Nature Valley Grand Prix
Stillwater, MN

June 12, 2005

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STAGE 5: Stillwater Criterium

England sneaks to stage win, Lieswyn powers to overall title

A spent Shawn Milne rolled through the finish line of the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, gasping for air after climbing the 20-percent grade Chilkoot Hill for the last time.

“Today was a day you just talk with your legs, and obviously John’s spoke louder,” the Navigator Insurance rider said.

For all the talk that transpired over the last two days between Milne and Health Net/Maxxis’ John Lieswyn over the way the leader’s jersey changed hands between the two of them, on Sunday everything was left on the road. Midway through the Stillwater Criterium, Lieswyn jumped going uphill on the backside of the 1.5-mile course and instead of taking Milne with him, he took the leader’s jersey on the final day of the 5-day stage race.

“I was totally willing to go up the road with Shawn,” Lieswyn said about the surge he put in to reel in an attack put in by Bianchi/Grand Performance’s Ben Raby and Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home’s Aaron Olson. “I didn’t want to see him lose it all.

“But it is like Shawn said the other night in Minneapolis: I just followed the wheel in front of me,” he said.

In the end, Lieswyn took more than 2 minutes out of Milne, and instead of sitting on the podium, Milne fell down to sixth, leaving second and third overall to Olson and HRRC/Saddlewood Bikesource Specialized’s Brian Jensen.

While Lieswyn was the toast of the event, the day’s spoils went to Advantage Benefits/Endeavor Cycling Team’s Richard England, who overcame a 20-second deficit to the lead pack in the last four laps to take the win ahead of Raby and Colavita’s Jonathan Page.

“That was very impressive,” Raby said of England’s effort.

“I was confident if it came down to a sprint, I could take it,” he said. “This hill suits someone like me.”

In the last lap, the surge actually came from Jelly Belly-Pool Gel’s Danny Pate as they crested the summit of the course with a 6-second lead over the field that had been whittled down to eight riders. Lieswyn bridged, and the two pushed it down the hill to the last climb, but not hard enough to pull away from the break.

“I would have liked to have led him out to the finish. I would have liked to have seen him win,” Lieswyn said. “I didn’t realize it was the last lap, or I would have put myself in the red that final lap.”

Instead, it was England’s teammate, Garrett Peltonen, who dug deep.

“I jumped, got him halfway up the hill, and he just did the rest,” Peltonen said.

“We finally got one,” said England’s teammate, Pipp, who, himself, came up short in third place in the Friday night criterium.

The win also vaulted the team ahead of Health Net for the team title in the grand prix, an honor England said the team has earned.

“Health Net has given us some more respect over the last couple of weeks,” England said when asked if the win helps the team’s standing in the peloton.

As for the rookie rider for Navigators, Milne said while the day did not go the way he would have liked, little in the stage race happened according to plan.

“I still have to put it somewhat in perspective. If that wreck in Minneapolis wouldn’t have happened, I probably wouldn’t be in the jersey,” said Milne, who suffered a dropped chain and broken derailleur going up hill, and then a flat tire on a teammate’s bike finishing the lap. “The strongest rider won.”

And for Lieswyn, who won the leader’s jersey for the second time in four years at Nature Valley, the win just added another dimension to an already incredible year for Health Net.

“I’m just enjoying bike racing right now,” he said.

Jersey winners

Overall: John Lieswyn, Health Net/Maxxis

Mountain’s jersey: Danny Pate, Jelly Belly-Pool Gel

Best sprinter’s: Emile Abraham, Monex

Best amateur: Brian Jensen, HRRC/Saddlewood Bikesource Specialized

Top espoire: Tyler Farrar, Health Net/Maxxis

Thorburn keeps leader’s jersey, Gaggioli wins final stage

Twenty-six seconds is all that separated Webcor Builder's Christine Thorburn from Quark's Tina Pic. That's about as much time as it took to crest Chilkoot Hill, and women riders rode it 13 times in this final stage of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival's Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Thorburn held on for the overall win in the stage race, and Monex's Lynn Gaggioli took the stage in Stillwater, Minnesota.

