May 24/04 11:10 am - Tour of Connecticut: Stage 5 and Final GC

Posted by Editoress on 05/24/04
 

Tour of Connecticut Stage
Courtesy Navigators

Stage 5: Housatonic Valley Classic
The 2004 Tour of Connecticut is now in the history books following today's 102-mile road stage through the Housatonic Valley. Racing under hot steamy weather (98* f) the riders began the day heading north before cutting toward the east and the series of short, steep hills and 8 sprint lines.

The Navigators squad had 2 major objectives for the day; keep Marty Nothstein in the green Sprint-Leader Jersey, and put Vassiliy Davidenko in position to make it 3-wins in a row, after taking the victory in this race the past 2 years. The requisite early breakaway escaped and 2 riders were able to gain a lead of 30-seconds by the time they reached the 2nd sprint bonus at mile 16. With the team of race leader Mark McCormack (Colavita) riding tempo, the escapees were soon brought back.

A serious move of 6 riders attacked and motored away before 30-miles were covered, putting pressure on McCormack's team. Navigators' Burke Swindlehurst was in the break along with Chris Horner (Webcor), Mike Sayers (Health Net), Ivan Dominguez (Colavita), Dominique Perras (Ofoto) and Daniel Ramsey (Team SeaSilver). With the necessary horsepower present, the only baggage was Dominguez. Once the gap back to the field had reached 1:28, Horner and Perras attacked and rapidly gained an advantage on their 4 breakaway partners.

With Dominguez riding defensively for his team leader, the rest of the breakaway decided to stop working as the Colavita squad was now responsible for containing Horner and Perras, as a stage victory by Perras had the potential to give him the Overall G.C. victory. The Colavita team was now riding tempo, or so it appeared.

Over the next 15-miles of racing, the gap to the leaders grew to over 5-minutes, instead of decreasing as it should. Either the Colavita team was weak, didn't understand the race situation, or they were purposely giving away the race. Once it became obvious that Colavita was actually helping the 2 leaders, the Navigators blue train went to the front and began to reel in the escapees, with some help from the Health Net squad. Over the next hour, the team slowly worked to bring back the leaders.

Just before entering the 14 finishing circuits of 1.4-miles, misfortune struck as 2 members of the Navigators squad were caught in a crash, followed moments later by a puncture on the rear wheel of Davidenko. The timing of this serious bad luck could not be any worse. With the short finishing circuits upon them, the remaining Navigators riders brought the Horner/Perras duo back to just under 1-minute. With the field now within striking distance, the attacks began to heat up, and the race leader would have to go to work. However, no other squad had any horsepower left and the gap actually increased to back over 1-minute.

Suddenly, the wind increased, the skies darkened and a torrential downpour engulfed the riders. Over the next 5-laps of the slopping racecourse, Horner attacked alone and Perras was quickly caught and dropped by the chasing field. Horner held on to take the victory with his teammate Charles Dionne edging out Navigators' Ciaran Power for 2nd place.

1. Chris Horner (Webcor Builders), 4:02:45
2. Charles Dionne (Webcor Builders), at 0:40
3. Ciaran Power (Navigators Insurance)
4. Mark McCormack (Colavita Olive Oil)
5. Shawn Milne (Fiordifrutta)
6. Ian Dille (Team Snow Valley)
7. Chris Wherry (Health Net)
8. Kirk Albers (Sharper Image - Jelly Belly)
9. Melito Heredia (Toga Bikes)
10. Joe Papp (Team Holland)
11. Alexandre Nadeau (Volkswagen TREK)
12. Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing)
13. Stu Gillespie (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine)
14. Imanol Ayestaran (Webcor Builders)
15. Jacob Erker (Team Seasilver)
16. Bruno Langlois (Volkswagen TREK)
17. Roman Kilun (McGuire Pro Cycling Team)
18. Eneas Freyre (Team Holland)
19. Erik Saunders (Team Ofoto)
20. Zak Grabowski (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine)
21. Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver)
22. Joshua Dillon (Louis Garneau Racing)
23. Mark Walters (Navigators Insurance), all s.t.
24. Aaron Olson (Colavita Olive Oil), 1:20
25. Danny Pate (Health Net), 1:55
all others DNF

