June 22/15 9:39 am - North Star Bike Fest: Stage 6
Posted by Editoress on 06/22/15
Tom Zirbel relied on his teammates to help him bring home the overall win at the North Star Grand Prix, the team's fifth win in five years and Zirbel's second at the midwest's premier stage race. The notorious Stillwater course covers 24 short laps, each with a short, steep climb on Chilkoot Hill reaching grades over 22%. It was one final challenge in the team's defense of Zirbel's lead, overtaken a day earlier in Menomonie.
“The team was great – I didn't touch the wind one time. They were keeping the corners really fast and controlled and we never took any risks,” said Zirbel. “The move up the road was good for us so it was the lowest stress level you could ask for when defending yellow.”
Zirbel reclaimed the overall he took in stage one in the opening time trial, and 2014 defending champion Ryan Anderson also earned the team its first win at the Uptown Criterium in over seven years of competition at the event. His win means five straight overall victories for Optum p/b KBS at the North Star race. 2011 winner Jesse Anthony and defending champion Ryan Anderson were both there to assist Zirbel in the defense, along with Scott Zwizanski and Will Routley. The team lost Guillaume Boivin to a crash in stage two, but the five remaining riders defended with authority in Stillwater.
“You worry about crashing, mechanicals, and I was cramping yesterday so I wanted to keep it as smooth as possible and the team did a brilliant job,” said Zirbel. “Even when attacks would go they would keep it easy on me and that led to the win today.”
Performance Director Jonas Carney has guided the team to all five of their North Star victories, and he knew his team was comfortable with the task at hand. “We've had to defend the jersey here in Stillwater for five or six years in a row, so the guys know it well,” said Carney. “We wanted to keep the team together, stay calm, and give other riders a chance to fight for the stage. We ramped up the speed on the last five laps in order to keep Tom out of trouble, and the team executed to perfection.”
Routley and Anderson finished 4th and 6th on the stage, but metered their efforts for most of the race to assist Zirbel.
“I think it's the difference between winning and losing a stage – you're either fully committing or not,” said Carney. “Without fully committing as a team, bringing a strong breakaway back like today in Stillwater or yesterday in Menomonie would be very hard. Our goal for the week was to win the overall and we didn't want the team to be distracted from that.”
Report and photos courtesy Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Results
| Stage 6 (June 21st): Stillwater Criterium | |
| 1 Fabrizio VonNacher (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 1.23:00 |
| 2 Ben Hill (Donkey Label Racing) | at s.t. |
| 3 Kevin Girkins (Elbowz Racing) | 0:06 |
| 4 Will Routley (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 0:08 |
| 5 Colin Strickland (Elbowz Racing) | |
| 6 Ryan Anderson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | |
| 7 Chris Barton (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | |
| 8 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | |
| 9 Morgan Schmitt (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | |
| 10 Tobin Ortenblad (California Giant / Specialized) | |
| 11 Joe Schmaltz (Hincapie Racing Team) | |
| 12 Andrew Hemesath (The Colorado Collective) | |
| 13 Jon Hornbeck (Hincapie Racing Team) | |
| 14 Alexander Braico (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | |
| 15 Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | |
| 16 Mac Brennan (Hincapie Racing Team) | |
| 17 Jake Magee (Donkey Label Racing) | |
| 18 Josh Yeaton (GS CIAO) | all s.t. |
| 19 Andrew Clemence (The Colorado Collective) | 0:15 |
| 20 Drew Christopher (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | |
| 21 Timothy Rugg (GS CIAO) | |
| 22 Kaler Marshall (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | |
| 23 Zeke Mostov (California Giant / Specialized) | all s.t. |
| 24 Kevin Mollervy (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | 0:19 |
| 25 Eric Thompson (Donkey Label Racing) | |
| 26 Tony Olson (Grand Performance) | both s.t. |
| 27 Andrew Dahlheim (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | 0:23 |
| 28 Robin Eckmann (GS CIAO) | 1:13 |
| 29 Jean-Michel Lachance (Grand Performance) | 1:22 |
| 30 Neal Shepherd (The Colorado Collective) | 1:49 |
| 31 Marcos Lazzarotto (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | 1:51 |
