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Ramsey, Holt claim Bisbee crowns
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The final and deciding stage of the 29th La Vuelta de Bisbee unfolded Sunday on the high desert terrain of Southern Arizona. In past years, a familiar script had played out — a group would leap off the front, build a sizable gap in the rolling terrain west of Bisbee and be reeled back in as the mountains approached and the climbers took over.
But this year, the gap was bigger, and there were able climbers in the breakaway. At the first intermediate sprint, a group of nine driven by three RideClean riders worked to build a 4:30 lead. In the break were Daniel Ramsey (Successful Living) and Roman Kilun (Health Net-Maxxis).
The peloton organized to pull in the break, but at the start of the first climb the break held onto a 2:30 minute advantage. Halfway up the ascent Henan Munoz (Halcones) attacked, took the KOM points and just kept going, not to be caught by the chasers. Munoz took the stage, 1:32 ahead of Ramsey, with Kilun crossing five seconds later.
With his runner-up finish, Ramsey clinched the overall in the men’s race, which saw four different stage winners and four different leaders on GC. Munoz took second place on the podium with Kilun in third.
The women's event was the opposite of the men's as Meshy Holt (Expresscopy.com) won three out of the four stages, finishing second in another. In powerhouse form, Meshy won the final stage to keep her massive 7:49 lead over runner-up Maatje Benassi (Excel). The third spot on the podium went to Carol Hutton (Excel), winner of stage 2. In the masters event, Scott Conover (HLHAP) took the stage over Doug Loveday (RideClean) by 10 seconds, followed by Daniel Martin (Safeway-GA Communications) at 20 seconds. Martin's effort gave him the overall La Vuelta title, followed by Conover and D.J. Fernandez (CZ Racing).
La Vuelta De Bisbee
Tombstone Road Race
Men
1. Hernan Munoz, (Mex), Halcones, 4:03:59
2. Daniel Ramsey, Successful Living, at 1:32
3. Roman Kilun, Health Net-Maxxis, at 1:37
4. Mark Aasmundstad, Rideclean, at 1:46
5. Marco Ortega (Mex), Halcones, at 1:55
Women
1. Meshy Holt, Expresscopy.Com, 3:12:36
2. Amy Dombroski, Excel Sports, same time
3. Maatje Benassi, Excel Sports, at 0:06
4. Maria Monica, Touchstone Climbing, at 0:08
5. Carol Hutton, Excel Sports, at 0:20
Overall
Men
1. Daniel Ramsey, Successful Living, 7:33:31
2. Hernan Munoz, (Mex), Halcones, at 0:13
3. Roman Kilun, Health Net-Maxxis, at 0:23
4. Michael Grabinger, Successful Living, at 1:06
5. Phil Zajicek, Navigators Inssurance, at 1:16
Women
1. Meshy Holt, Expresscopy.com, 6:02:05
2. Maatje Benassi, Excel Sports, at 7:49
3. Carol Hutton, Excel Sports, at 8:00
4. Maria Monica, Touchstone Climbing, at 8:07
5. Heather Sborz, unattached, at 8:30