The fifth stage includes Chilkoot's 20 percent grade in this quaint river city's mile-and-a-half winding course that makes breakaway riders easy to lose sight of.

Thorburn's team was determined not to let either of those affect who wore the general classification leader's jersey at the end of the race. Thorburn's worn it all week. With only one sprint prime offered, the only way to get time on the leaders was to set a hard pace. Webcor set the hardest.

"We wanted to take the offensive from the start, but we also wanted to conserve," Thorburn said. This stage has been called the "toughest criterium in North America." Climber Lynn Gaggioli of Monex agreed.

"It's just awesome. It's different. It's challenging," Gaggioli said.

From the gun, Thorburn came around again and again at the front with her teammates Erinne Willock and Katheryn Curi, plus Quark's Pic and climber Annette Beutler, T-Mobile's Kori Seehafer and Kim Baldwin, and Gaggioli.

"Last year, the attacks came after this (Chilkoot) hill," said Beutler, who won this stage last year. "This year not. It's better for me. It's nice when the pace is the same."

"We had to keep the race in control," Willock said.

A lead pack of g-c contenders finally got two minutes on the rest of the field, but none of them could get away from each other. With three laps to go, Gaggioli attacked at the bottom of Chilkoot. "From what I could see, it looked like I was the fastest on the hill," Gaggioli said. "I thought I'd try, but then I saw that the few people with me were chasing for me. So, I sat in and saved some energy for going for the sprint."

"Gaggioli attacked, Willock attacked, then I did," Beutler said. She was wearing the best climber's jersey and also towing her teammate Pic who was also wearing the sprinter's jersey. "Annette is so talented," Pic said, "I had to tell her don't go so hard."

After Gaggioli sat up, Willock went for the stage win.

"She (Gaggioli) was chased down," Willock said, "I was further down on G-C. Initially, they hesitated when I attacked which is what we were hoping for." "I so wanted Erinne to get the win. She worked so hard for me all week," Thorburn said disappointedly. "Lynn was hungry for a stage win." "I definitely like having those power hills," Gaggioli said. She crossed the line with enough time to raise a fist in the air, but the time gap was slim enough to maintain Thorburn's lead.

"It's a great end to a great week," Willock said. She took second and won the young rider's jersey. Beutler held on to the climber's jersey. Pic kept the Freewheel Bike points jersey.

"I'm really hurting," Pic said. "It was a rough day. Yesterday was a rough day," she added about Saturday's 94-mile stage in Red Wing. "I'm definitely feeling it."

A surprise on the podium to all except Minnesota cycling fans was Flanders/MBRC's Teresa Moriarty. She placed third behind Gaggioli and Willock.

"I really focused for this race," Moriarty said. "You know when you're racing with riders of that caliber." Moriarty got some help from the local crowds, many of which she's passed in races over the years. "Every 100 meters it was 'Teresa, Teresa'! That was fun."

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is the second race in the Women's Prestige Series and it's quickly becoming a favorite for returning riders.

"I didn't focus for this race," Gaggioli said, "but it's been very different. The racing has been superb. The crowds have been attentive. I think this may be the best stage race in the country for women."

NVGP 5TH STAGE:
1. Lynn Gaggioli, MONEX
2. Erinne Willock, WEBCOR
3. Teresa Moriarty, FLANDERS/MBRC

NVGP, OVERALL
1. Christine Thorburn, WEBCOR
2. Tina Pic, QUARK
3. Kori Seehafer, T-MOBILE

NVGP, CLIMBER
Annette Beutler, QUARK

NVGP, POINTS
Tina Pic, QUARK

NVGP, U-26 RIDER
Erinne Willock, WEBCOR

Race reports courtesy of James Lockwood and Rick Fuentes