| 32 Martin Vecchio (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | 1:53 |
| 33 Dillon Caldwell (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | 1:56 |
| 34 Gabriel Baca (Elbowz Racing) | |
| 35 Brian McCulloch (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | |
| 36 Chris Winn (GS CIAO) | all s.t. |
| 37 Freddie Rodriguez (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 2:33 |
| 38 Michael Sheehan (Elbowz Racing) | 2:37 |
| 39 Scott Zwizanski (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 2:41 |
| 40 Taylor Warren (The Colorado Collective) | 3:00 |
| 41 Stefano Barberi (California Giant / Specialized) | 9:33 |
| 42 Jesse Anthony (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 9:39 |
| 43 Andres Diaz (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | s.t. |
| 44 Ryan O'Boyle (Credite Velo) | 10:08 |
| 45 Gregory Wittwer (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | |
| 46 Ulises Castillo (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | |
| 47 Cole House (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | all s.t. |
| 48 George Simpson (GS CIAO) | 10:24 |
| 49 Alberto Covarrubias (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | 11:31 |
| 50 Efren Flores (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | s.t. |
| 51 Steven Perezluha (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | 13:31 |
| 52 Greg Capelle (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | s.t. |
| 53 Mehdi Benhamouda (Team Novo Nordisk Development) | 14:21 |
| 54 Jack McCann (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | 14:36 |
| 55 Jamie Anderson (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | |
| 56 Michael Burleigh (GS CIAO) | both s.t. |
| 57 Fabio Calabria (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | 15:50 |
| 58 Bryan Stevens (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | s.t. |
| 59 Alex Meyer (Grand Performance) | 16:00 |
| 60 Zachary Felpel (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | 17:25 |
| 61 Matt McLoone (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | |
| 62 Stefan Rothe (Elbowz Racing) | |
| 63 Nathaniel Beams (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | |
| 64 Dustin Morici (Ego p/b Sammy's Bikes) | all s.t. |
| 65 Jake Buescher (Ego p/b Sammy's Bikes) | 18:46 |
| 66 Jonathan Toftoy (Donkey Label Racing) | 19:01 |
| 67 Andrew Buntz (Credite Velo) | s.t. |
| 68 Tim Savre (Credite Velo) | 20:37 |
| 69 Robert Sroka (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | s.t. |
| 70 Michael Woell (Grand Performance) | 21:02 |
| 71 Ross White (Credite Velo) | |
| 72 David Guttenplan (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | both s.t. |
| 73 Eric Hill (Grand Performance) | 23:10 |
| 74 Diego Sandoval (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | |
| 75 Corey Davis (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | |
| 76 Jake King (California Giant / Specialized) | all s.t. |
| 77 Shawn Wayland (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 26:13 |
| 78 Colton Jarisch (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | 26:53 |
| 79 Adam Mills (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | |
| 80 Carmen Small (Elbowz Racing) | both s.t. |
| DNF Pat Casey (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | |
| DNF Gavriel Epstein (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | |
| DNF Isaac Howe (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | |
| DNF Sven Gartner (Ego p/b Sammy's Bikes) | |
| DNF Kyle Selph (Ego p/b Sammy's Bikes) | |
| DNF Heath Blackgrove (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | |
| DNF Julian Rodas (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | |
| DNF Sergio Hernandez (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | |
| DNF Efren Ortega (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | |
| DNF Brais Dacal (Team Novo Nordisk Development) | |
| Final GC | |
| 1 Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 10.24:43 |
| 2 Mac Brennan (Hincapie Racing Team) | at 0:23 |
| 3 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:28 |
| 4 Morgan Schmitt (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | 0:30 |
| 5 Jon Hornbeck (Hincapie Racing Team) | 0:33 |
| 6 Kaler Marshall (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | 0:48 |
| 7 Alexander Braico (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 1:16 |
| 8 Josh Yeaton (GS CIAO) | 1:33 |
| 9 Joe Schmaltz (Hincapie Racing Team) | 6:03 |
| 10 Ben Hill (Donkey Label Racing) | 9:12 |
