Neben & Day rule San Dimas

Image 1 of 29

Chloe Hosking helped HTC-Highroad to a successful San Dimas Stage Race by winning the bunch kick at the Incycle/Cannondale San Dimas Classic criterium, stage three of the event.

The Australian outpaced Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Colavita Forno D'Asolo) in second and Tiffany Pezzulo (Primal/MapMyRide) in third as her teammate Amber Neben secured the overall victory.

"Every sprinter loves to win and that was a really good sprint," said Hosking. "It was a bit hectic at the end but in the last lap it settled down. I had an armchair ride all the way through the last corner because Cath Cheatley got on the front and drove it on the last lap and Theresa Cliff-Ryan was on my wheel. I jumped off Cath's wheel and held it to the line."

After winning the the opening uphill time trial on Glendora Mountain Road on Friday, Neben maintained her race lead through the stage two circuit race and the stage three criterium. Her teammate Amanda Miller finished close behind in second, followed by stage two winner Heather Logan-Sprenger (Colavita Forno D'Asolo) in third.

"The team was incredible this week and we won this race together," Neben said. "Yes, I had a great time trial but I couldn't have won it without my teammates' support with all the time bonuses. They covered my weaknesses because I'm not the best sprinter and they got in there to suck up points and time. We stayed together had a great race and it was such a pleasure to work with them this weekend."

Neben also secured the Queen of the Mountain jersey while her teammate and stage winner Hosking brought home the sprinter's green jersey. Lex Albrecht (Team Juvederm-Specialized) won the event's best young rider award.

The Incycle/Cannondale San Dimas Classic 55-minute criterium started with a bang as riders set up for the first hotspot sprint for points and more importantly, time bonuses towards the overall classification. Hosking used her speedy sprint to take full points and the available seconds away from contender Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12) with 40 minutes of racing to go.

Miller scored full points and time on the second hotspot sprint, with 20 minutes remaining, earning the three seconds needed to jump ahead of Sprenger into second place overall. Only one time bonus remained - 10 seconds to the winner, at the finish line.

"Our team plan was to go in and try to go for the first two time bonuses," said Armstrong, who sat 12 seconds behind Neben going into the criterium. "But, when it comes to a crit you have to hope the stars align and luck is on your side. I wanted to try and attack late and go for the finish bonus.

"The race was fast the whole time and TIBCO and Colavita were attacking and Highroad was controlling, every team wanted a little bit of something," she added. "When you have top sprinters from Colavita and Highroad going for the stage and me going for the time bonus, I wanted to give it a try. But, I wasn't in good position at the end."

Notable aggressors during the race included Robin Farina (Rouse Bicycles), Carmen Small, Jennifer Wheeler, Erinne Willock (TIBCO-To the Top), Andrea Dvorak and Cath Cheatley (Colavita Forno D'Asolo).

Escuela too fast in San Dimas finale

Full Circle Sports rider Ricardo Escuela sprinted to victory at the Incycle/Cannondale San Dimas Classic criterium, final stage of the San Dimas Stage Race. The Argentine sprinter outpaced countrymen and Jamis-Sutter Home duo Alejandro Borrajo and Anibal Borrajo.

"The last lap, I looked for the Jamis train because they have the strongest sprinters," Escuela said. "I got on Anibal's wheel and Alejandro was in front of him. I moved onto Alejandro's wheel coming out of the last corner but the sprint was a little long to the finish line. This is my fifth win of the year, in the early season, here in the US."

Ben Day (Kenda/5-hour Energy) secured his third overall title at the San Dimas Stage Race. The Australian finished ahead of Matt Cooke (Team Exergy) in second and Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home) in third. Rounding out the five-man podium was RealCyclist.com duo Francisco Mancebo and Cesar Grajales in fourth and fifth respectively.

"We had a meeting last night to discuss what we did yesterday and the little things that we can improve on to get better today," said Day. "Today was a great improvement. We showed no weaknesses at all and the boys were great. I think throughout the year we are going to get stronger and stronger.

"The last few months have been chaotic and it was hard to keep my motivation and remember why I love bike racing," he added. "It was cool to come back here and start racing again."

Pure Black Racing sewed up two classifications, with Michael Northey winning the sprinter's green jersey and Roman Van Uden winning the King of the Mountain jersey. Joseph Schmalz (Elbowz Racing) won the Best Young Rider award.

The Incycle/Cannondale San Dimas Classic criterium heated up from the gun as teams Jelly Belly p/b Kenda, MonsterMedia-SCVelo, Pure Black Racing, Team Exergy, California Giant Berry Farms and Bissell launched a series of attacks that resulted in small breakaways. The attacks continued throughout the duration of the race; Kenda/5-hour Energy maintained a strong hold on the front of the peloton however, setting a rapid pace that didn't allow a breakaway to gain more than a few seconds.

Wren was mistakenly listed in third place in the overall classification after stage two, a ranking that was corrected on the start line of the criterium. The climbing specialists surprised the crowds when he sprinted to second place in two hotspot sprints where he accumulated four seconds in time bonuses, enough to move himself back into third place overall.

"I've been top ten here over the last four years so I was expecting to improve a little bit more this year," said Wren. "I've been training really hard and our team did a ten-day race down in Chile so I wasn't surprised with my performance and I was hoping to do well here.

"I was going to try and get time bonuses yesterday but a break went up the road," he continued. "I like sprinting for those; I'm not a great sprinter, but it's fun to try and mix it up. I was hoping to sprint against Matt Cooke because I think he's a guy that I could beat straight up in a race but I ended up sprinting with the green jersey today."

Jamis-Sutter Home surpassed Kenda/5-hour Energy with four laps to go to set up its sprinters and brothers Alejandro and Anibal Borrajo. A crash after the second corner on the back-side of the course forced riders from Jamis-Sutter Home, Jelly Belly p/b Kenda and Bissell to the sidelines.

Still, Alejandro Borrajo swung around the final corner on the last lap in first position followed by his brother Anibal, Escuala and Ken Hanson (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda). Escuela passed the two brothers at the line for the stage win.

Results