscar Camenzind (Sui) Phonak Hearing Systems
4 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom
5 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Lampre-Daikin
6 Alessandr Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
7 Carlos Torrent (Esp) Jazztel-Costa Almeria
8 Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) iBanesto.com
9 Javi Pascual Llorente (Esp) Kelme-Costa Blanca
10 Benjamin Noval (Esp) Colchon Relax-Fuenlabrada

13 Jose Luis Rubiera (Esp) U.S. Postal
15 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank
22 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) U.S. Postal all s.t.
32 Abraham Olano (Esp) ONCE-Eroski at 1:31
39 Roberto Heras (Esp) U.S. Postal 1:38
47 Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 2:54
92 Matthew White (Aus) U.S. Postal 10:05
93 Kevin Livingston (USA) Team Deutsche Telekom s.t.

GC

1 Angel Edo (Esp) Milaneza-MSS 16:33:38
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport at 0:23
3 David Etxebarria (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:25
4 Oscar Camenzind (Sui) Phonak Hearing Systems 0:27
5 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) U.S. Postal s.t.
6 Claus Michael Moller (Den) Milaneza-MSS 0:28
7 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) iBanesto.com 0:29
8 Francisco Cabello (Esp) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0:30
9 Victoriano Fernandez (Esp) Milaneza-MSS s.t.
10 Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) iBanesto.com 0:31

12 Jose Luis Rubiera (Esp) U.S. Postal
17 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank both s.t.
28 Abraham Olano (Esp) ONCE-Eroski 2:02
37 Roberto Heras (Esp) U.S. Postal 2:31
54 Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 11:23
87 Matthew White (Aus) U.S. Postal 19.08
101 Kevin Livingston (USA) Team Deutsche Telekom 23:51


Happy Birthday To...

Lyne Bessette, today.