| 11 Ryan Anderson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 9:40 |
| 12 Colin Strickland (Elbowz Racing) | 9:48 |
| 13 Chris Barton (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 9:51 |
| 14 Kevin Girkins (Elbowz Racing) | 9:52 |
| 15 Tobin Ortenblad (California Giant / Specialized) | 9:54 |
| 16 Andrew Clemence (The Colorado Collective) | 10:06 |
| 17 Eric Thompson (Donkey Label Racing) | 10:08 |
| 18 Zeke Mostov (California Giant / Specialized) | 10:09 |
| 19 Fabrizio VonNacher (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 10:23 |
| 20 Andrew Hemesath (The Colorado Collective) | 10:26 |
| 21 Andrew Dahlheim (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | 10:41 |
| 22 Tony Olson (Grand Performance) | 11:30 |
| 23 Jean-Michel Lachance (Grand Performance) | 11:36 |
| 24 Will Routley (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 11:36 |
| 25 Chris Winn (GS CIAO) | 12:12 |
| 26 Scott Zwizanski (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 12:20 |
| 27 Gabriel Baca (Elbowz Racing) | 12:21 |
| 28 Robin Eckmann (GS CIAO) | 12:30 |
| 29 Martin Vecchio (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | 13:09 |
| 30 Marcos Lazzarotto (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | 13:21 |
| 31 Brian McCulloch (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 14:04 |
| 32 Andres Diaz (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | 14:12 |
| 33 Freddie Rodriguez (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 14:16 |
| 34 Bryan Stevens (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | 16:47 |
| 35 Timothy Rugg (GS CIAO) | 18:08 |
| 36 Jesse Anthony (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 19:21 |
| 37 George Simpson (GS CIAO) | 20:14 |
| 38 Neal Shepherd (The Colorado Collective) | 20:45 |
| 39 Gregory Wittwer (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | 21:06 |
| 40 Cole House (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | 23:19 |
| 41 Greg Capelle (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | 23:54 |
| 42 Ryan O'Boyle (Credite Velo) | 24:44 |
| 43 Alberto Covarrubias (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | 25:51 |
| 44 Steven Perezluha (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | 25:58 |
| 45 Fabio Calabria (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | 26:14 |
| 46 Ulises Castillo (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 26:41 |
| 47 Stefan Rothe (Elbowz Racing) | 27:06 |
| 48 Michael Sheehan (Elbowz Racing) | 27:12 |
| 49 Dustin Morici (Ego p/b Sammy's Bikes) | 27:49 |
| 50 Jack McCann (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | 28:34 |
| 51 Alex Meyer (Grand Performance) | 30:50 |
| 52 Nathaniel Beams (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | 31:00 |
| 53 Efren Flores (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 31:14 |
| 54 Stefano Barberi (California Giant / Specialized) | 32:24 |
| 55 Jake King (California Giant / Specialized) | 33:47 |
| 56 Andrew Buntz (Credite Velo) | 33:50 |
| 57 Corey Davis (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | 34:34 |
| 58 Jake Magee (Donkey Label Racing) | 35:05 |
| 59 Robert Sroka (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | 35:15 |
| 60 Kevin Mollervy (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | 35:17 |
| 61 Dillon Caldwell (Canyon Bicycles - Shimano) | 40:18 |
| 62 Matt McLoone (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | 43:18 |
| 63 Drew Christopher (Champion System-Stan's NoTubes) | 45:03 |
| 64 Michael Burleigh (GS CIAO) | 46:51 |
| 65 Jamie Anderson (Netherland Rubber p/b MVP) | 47:30 |
| 66 David Guttenplan (Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching) | 56:29 |
| 67 Diego Sandoval (Incycle-Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) | 59:41 |
| 68 Taylor Warren (The Colorado Collective) | 1.00:29 |
| 69 Colton Jarisch (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | 1.06:17 |
| 70 Mehdi Benhamouda (Team Novo Nordisk Development) | 1.13:27 |
| 71 Jonathan Toftoy (Donkey Label Racing) | 1.15:09 |
| 72 Carmen Small (Elbowz Racing) | 1.17:05 |
| 73 Zachary Felpel (BATTLEY H-D /Spokes Etc p/b District Taco) | 1.21:34 |
| 74 Adam Mills (Elevate Elite Cycling Team) | 1.24:21 |
| 75 Ross White (Credite Velo) | 1.25:13 |
| 76 Tim Savre (Credite Velo) | 1.26:03 |
| 77 Michael Woell (Grand Performance) | 1.35:28 |
| 78 Shawn Wayland (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) | 1.48:39 |
| 79 Jake Buescher (Ego p/b Sammy's Bikes) | 1.49:43 |
| 80 Eric Hill (Grand Performance) | 1.49:54 |
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