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Jones, McLaughlin strike it rich in Silver City crit

Published: May. 5, 2007

Brice Jones (Jelly Belly) and Jill McLaughlin (Touchtone Climbing) took commanding wins at the Downtown Silver City Criterium, the fourth stage of the 2007 Ben D. Altamirano Tour of the Gila.

The stage did little to shake up the general classification, with Nathan O’Neill (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mara Abbott (Webcor) retaining their pink leader’s jerseys.

Wind and blowing dust assaulted both the professionals and amateurs who raced around the 1.1-mile downtown circuit, which included two short, punchy climbs. The small ascents created separations in both pro races — but the course’s long, finishing straightaway faced directly into the oncoming wind, making a clean escape difficult.

Five racers broke free on the second lap of the women’s pro race. McLaughlin followed an attack by Canadian Melissa Holt (Expresscopy.com), winner of the April 27-29 La Vuelta de Bisbee. Also present was Rachel Heal (Webcor), Victoria Bastide (Tibco) and Sarah Tillotson (Colavita-Sutter Home).

The breakaway quickly grabbed a minute over the field. When the advantage stretched to 1:20 with 10 laps remaining, the chase group all but shut down.

“We had a rider in the break and we had the jersey, it wasn’t a huge thing for us to chase,” said race leader Abbott.

McLaughlin and Holt kept the breakaway alive through much of the race. McLaughlin was the first rider to hit the final left-hand turn, and maintained her advantage for the win. It was the first NRC victory for the native of Manchester, England, who currently resides in Los Gatos, California.

“I was happy to keep the break going because I knew if we got caught I’d get spit out the back,” McLaughlin said. “I’m not in fantastic position in GC [11th overall], but it’s still a great result for me.”

From break to bunch sprint
A similar breakaway broke free midway through the 34-lap men's race. Present in the initial split were breakaway specialist Scott Zwizanski (Priority Health), Carlos Hernandez (P&S Halcones), Jose Garcia (Toyota-United), Tim Duggan (Slipstream-Chipotle) and Nick Reistad (Jelly Belly). The breakaway gained new life after Chad Hartley (BMC) and Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) bridged across from the field.

Having O’Neill in the pink leader’s jersey, Health Net-Maxxis patrolled the front of the bunch, keeping the breakaway in check. With eight laps remaining, Jelly Belly told Reistad to stop pulling through in the break and amassed at the front of the peloton to set up sprinters Alex Candelario and Brice Jones, gradually reeling in the break with help from Health Net.

Stevic tried a suicide move with two laps remaining, but as the peloton rolled through the start/finish for the last time, the field was gruppo compatto.

Australian Matty Rice and American Andy Bajadali led around the final corner and delivered Jones to the line for the win.

“Nothing against him, but we didn’t really like Nick’s chances in the break with Stevic and Hartley,” said Danny Van Haute, Jelly Belly’s team director.

The win was the first of the year for Jones, a native of Arkansas.

“You know, all the fastest guys aren’t there. There’s no [Ivan] Dominguez in the pack,” Jones said. “Alex [Candelario] and I had the best chance to win, so we decided to do the team thing and set one of us up.”

Tour of the Gila
Downtown Silver City Criterium
Men
1. Brice Jones, Jelly Belly, 1:38:43
2. Richard England, Priority Health-Bissell, same time
3. Alex Candelario, Jelly Belly, s.t.
4. Ben Jacques-Maynes, Priority Health, s.t.
5. Ivan Stevic (Sr), Toyota-United, s.t.
6. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Health Net-Maxxis, s.t.
7. Anthony Colby, Colavita-Sutter Home, s.t.
8. Nathan O’Neill (Aus), Health Net-Maxxis, s.t.
9. Jamie Gandara, Colavita-Sutter Home, s.t.
10. David McCann, Colativa, s.t.

Women
1. Jill McLaughlin (GB), Touchstone Climbing, 1:13:27
2. Helen Kelly, Webcor, s.t.
3. Andrea Dvorak, Colavita-Sutter Home, s.t.
4. Melissa Holt (Can), Expresscopy.com, s.t.
5. Victoria Bastide, Tibco, s.t.
6. Alex Wrubleski (Can), Colavita-Sutter Home, at 1:08
7. Liza Rachetto, Tibco, at 1:10
8. Gina Grain (Can), Expresscopy.com, s.t.
9. Rachel Heal, Webcor, s.t.
10. Marni Hambleton (Can), Symmetrics, s.t.

Overall (after four of five stages)
Men
1. Nathan O’Neill (Aus), Health Net-Maxxis, 9:24:12
2. Chris Baldwin, Toyota-United, at 1:59
3. Scott Moninger, BMC, at 2:48
4. Hernan Munoz (Col), P&S Halcones, at 2:49
5. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Health Net-Maxxis, at 3:24
6. Tom Peterson, Slipstream-Chipotle, at 3:25
7. Ben Jacques-Maynes, Priority Health, at 3:35
8. Stefano Barberi, Toyota-United, at 3:43
9. Anthony Colby, Colavita-Sutter Home, at 3:48
10. Justin England, Toyota-United, at 3:56

Women
1. Mara Abbott, Webcor, 9:43:04
2. Rachel Heal, Webcor, at 0:35
3. Dotsie Bausch, Colavita-Sutter Home, at 1:05
4. Anne Samplonius (Can), Expresscopy.com, at 2:33
5. Amber Rais, Webcor, at 3:01
6. Brooke Ourada, Cheerwine, at 3:15
7. Leigh Hobson, Cheerwine, at 3:29
8. Nicole Evans, Lipton, at 3:45
9. Leah Goldstein (Can), Symmetrics, at 4:10
10. Andrea Dvorak, Colavita-Sutter Home, at 5:30