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Vogels leads Nature Valley after a rainy race

Published: Jun. 11, 2004

One year after a dramatic crash nearly ended his cycling career, Aussie hardman Henk Vogels (Navigators Insurance) returned to the top step of a race podium, assuming the overall race lead at the Nature Valley Grand Prix following Friday's wet downtown criterium .

Vogels didn’t take the criterium win — that honor went to McGuire Pro Cycling’s Dave McCook, who went two-for-two in sprint finishes following Thursday’s stage win in Virginia, Minnesota. Still, returning to the spotlight was a poignant moment for the man from Perth, given an ankle-shattering crash at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic on June 28, 2003, that also left him with a broken vertebra.

“Considering I didn’t really start riding again until January, it’s a pretty emotional feeling,” Vogels said, reflecting on the significance of his achievement. “I just wish my wife [Cindy, home in Australia] was here for this.”

It was an exciting finish for a diminished crowd in downtown Minneapolis that had withstood a heavy thunderstorm leading up to a delayed start of the women’s race earlier in the evening.

With standing water on the course and an all-star field containing a wealth of potential Olympians — Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (France, Nature Valley-Penn Cycle), Lyne Bessette (Canada, Quark), Sarah Ulmer (New Zealand, TDS-Schwalbe), Lynn Gaggioli (USA, T-Mobile), Rochelle Gilmore (Australia, Wells Fargo-Ragatz) and Joanne Kiesanowski (Colavita Olive Oil) — race officials decided to appease both the women’s peloton and spectators by allowing racers the option to exit the course after 15 minutes of neutralized racing, with no penalty to their overall classification. The women who chose to continue were allowed to race for the stage win and subsequent prize money, but neither time bonuses nor sprint points were given.

The “race” was controlled by the team of race leader Bessette, with Megan Elliott setting pace on the front. The majority of GC contenders left the course after the 15-minute mark, and though the rain had subsided, a crash occurred on the wet, slippery course almost immediately following the end of neutralization. One of the victims was collegiate national champion Jenn Wangerin, who had earned a spot on the Quark team with her performance at collegiate nationals last month in Madison, Wisconsin. Wangerin crashed into a post that was unprotected by hay bales, splitting open her knee, and was taken to a local hospital.

“People were crashing all over the place on the first lap after the neutral racing ended,” reported Sportsbook.com’s Magen Long, who abandoned quickly afterwards. “Everyone just started going crazy.”

A group of approximately 40 riders remained, and out of the final corner it was Quark’s Sarah Uhl, the victim of a finish-line crash Thursday, coming by Kiesanowski and Melissa Sanborn (Wells Fargo-Ragatz) for the win.

“I was glad not to be out of the race after that crash,” Uhl said, adding that she was one of the few women that wanted to race Friday, rain or shine. “I just stayed quiet during the discussions about tonight. I want to protect Lyne’s lead, but I love this course and wanted to win tonight. A flat, fast course in front of a downtown crowd like this — this is everything a criterium racer dreams about.”

Bessette, however, was one rider who was pleased with the compromise between racers and officials. “I’m really happy they did that,” Bessette said. “I mean, as soon as they started racing, there was a crash. Given that this is an Olympic year, everything is more important. I don’t know how many more years I’ll be racing, and the Olympics are really important to me.”

After discussion of repeating the compromised conditions for the men’s race, officials decided instead to shorten the men’s criterium from one hour to 45 minutes, allowing time bonuses and GC times to stand.

Looking to set up its sprinter Dan Schmatz, Health Net-Maxxis went to the front immediately and took control, with Jason McCartney, Jason Lokkesmoe and John Lieswyn driving the strung-out pack.

“We wanted to keep it safe,” explained Lieswyn, who is still smarting from a time-trial snafu on Thursday that he feels robbed more than one rider on his team of 30 seconds on general classification. “We didn’t want a break to go. Even though it’s hard to maintain motivation with 30 seconds added to your GC time, we’re still hoping we can win this race.”

Backing up Health Net at the front were Navigators sprinters Marty Nothstein and Vogels, as well as U.S. Postal’s Robbie Ventura and Jelly Belly-Aramark’s Adam Bergman, the local rider who started the downtown Minneapolis crit last year in the race lead.

With no major escapes, the field had thinned out by attrition until a crash with two laps to go took out some 10 riders, including Schmatz, creating a split in the field. “I didn’t know Schmatz had gone down until I heard Lieswyn saying, ‘Schmatz is down. Fend for yourselves,’” McCook said.

Nothstein and Vogels attacked on the backside of the final lap, but McCook rode Vogels’s wheel to perfection into the final turn, coming around in the final 150 meters and surging across the line confidently, arms raised in the air.

“At Philly week I knew I was starting to ride well,” said McCook, 34, trying to explain a return to form Lieswyn said he hasn’t seen in McCook since 1992. “With the wet conditions, a lot of guys here knew that the top five was the best place to be. Marty and Henk attacked on the backside of the course, and I took advantage of Henk’s lead-out.”

Lieswyn said he was happy for his former teammate. “If we couldn’t win tonight, I’m happy to see Dave win,” he said.

As was the case Thursday, Vogels was beaten squarely in a drag race to the line. Still, the Aussie was pleased with his ride. “The wet course gets rid of 50 percent of the field,” Vogels said. “For me, it was good. I love riding in demanding conditions.”

As for the next two days, with an 80-mile road race on Saturday and the brutal climb faced each lap at the Stillwater criterium Sunday, Vogels wished to only enjoy the moment. “[Navigators] only has four guys, we can’t control 165 guys,” Vogels said. “Tonight I’m not really thinking of the overall. Tomorrow night it could be a different story.”

It’s a thought former race leader Ben Jacques-Maynes identified with. “Tonight was wicked fast, with lots of slick spots,” Jacques-Maynes said. “Eric Wohlberg and Glen Mitchell rode good support for me. I was happy to hold my position. Henk was going for the time bonuses, which is good for him. Now Navigators can defend the jersey.”