- HOT TOPICS:
- An American start for the Giro? •
- 2010 Routes: Giro | California | TdF •
- LA doc guilty on all counts
Health Net’s Menzies leads Toona after stage 3 confusion
Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) came first across the line at the two most recent stages of the International Tour de Toona, but the record books only show him as winning one.
After Health Net won the race’s opening team time trial, Menzies moved into the leader’s yellow jersey with his second-stage sprint win ahead of Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Charles Dionne (Colavita-Sutter Home). On stage 3 Wednesday, Menzies came to the finish of the 96-mile race from Johnstown as part of a 47-man group.
What happened next depends on who you ask. The stage finished in the Logan Valley Mall in Altoona, and featured a diversion around a traffic island about 150 meters from the finish. Menzies and a few others chose to take the shortest line around the island, which took them off the official course. Menzies and others believed they were racing on course; some competitors like those at Toyota-United claimed Menzies had cheated.
After much debate among race referees, the official decision was as follows:
"There was confusion and resultant course cutting by some riders in the lead group of the Pro/1/2 field. The problem was a function of inappropriate course setup."
The result? No one officially won the stage, no NRC points or money was awarded and the 47 riders in the front group all received the same time. The other riders were given times as they came across the line.
“Menzies was in 10th or 15th position and just thought it would be shorter to go inside a traffic island,” said Toyota-United team director Harm Jansen. “That move put him in front of everybody.”
The front group had been whittled down earlier in the race up the climb to Blue Knob State Park, shaking up the GC that had been set after stage 1 with all of Health Net at the top followed by the full Toyota-United squad, which placed second in the team time trial. Because Menzies and Rory Sutherland were the Health Net riders in the split, Toyota riders who did make the move climbed up the GC. Toyota’s Chris Baldwin now sits third overall behind Sutherland, followed by Toyota’s Caleb Manion, Chris Wherry, Justin England and Burke Swindlehurst.
Thursday’s stage, the 60-mile Hollidaysburg Circuit Race, will take riders over three laps of a rolling 20-mile circuit.
Always eager for a win, Menzies has tackled the latter half of the season with renewed motivation. He recently returned to U.S. racing after spending three weeks in his native Tasmania with his father, who has terminal cancer.
"At this point, there's only so much we can do for him," Menzies said. "He told me he wants me back racing. He wants me winning races. That's what I want to do for him."
2007 Tour de Toona
Overall (after stage 3)
1. Karl Menzies, Health Net, 6:02:30
2. Rory Sutherland, Health Net at 00:08
3. Chris Baldwin, Toyota-United, at 00:19
4. Caleb Manion, Toyota-United
5. Chris Wherry, Toyota-United
6. Justin England, Toyota-United
7. Burke Swindlehurst, Toyota-United, all s.t.
8. Benjamin Day, Navigators Insurance, at 0:26
9. Valeriy Kobzarenko, Navigators Insurance
10. Glen Chadwick, Navigators Insurance, both s.t.
