Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis delivers strong team effort at Nationals

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Parent Category: Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Category: News 2010

Published on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 11:01

Written by Luca Salvatelli

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis put in a strong ride in the U.S. Pro Road Race National Championships in Greenville, S.C., even if the result may not have landed a team member on the podium.

"We wanted to have two or three guys make the final selection and we achieved that goal," said Team Director Mike Tamayo. "Max (Jenkins) and Chris (Baldwin) were both there at the end."

Unusual race dynamics allowed a three-rider break, which included 2011 signing Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefits), to gain a 10-minute advantage by the time they left the three opening 6.6 km circuits. Once out on the main loop, which included the Paris Mountain climb, the gap grew to 16 minutes by the time the trio went over Paris the first time.

By mid-race, several teams took up the chase and the gap started to come down. On lap three, Ben King (Trek Livestrong), who also won the U23 National Road and Criterium Championships earlier this year, took leave of break-mates Zwizanski and Daniel Holloway (Bissell) on the way up Paris Mountain.

Heading into the final big lap, King still held a 9:25 advantage over the thinning peloton. The chase knocked six of those minutes off the gap going over Paris Mountain the final time, with an attack by George Hincapie (BMC) and subsequent response from Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack and Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly) spurring the efforts behind to bring them back. Jenkins was part of the effort to reel in that dangerous trio.

Once the catch was made, the reduced front group, which was down to about 15 riders, hesitated long enough for a small chase group to catch back on, which allowed Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefits) to re-join and eventually take 2nd place.

With the hesitation behind, King still held a gap of over 3:00 heading into the three short finishing circuits.

With under two laps to go, Jenkins had a dig off the front. When he was brought back, Baldwin countered the catch with an attack of his own in an attempt to close the gap to King or at least solo to 2nd place. He was able to open a gap of 0:15, but the remaining pack didn’t give Baldwin enough leash to put his time trialing skills to use and he was re-absorbed.

In the end, a 22-rider group came to the line to contest the final two podium spots, a little more than 1:30 after King crossed the line for the win. Baldwin and Jenkins finished 15th and 16th respectively.

"Early on after the break went, some of the bigger teams were looking at each other to see who would chase. RadioShack was content with King up the road as they’d already announced he would be joining them in 2011," Tamayo said. "When things heated up toward the end of the race, we felt good about having Max and Chris up there. Those two guys put in a great effort today, and the whole team did great work to keep them well positioned for the climbs. It was a hard day, especially with the heat. We’re happy with the way all the guys raced, even if the results didn’t show."

Tamayo noted that with Nationals moving to May next year, it potentially will provide a better opportunity for the Team in its pursuit of the national championship jersey.

"It’s been a long season and the guys are getting pretty tired by now," he said. "But we’re excited to have Nationals in May next year. This team traditionally does very well in May and June, and with Nationals right in that time period, we should be fresh and going really well."

Notes

Adrian Hegyvary of Unit edHealthcare Presented by Maxxis showed his promise in the race against the clock on Saturday. Hegyvary marked the end of his first pro season with a solid 6th place in the time trial, finishing 2:19 behind the top two finishers, Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong) and Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack).

Photo: Jonathan Devich, Epic Images