2013 Premier Series Underway with Snelling

Snelling Road Race
24 February 2013

The 2013 NCNCA Bikereg.com Premier Series started off yesterday with the Snelling Road Race. Chuck Hutcheson (Marc Pro-Strava) won in a photo finish for Men Pro-1-2 to continue his leading role from last year. Dan Martin (SAFEWAY/PureRED/Bicycles Plus) won in another sprint in the day’s earlier Master 35+ 1-2-3 race. The Master 45+ 1-2-3′s had two fields; Dirk Himley (Hammer Nutrition/Charity of Choice) was the winner in one field with last year’s series winner Kevin Kline (Prime Time Cycling Team) taking the second race.

Freddie Rodriguez and Chuck Hutcheson Contest the Sprint

Tayler Wiles (Specialized Lululemon) won in another of the day’s sprint finishes, in the race for Women 1-2. Wiles beat out Elizabeth Newell (NOW and Novartis for MS), Alison Tetrick (Exergy Twenty16), and Tanja Meyer (Pinnacle p/b Argon 18) in a four-way battle up the final stretch.

Tayler Wiles Stole Away in the Four-Racer Sprint

The early going in the Women’s 1-2 race was pacey with many of the final protagonists at the sharp end of the field. The afternoon’s racing went off in the mid 50ºFs under cloudy but sunny skies. Although far from the near-gale force conditions of last year, the wind did pick up as the race wore on. “It was definitely nullifying a lot of attacks because it was a wall going into the wind,” said race winner Wiles, “But, in the last lap, we got into a small break and that helped us echelon and get away from everybody else. The wind ended splitting it up.”

“We worked together until the last kilometer,” continued Wiles, “It was full gas into the finish. I attacked into the corner and just sprinted to the line.” Wiles took the win comfortably ahead of Newell. Tetrick finished in third place just ahead of Meyer. Robin Farina (Now Cycling) rounded out the top five.

Tetrick Takes Advantage to Secure Third

The first two laps saw the Women’s field stay mostly in touch but start to break apart by lap three. Wiles, Newell, Meyer, and Tetrick were in the late break and reached the final corner in that order to contest for the win. As often happens at Snelling, there are racers from two or more categories simultaneously on the final stretch. “I was fourth wheel coming around the final bend,” said Tetrick, “But, unfortunately we were passing a rider from another field so it got a little hairy. Tayler [Wiles] had to go around and I was following Tanya [Meyer] who ended up in the dirt. I got to shoot through.” Coming off a win at the Valley of the Sun, Tetrick was looking to give it a go with the sprint. “Cycling’s about practicing different things,” continued Tetrick, “I wanted to see what it was like to set myself up and see what I could do.”

The race for Men P-1-2 got off to a cracking pace. Last year’s series winner gained a short gap part the way through the first lap, though later Chuck Hutcheson would admit that was unintended. “On the first lap when we went through the hills, I knew it was going to break up,” remarked Hutcheson, “It came apart then it came back together. That really hurt a bunch of guys. Some guys must have been caught out. So I told my teammates it’s going to split up. Sure enough, on the second lap through the hills, we just rolled away.”

Hutcheson Leads Midway through Lap One

Team Mike’s Bikes presented by Incase and Marc Pro-Strava filled the first seven-racer break along with Freddie Rodriguez (Team Fast FREDDIE). Most of the group rotated and worked hard. Eric Riggs (Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase) flatted to be replaced by Eric Wohlberg (Form Fitness) and Daniel Holloway (Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase). “[The wind then] made it abusive,” continued Hutcheson, “Guys in the break were getting tired faster. Chris Stastny (Hagens Berman) got away; he didn’t even attack, he was just pulling pretty strong. I looked around and all the Mike’s Bikes were looking dead. So, I bridged across.”

The Lead Break Taking the Bell for Men P-1-2

At the bell, Stastny, Hutcheson, Rodriguez, and Wohlberg were the lead break. Hutcheson tried to break away from Rodriguez but only Wohlberg fell off. “At 1K, Stastny got stuck at the front,” continued Hutcheson, “then Freddie on him, then me. We all swung out wide with 300m to go. Then at 200m it was just Freddie and me. I kept thinking ‘don’t look at him, don’t look at him, just keep sprinting.’ Then it was ‘oh, my God, I just beat him!’” The margin of victory for Hutcheson was less than 5cm as a last-ditch bike throw from Rodriguez went to no avail. Stastny finished a few bike lengths back with Wohlberg coming home in fourth place and Jesse Reams in fifth.