Final GC
1. Mark McCormack (Colavita Olive Oil), 101pts
2. Charles Dionne (Webcor Builders), 88
3. Shawn Milne (Fior di Frutta), 77
4. Chris Horner (Webcor Builders), 61
5. Chris Wherry (Health Net presented by Maxxis), 54
6. Alexandre Nadeau (Volkswagen TREK), 49
8. Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil), 40
7. Jeff Louder (Navigators Insurance), 40
9. Ciaran Power (Navigators Insurance), 37
10. Melito Heredia (Toga Bikes), 36
11. Imanol Ayesteron (Webcor Builders), 34
12. Ian Dille (Team Snow Valley), 33
13. Joe Papp (Team Holland), 30
14. Stu Gillespie (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 29
17. Gord Fraser (Health Net presented by Maxxis), 27
16. Mark Walters (Navigators Insurance), 27
15. Bruno Langlois (Volkswagen TREK), 27
18. Will Frischkorn (Colavita Olive Oil), 24
20. Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil), 23
19. Danny Pate (Health Net presented by Maxxis), 23
21. Kirk Albers (Sharper Image - Jelly Belly), 21
23. Jon Erdeyli (Team Ofoto), 20
24. Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing), 20
22. Jacob Erker (Team Seasilver), 20
25. Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver), 18
26. David McKenzie (Navigators Insurance), 18
28. Jamiel Danesh (McGuire - Saunier Duval), 16
27. Scott Zwizanski (Team Ofoto), 16
29. Eneas Freyre (Team Holland), 15
31. Adam Hodges Myerson (Sharper Image - Jelly Belly), 14
30. Dominique Perras (Team Ofoto), 14
32. Mike Sayers (Health Net presented by Maxxis), 13
33. Tyler Wren (Colavita Olive Oil), 13
34. Mike Jones (Health Net presented by Maxxis), 12
35. Ang Sheldrake (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 11
36. Gustavo Artacho (Colavita Olive Oil), 10
37. Peter Baker (Team Snow Valley), 9
38. Joshua Dillon (Louis Garneau Racing), 9
39. Roman Kilun (McGuire - Saunier Duval), 9
40. Franky Van Haesenbroucke (Watchung Wheelmen), 8
41. Ryan Dewald (Team Snow Valley), 8
42. Craig Upton (Stelvio TEAMWEAR-Orbis Properties), 8
43. Erik Saunders (Team Ofoto), 7
44. Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators Insurance), 6
45. Zak Grabowski (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 6
47. Marty Nothstein (Navigators Insurance), 5
46. Wim Botman (Team Holland), 5
48. Alec Donahue (Louis Garneau Racing), 4
49. Bjorn Cornelissen (Team Holland), 3
51. Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Olive Oil), 2
50. Chris Rozdilsky (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology), 2
52. Aaron Olson (Colavita Olive Oil), 2
53. Kevin Lacombe (Volkswagen TREK), 1
54. Waclaw Godycki (Team Ideal Tile/Briell Cyclery), 1

Best Sprinter
1. Marty Nothstein (Navigators Insurance), 5pts
2. Chris Horner (Webcor Builders), 3
3. Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil), 2
4. Dominique Perras (Team Ofoto), 2
5. Jeff Louder (Navigators Insurance), 1
6. Todd Herriott (Colavita Olive Oil), 1
7. Sebastian Alexander (Colavita Olive Oil), 1

KOM
1. Dominique Perras (Team Ofoto), 36pts
2. Todd Herriott (Colavita Olive Oil), 11
3. Chris Horner (Webcor Builders), 11
3. Jeff Louder (Navigators Insurance), 9
4. Mike Jones (Health Net), 9
5. Chris Wherry (Health Net), 8
6. Will Frischkorn (Colavita Olive Oil), 7
7. Joe Papp (Team Holland), 5
8. Imanol Ayestaran (Webcor Builders), 2
9. Scott Zwizanski (Team Snow Valley), 2
10. Chris Rozdilsky (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology), 1

Best Amateur
1. Shawn Milne (Fiordifrutta), 77pts
2. Alexandre Nadeau (Volkswagen TREK), 49
3. Melito Heredia (Toga Bikes), 36
4. Ian Dille (Team Snow Valley), 33
5. Joe Papp (Team Holland), 30
6. Stu Gillespie (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 29
7. Robbie King (Louis Garneau Racing), 20
8. Bruno Langlois (Volkswagen TREK), 14
9. Bruno Langlois (Volkswagen TREK), 13
10. Ang Sheldrake (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 11
11. Peter Baker (Team Snow Valley), 9
12. Joshua Dillon (Louis Garneau Racing), 9
13. Frank Van Haesenbroucke (Watchung Wheelmen), 8
14. Ryan (Dewald), 8
15. Craig Upton (Stelvio TEAMWEAR-Orbis Properties), 8
16. Eneas Freyre (Team Holland), 7
17. Zak Grabowski (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 6
18. Wim Botman (Team Holland), 5
19. Alec Donahue (Louis Garneau Racing), 4
20. Chris Rozdilsky (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology), 2
21. Waclaw Godycki (Team Ideal Tile/Briell Cyclery), 1

Best Young Rider
1. Stu Gillespie (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 29pts
2. Ang Sheldrake (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 11
3. Zak Grabowski (TIAA-Cref/5280 Magazine), 6
4. Wim Botman (Team Holland), 5
5. Kevin Lacombe (Volkswagen/TREK), 1