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Jansen and Jeanson take 'Toona

By VeloNews Interactive
Published: Aug. 5, 2001

Geneviève Jeanson (Rona) locked up her win at the six-day Tour de 'Toona by joining a two-woman break 8km from the finish of Sunday's 48-kilometer Coca Cola Downtown Criterium in Altoona, Pennsylvania, while Saturn’s Harm Jansen battled down to the wire with Navigator’s ace sprinter Vassili Davidenko to take the overall men’s title.

Jeanson and stage winner Kimberly Davidge (Saturn) finished 37 seconds ahead of the peloton after launching a breakaway with 8 km of racing left, right after Jeanson's teammate Meshy Holt (Rona) was caught by the field after her own solitary effort off the front.

Jeanson won the Tour de 'Toona with a comfortable lead of 3:32 over Pia Sunstedt (Intersports), a margin she established on Saturday with one of her signature solo breakaway efforts. Jeanson also won the green Queen-of-the-Mountain jersey, while Nicole Freedman (Crédit Suisse First Boston) was confirmed as the winner of the red jersey for winning the sprint points competition.

It was a different tale in the men’s race. Entering the final stage, Jansen held just a 21-second lead over Davidenko. With five time bonuses on the line, the overall contest could still be decided just on time bonuses. Jansen's Saturn Team worked to keep the peloton intact so that he could win the necessary bonuses to defend his grip on the lead. The strategy worked and Jansen managed to out-sprint Davidenko for key bonuses, giving him the overall title before the criterium was finished.

With the overall in hand, the Saturns set up speedster Ivan Dominguez, for his second win of the race.