Hutcheson Eeks Out a Victory by a Narrow Gap

In the morning’s races, the Master 35+ 1-2-3 went off first. By the time the field reached Olsen Road, Dan Martin had a 10-second lead; he would occupy the sharp end for almost the entire race. By the next lap, there was a three racer break with Martin, Michael Buckley (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s), and Jan Weissenberger (ZIPZ Cycling Team). The break was caught by the bell but Martin took the win in a bunch-sprint by just over the length of a bike. Andres Gil finished second by a wheel ahead of Scott Bromstead (Barclay’s Racing). Fourth place went to Judd Van Sickle (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s). Michael Sayers (Team Specialized) took the fifth spot.

Weissenberger, Martin, and Buckley in the Break

The NCNCA Competition Committee will need to decide on points scoring for Master 45+ 1-2-3, given the two separate races at Snelling. The 2012 category champion Kevin Klein made a statement with his win in the second race. Dirk Himley raced in a four-rider break that worked over sprinter John Fairbanks (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s) to see Himley get away and go onto for a solo win. “This year it’s gonna be mine,” remarked Himley, after being questioned about his intentions for the Premier Series, “[Klein] is getting second, I’m getting first!” Standing next to Himley at the time, team mate Cale Reeder threw down his gauntlet to make his claim for the series win.

Dirk Himley Signals His Approval for the Win

Top-11 Results
Women 1-2
1. Taler Wiles (Specialized Lululemon)
2. Beth Newell (NOW and Novartis for MS)
3. Alison Tetrick (Exergy TWENTY16)
4. Tanja Meyer (Pinnacle p/b Argon 18)
5. Robin Farina (Now Cycling)
6. Felicia Gomez (Pinnacle p/b Argon 18)
7. Sara Clafferty (Pinnacle p/b Argon 18)
8. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint Cycling)
9. Marley Smith (Folsom Bike/Cervelo)
10. Olivia Dillon (NOW and Novartis for MS)
11. Fiona Strouts (Folsom Bike/Cervelo)

Men P-1-2
1. Chuck Hutcheson (Mac Pro-Strava)
2. Freddie Rodriguez (Team Fast FREDDIE)
3. Chris Stastny (Hagens Berman)
4. Eric Wohlberg (Form Fitness)
5. Jesse Reams (Trek-Red Truck Racing)
6. Roman Kilun (Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase)
7. Christopher Harland-Dunaway (Marc Pro-Strava)
8. Justin Rossi (Marc Pro-Strava)
9. Daniel Holloway (Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase)
10. Logan Loader (CashCall Mortgaga)
11. Joshua Carling (Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada)

Master 35+ 1-2-3
1. Daniel Martin (SAFEWAY/PureRED/Bicycles Plus)
2. Andres Gil
3. Scott Bromstead (Barclay’s Racing)
4. Judd Van Sickle (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s)
5. Michael Sayers (Team Specialized)
6. Alex Holtz (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s)
7. Nathan Parks (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s)
8. Jan Weissenberger (ZIPZ Cycling Team)
9. Chris Espy (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s)
10. Dustin Diede (Berkeley)
11. David Albrecht (ZIPZ Cycling Team)

Master 45+ 1-2-3, Race A
1. Dirk Himley (Hammer Nutrition/Charity of Choice)
2. Kerry Stockwell (Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada)
3. Robert Pasco (SAFEWAY/PureRED/Bicycles Plus)
4. John Fairbanks (Folsom Bike/VW/Raley’s)
5. Cale Reeder (Hammer Nutrition/Charity of Choice)
6. Rodney Spradlin (Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada)
7. Michael O’Rourke (SAFEWAY/PureRED/Bicycles Plus)
8. Stanley Terusaki (Morgan Stanley/Specialized)
9. Jonathan Laine (Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada)
10. Dan Shore (Fun Sport Bikes Cycling Team)
11. Kevin Miller (Victory Velo Racing)

Master 45+ 1-2-3, Race B
1. Kevin Klein (Prime Time Cycling Team)
2. Hans Gouwens (IronDataThirstyBearCycling.com)
3. Scott Hollander (Central Sierra Cyclists/CSC Rubber Soul)
4. Dennis King (CCT)
5. Patrick Briggs (Prime Time Cycling)
6. Scott Derdenger (Divine Electric Nor Cal)
7. Richard Nichols (Kovarus/Wells Fargo Racing Team)
8. Chris Kemp (Team City Sacramento)
9. Dan Palmer (IronDataThirstyBearCycling.com)
10. Patrick McLaughlin (Kovarus/Wells Fargo Racing Team)
11. Craig Stewart (Cushman & Wakefield Racing)