Joseph Rosskopf jumps away to stage and overall Redlands victory

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The Sunset Road Race wreaked havoc on the final day of the 30th Annual Redlands Bicycle Classic Sunday, decimating both the men's and women's fields and launching two new riders into the overall race lead.

Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Sportswear) bridged to a late-race breakaway and then jumped away from that group on his way to winning the stage and taking the overall victory from previous race leader Travis McCabe (Team SmartStop). In the women's race, Tayler Wiles (Specialized-lululemon) teamed up with stage winner Mara Abbott (UnitedHealthcare) in a breakaway that lifted her past previous leader Leah Kirchmann (Optum Pro Cycling) for the overall win.

The main challenge over the final stage was surviving the undulating, unforgiving nature of the Sunset Loop, the 10.4 km circuit through the hilly residential neighborhoods on the southwest edge of town. The men started their 150 km race downtown with several laps around the previous day's criterium course. From there they rode out of town for 12 trips around the Sunset Loop, then back into town where they circled the criterium course five more times for the finish. The women also started their 113 km race in town, then circled the Sunset Loop nine times and finished back in town without any circuits.

Rosskopf blazes off Sunset Loop to win final stage, overall

After a long day of climbing, it was the downhill run from the Sunset Loop back into town that propelled Rosskopf into the stage win and the final general classification lead. Rosskopf bridged to three riders who had escaped early on the final loop, then he attacked again as they approached the finishing circuits.

"We came off the Sunset Loop with four guys, and I hit them right when we turned onto Olive Street into the tailwind to get a gap before the circuit," Rosskopf told race announcer Chad Andrews after the stage. "I got to the circuit alone, but then James Oram, he must have jumped up to me on the second lap on the circuit, and that worked out for both of us because we could just go that much faster the whole way and get the time that I needed."

The Sunset Loop blew the men's field apart early in the race, with seven or eight groups forming on the roads during the first lap and riders quickly getting pulled if they dropped too far behind. A lead group of about 50 riders formed after two loops, and SmartStop lined itself out on the front to protect McCabe's yellow jersey.

Attacks by Jamis-Hagens Berman riders Gregory Brenes and Daniel Jaramillo secured the KOM points that Jaramillo needed to secure the mountains classification, and the ensuing chase helped trim down the lead group.

A trio containing Hincapie's Oscar Clark, 5-hour Energy's Chad Beyer and Horizon Organic's Emerson Oronte gained a little traction on the lead group of about 40 with seven laps remaining, but SmartStop pulled them back with three laps to go.

More attacks and counters continued to test SmartStop on the front, and McCabe took the bell for the final trip around the Sunset Loop with just two teammates left to set the pace. A Jamis rider attacked on the climb at the start of the loop, forcing SmartStop to chase and setting up Ben Jacques-Maynes and Luis Amaran of Jamis to counter and get a gap. Clement Chevrier (Bissell Development Team) bridged across almost immediately, followed quickly by Oram to form a lead group of four.

Just as Amaran flatted out of the breakaway, Rosskopf, who started the day 22 seconds out of the overall lead, flew up on the leaders after having relieved himself of the race leader and the rest of the chasing group on a steep pitch near the final feedzone. The new quartet pressed the issue into town before Rosskopf jumped away and Oram bridged up to him.

Rosskopf easily took the sprint from Bissell rider, and with McCabe's group coming in 36 seconds later, Rosskopf claimed the overall victory as well. Oram, who started the day 25 seconds down, moved into second overall. McCabe ended up third overall.

Wiles waits, then climbs away to overall win

Wiles, who started the day 29 seconds down on Kirchmann, waited for the perfect moment to make her assault on the general classification, bridging to Abbott after the 2013 Sunset Road Race stage winner attacked a select lead group on a steep pitch with three laps of the Sunset Loop remaining.

Wiles' team set her up early in the race by sending Ally Stacher up the road in a solo move. Stacher's attack and the subsequent chase blew the field up, and she eventually had a 25 second gap on a chasing group of about 25 riders that included Kirchmann, second overall Alison Powers (UnitedHealthcare), Wiles, Abbott and most of the other top riders in the general classification.

UnitedHealthcare sent Sharon Laws up the road to join Stacher with five laps of the Sunset Loop remaining, and FCS/Zngine's Amber Neben soon joined them. The trio's gap grew to 35 seconds, but a concerted effort by the three teammates Kirchmann still had in the chase brought the breakaway back with three laps remaining.

Counter attacks quickly whittled the lead group down to a dozen or so riders, shedding Powers from the group before Abbott's uphill attack and Wiles' bridging effort broke the chasing group down even more. As Wiles and Abbott, who started the day 1:02 down, joined forces up the road, Kirchmann found herself in an eight-rider group that also included her Optum teammate Denise Ramsden, Laws, Specialized-lululemon's Karol Ann Canuel, Team Tibco's Andrea Dvorak, Neben, Monster Media's Flavia Oliviera and Spy-Giant's Jessica Cerra.

Ramsden buried herself to try and protect her teammate's overall lead, but with Kirchmann being the only other rider in the group willing to contribute to the chase, the gap to the two riders up the road continued to grow. With two laps remaining, the gap back to Kirchmann had grown to 40 seconds, making Wiles the virtual leader on the road. From there the advantage ballooned to 1:10 with just 15 km remaining, and it looked certain that Kirchmann's overall lead would not hold.

Abbott and Wiles pressed the pace off the Sunset Loop toward the finish back in town, with Abbott taking the stage win and the 10-second time bonus that went along with it. Wiles collected a six-second bump for second and then had to wait for Kirchamnn to cross the line before she could celebrate the overall win. Oliviera led the chasers across the line about 90 seconds later, giving Wiles the buffer she needed for the overall victory. It was a long, smart day of work that paid off with a big reward.

"This is one of my favorite races of the year," the 24-year-old California resident told the race announcer at the finish. "So this is the best day ever."

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