Logan-Sprenger wins stage two

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Heather Logan-Sprenger (Colavita Forno D'Asolo) took a solo victory in stage two of the San Dimas Stage Race on Saturday. The Canadian enjoyed a small gap on teammate Theresa Cliff-Ryan, who won the field sprint for second, followed by Cristina Gokey-Smith (Rouse Bicycles) in third.

"The girls did such a good job and we got one-two, so that is amazing," Logan-Sprenger said. "If there was another lap I don't know if I would have been able to hold it. It was the first win of the season.

"The team was awesome today, covering everything. We ultimately wanted to win the stage today and if it had come down to a sprint that would have been ideal for us."

Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad) maintained her overall race lead heading into final stage, the Incycle/Cannondale San Dimas Classic 55-minute criterium, tomorrow.

Stage two was held on an 11km loop through Bonelli Park, with the women racing eight laps for a total of 90km, including three Queen of the Mountain ascents on Cannon Avenue and three intermediate sprints located on the start-finish line.

HTC-Highroad patrolled the front of the field on the first lap, leading the group up the wide-open feed zone ascent. On the next lap, riders from Peanut Butter & Co Twenty 12 and Colavita Forno D'Asolo represented the front end of the field heading into the first QOM, which was won by Robin Farina.

The field remained intact on lap three before the first intermediate sprint, won by GC high flier Amanda Miller (HTC-Highroad) ahead of Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12). The field rode into the second QOM ascent on lap four, which was won by Janel Holcomb (Colavita Forno D'Asolo).

Holcomb led the field with ten-second gap ahead of the ascent on the fifth lap. The group reeled her back in before reaching the start-finish line where the second intermediate sprint was located and eventually won by Armstrong.

Logan-Sprenger led the field with a 10-second margin heading into the ascent and took full points on the third and final QOM, on the sixth lap. Race leader Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad) tucked herself in safely at the front end surrounded by her teammates at the of the peloton, monitoring any threatening moves.

"I jumped just around the corner on the first part of the course," Logan-Sprenger said. "Liza Rachetto and I went up the road but she wasn't with me on the climb so I just kept going. I didn't think I was going to win but I heard the gap was a minute and I couldn't believe it."

Logan-Sprenger's margin increased to over a minute ahead of the field, heading into the third and final intermediate sprint at the end of the penultimate lap. Armstrong put in an effort to try and bridge the gap but was chased down by Miller.

According to a press release from Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12 manager Nicola Cranmer, the women's race was neutralized mid-race and the riders were unaware that Logan-Sprenger was up the road. The field closed the escapees' gap to 45 seconds by the finish line.

Logan held her lead into the finish to secure her first win of the season. Her teammate Cliff-Ryan utilized her teammates lead-out to win the bunch sprint.

"It kind of bunched up a little bit at the end," Cliff-Ryan said. "The girls did an awesome job. I'm used to having Kelly [Benjamin] as the last lead-out but when she saw it got bunched up she jumped first and the field single filed. All the girls did a great job in the last 150 metres and I was able to hold it to the line."

Emotional day for Borrajo

Anibal Borrajo (Jamis-Sutter Home) secured an emotional bunch sprint victory at stage two of the San Dimas Stage Race on Saturday. The Argentine sprinter outpaced RealCyclist.com duo Cole House in second and Francisco Mancebo in third.

"I want to dedicate my victory to Armando and all the people who have supported my family," said Borrajo, who dedicated the victory to his late-brother Armando Borrajo, who tragically passed away three months ago. "We have many friends here in the US and in Argentina and this win was for them."

"We were able to stay on the wheel of RealCyclist over the last climb," he said. "The plan today was for me to do the sprint. My teammates brought back one guy who attacked at the end and I sprinted hard to win today."

Day maintained his overall race lead heading into the third and final stage at the Incycle/Cannondale San Dimas Classic 90-minute criterium on Sunday.

"The guys were very enthusiastic and on as the race went on we learned a little more about what to do and how to keep the race steady and ride together," Day said. "I think our team got to know each other a little bit better today. The guys rode great and they were impressive. It was a little bit of an unknown going into today but I think they proved themselves. We successful defended on a blustery day full of lots of attacks."

Kenda/5-hour Energy lined up on the start line at the San Dimas Hospital Road Race with a task of containing the Pro/Cat 1 men’s field from putting a dent in Day’s overall race lead. The men contested 12 laps of an 11km circuit around Bonelli Park, totaling 134.5 km. The circuit included four KOM ascents on Cannon Avenue and four intermediate sprints located on the start-finish line.

A breakaway of three riders emerged on the second lap that included Michael Nortey and teammate Roman Van Ulden (Pure Black Racing) and Eric Schildge (Jamis-Sutter Home). Kenda/5-hour Energy maintained a quick pace on the front of the field reeling in the breakaway to a manageable 30 seconds.

Several attacks launched out of the field in pursuit of the breakaway at the mid-point of the race. On lap seven, Chris Baldwin (Team Juwi Solar/First Solar) successfully bridged across to the trio and they increased their lead to one and half minutes.

Baldwin posed a strong threat to Kenda/5-hour Energy because he placed seventh in the previous day’s time trial and sat a mere 23 seconds behind Day in the overall classification. In addition, he captured a mid-race time bonus that may have moved him higher up in the GC.

On lap eight, the peloton became aggressive and multiple new attacks launched against the Kenda/5-hour Energy. A chase group of five riders emerged behind the leading four-man group. Members of the chase included Josh Berry and Cole House (RealCyclist.com), Sergio Hernandez (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda) and John Bennett (California Giant Berry Farms). On lap nine, the two front groups united to form a lead group of roughly nine riders.

"It was pretty cool to only have three guys here and two of us were up in the break," Baldwin said. "I don’t know if I moved up because I was gapped at the end. I burned a lot of matches out there and I knew that was pretty risky. It was only a couple of bike lengths."

The breakaway was reduced to six riders Hernandez, Berry and House, Bennett, Baldwin and Benjamin Blaugrund (Team Juwi Solar/First Solar). Luis Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home) attacked on the climb and forced Day to react. The efforts caused the peloton to split into several groups. The field was all together on the last lap, prepared for a field sprint.

Results - Elite men