More Toyota-United Team Press Releases
| March 23, 2007 |
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Photo © Veronika LenziJustin England Finishes Second On Climb To Oak Glen
Teammate Ivan Dominguez Takes The Lead In Sprint CompetitionJustin England of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team narrowly missed out on winning the Redlands Ford Oak Glen Road Race Friday at the Redlands Bicycle Classic.
The Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team member was out-sprinted to the finish line by Scott Moninger (BMC Racing Team), who won the 97.3-mile (156.6 km) race in four hours, five minutes and four seconds. England finished in the same time to move into second place overall, seven seconds off the lead, halfway through the four-day National Race Calendar stage race. Anthony Colby (Colavita/ Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) is third, 12 seconds back.
“I think Justin started his sprint a little too early,” Toyota-United Team Director Harm Jansen said. “I’m happy for Scott, though, too. If I step out of my role as team director, it’s great for the sport to see him win at Oak Glen.”
Toyota-United leads the team standings by 2:01 over Health Net presented by Maxxis and has four riders in the top 20 overall: England, Ivan Stevic (ninth, 1:26 behind), Chris Wherry (11th, 1:31 behind) and Burke Swindlehurst (18th, 2:14 behind).
Heading into the stage, England was ninth, five places behind the 40-year-old Moninger, who was three seconds faster in Thursday’s 3.1-mile (5 km) prologue. England said the two appeared to be evenly matched when it came down to the final sprint.
“We played a little cat and mouse until 150 meters to go, then I hit it,” England said. “With 50 meters to go, he came around me. In the end, neither one of us was faster than the other. It just came down to timing the sprint right.”
Toyota-United instituted a number of moves over the course of Friday’s race to soften up the field heading into the final third of the race, which featured three categorized climbs. Ivan Dominguez figured into a three-man move that got away after 25 miles (40 km) had been covered. By earning intermediate sprint points before being swallowed up by the peloton before the second-to-last climb, Dominguez took the lead in the sprint competition.
“Ivan did a great job out there,” England said. “He helped save all the rest of us from having to do all the work behind.
When Dominguez’s group was caught, Toyota-United’s Sean Sullivan counter-attacked and only one rider followed. The pair worked together to build up to a minute’s lead before being passed on the ascent to Oak Glen.
“Our guys rode a great race,” Jansen said. “Everything pretty much went according to plan. We wanted to make sure we could take the sting out of people to have the numbers on the final climb.”
Halfway to the summit of the 3.5-mile climb, a group of five riders – including England – got a gap. They stayed together until 800 meters to go when England attacked hard. Only Moninger could stay with him.
The overall standings are not expected to change in Saturday afternoon’s 90-minute Centennial Bank/KWB Wealth Managers Criterium, which Jansen said Toyota-United will target for a stage win. Then it is back to making up England’s seven-second deficit on Sunday’s final stage, the 91.0-mile (146.5 km) Beaver Medical Group Sunset Road Race.
“I think we’ll do everything we can to try and get up the road and get that time back,” England said. “And it’s not just for me, either. We have three other guys – Chris Wherry, Chris Baldwin and Ivan Stevic – who are up there on GC who can hit it and send it up the road.”
About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates ten manufacturing plants including one under construction. There are more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in the U.S. which sell more than 2 million vehicles a year. Toyota directly employs over 32,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $13 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design.
About United Pro Cycling Team, L.L.C.
Based in Newport Beach, California, a wholly owned subsidiary of United Cycling, L.L.C, United Pro Cycling Team is owned and operated by Sean Tucker. Comprised of some of the top cycling talent in the country, it is positioned to be the premier cycling team in America. In addition to its racing team, United Cycling, L.L.C, wholly owns and operates United Bicycles, L.L.C. The team has also designated the United Cycling Foundation, Inc. as its designated charity, committed to raise awareness and funds for American causes including homelessness and the environment.
Additional Toyota-United Sponsors:
In 2007, The Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team is exclusively sponsored by, Bicycling Magazine, Bontrager, Champion System, Fuji Bicycles, Shimano, SockGuy, Tifosi Optics, and United Bicycles, in addition to title sponsor Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
