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Dauphiné Libéré
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 UCI codes explained

Tour of Connecticut - NE

USA, May 20-22, 2005

Main Page    Results   Overall standings    Previous Stage  

Stage 3 - May 22: Torrington-Torrington, 137 miles

McCormack uncorks win in Connecticut finale

Navigators hold lead until final kilometers

By Mark Zalewski in Torrington, Connecticut

...but in the end
Photo ©: Beth Seliga
Click for larger image

How difficult is it to keep a fifty-five second lead? Well, that depends. If it's a 220km stage through rolling-to-mountainous country with some inclines kicking up to 18-22%, in cold and rainy weather... then pretty damn hard. And as Vasilli Davidenko and his Navigators Insurance teammates found out, three-peating in the Tour of Connecticut was just a little too much, even for the powerful Continental Pro team. In the wings all three days was defending champion Mark McCormack and his Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home team, waiting for the right moment to pounce -- and he did so in the closing kilometers to take the final stage and the overall win.

"The Navigators did a great job controlling the race all day, but it's a big test for any team," said McCormack. "I just had to seize an opportunity when it presented itself." And that opportunity did not come until the race returned from a 190km tour through the very-rolling hills of northwest Connecticut. But the veteran racer from New England remembered this course, and just bided his time until he saw a weakness.

Alejandro Acton
Photo ©: Beth Seliga
Click for larger image

"All day, it was cold and raining really hard," said Davidenko. "I was wearing the rain jacket most of the day. By the end we had no energy left. And in a key moment, if you make one mistake, it is over." That mistake was letting McCormack slip away on the third of ten 8km finishing circuits. "I was waiting," explained McCormack. "I saw [the Navigators] struggle with the first turn. I was feeling really good, so I knew it was time to attack."

With him went Todd Wells, a good mountain biker and cyclocross rider most of the year, trying his legs on the pavement for a change. With McCormack a top cyclocross rider as well, the two were familiar with each other and quickly built a thirty-second lead. "Mark said [the race] usually stays together until the circuits," said Wells. "And he's won this race before, so if anyone would know..."

While this posed a threat to Davidenko's lead, it was not finished yet. The breakaway pair still needed to last another six laps of a technical and flat circuit -- and with three Navigators, Louder, Davidenko and Grichkine blowing out everything to keep the break under a minute.

Navigators
Photo ©: Beth Seliga
Click for larger image

However, the previous 200km today combined with two hard stage wins back-to-back, would be too much for any team. McCormack and Wells grew their lead to over a minute, with McCormack taking the sprint and the yellow jersey.

How it unfolded

With a forecast of showers and a high of 55 Fahrenheit, the riders of the Tour of Connecticut knew they had a long day in the saddle ahead of them. Leaving from the finish city of Torrington, the race took a counterclockwise route north towards Massachusetts and then east towards New York, before returning to Torrington for ten action-packed 4.2 mile circuits.

Riders who raced this course in the past knew what was on the menu -- a lot of up and down, with the ups steep and the roads ranging from four lane highway to tight one-lane covered bridge. From early on it was Alejandro Acton (North Atlantic Velo-Pedros) insisting on pushing the pace. The Argentinean rode off the front four times before finally getting some help from other riders to make a break actually stick. At mile 34, he along with Bruno Langlois (Jittery Joes-Kalahari) and Bryan Smith (TIAA/CREF), held a slight gap of around twenty seconds.

Into the finishing circuits
Photo ©: Mark Zalewski
Click for larger image

By the time the trio made it to the feed zone at mile 42, the gap was up to only thirty seconds. Then disaster struck Langlois. Exiting the feed, the three riders were single file, with Langlois following Smith's wheel. When Smith tried to discard his feed bag, the wind and strap worked together to blow the bag behind him and into the front wheel of Langlois. With some quick reaction and good bike handling, the French-Canadian managed to stay upright and slowed to a stop. But with only a slight gap, the other two riders had no choice but to leave him behind. The mishap cost Langlois his position and the field eventually reeled him in.

This left two on the front, and this pair worked well together for the next twenty-two miles over rolling terrain. The pace at the back was all Navigators Insurance, content to let the young-ones have their day in the rain on the front for a while. Then at mile 64, the steeps got even steeper as the first KOM approached, with a exceptionally bad stretch of climb kicking up for about 750 meters. A gap formed between a slowing Acton and Smith. Smith waited for a moment, and upon seeing the strain on the Argentinean's face, decided he needed to go it alone.

Bryan Smith (TIAA/CREF) attempts to discard his feed bag
Photo ©: Mark Zalewski
Click for larger image

Smith rode on taking maximum points over KOM #1, while the rest of the field shed a lot of deadweight on the same climb, now more than two minutes behind. A few chase groups formed at times over the next twenty miles, with representation from Navigators Insurance, Jittery Joes-Kalahari, Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home, Subway, and Webcor. But as the chase group rode farther away from the field, Smith kept increasing his lead, pedaling well over the rollers in between the climbs. His lead topped out at more than five minutes after 70 miles, and the rider knew he had a shot at the KOM jersey.

"I knew I had a shot after the first KOM," said Smith. "This was a big objective for us. There's no tomorrow here, so it's like bury it as much as you can to get it." The young Wisconsin native soldiered on, with director Jonathan Vaughters looking after him from the team car.

Up the final KOM, Smith began to show some fatigue, winding from side to side up the steepest portions. Behind him the field moved quicker, eating up the chase group and closing the gap to under three minutes. Undeterred, Smith kept going, even with the KOM jersey locked up, hoping for a shot at maintaining a lead onto the circuits. When asked by Cyclingnews when he knew his number was up, he replied, "About ten miles after the last KOM -- the course was just too hard."

111 miles into the race, just four miles short of entering the Torrington circuits, Smith was caught. And as usual, a counterattack launched off on a long downhill section. Three riders, March Collard (Webcor Builders), Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) and Eugene Boronow (GS Mengoni) flew down into the town, topping more than forty m.p.h. through winding, narrow roads.

The Podium
Photo ©: Beth Seliga
Click for larger image

Behind them, Navigators Insurance was still setting the pace, albeit a lot quicker now. This pace caught the counterattack on the first lap of the circuit. Then, on the next lap, McCormack made his move, followed by Wells. The two opened up a gap that never shrank, with Vasilli Davidenko and his team running on empty.

Down the final long straight, McCormack forced Wells to lead. Sitting on his wheel, McCormack easily came around him at 200 meters and sat up to celebrate his repeat win, while the crowd counted the seconds to the field.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Beth Seliga/

Images by Mark Zalewski/Cyclingnews.com

his cyclocross compatriot for the final laps.

Results

1 Mark McCormack (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home        5.43.00
2 Todd Wells (USA) Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports                
3 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home          1.03
4 Charles Dionne (Can) Webcor Builders                          1.07
5 Jason Allen (USA) McGuire-Langdale                                
6 Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators Insurance                      
7 Anthony Colby (USA) TARGETRAINING                                 
8 Peter Baker (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On                
9 Erik Saunders (USA) McGuire-Langdale                              
10 Greg Wolf (USA) TARGETRAINING                                    
11 Lucas Euser (USA) Webcor Builders                                
12 Michael Lange (USA) TIAA-CREF                                    
13 Todd Herriott (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home               
14 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home                  
15 Geoff Kabush (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                        
16 Craig Lewis (USA) TIAA-CREF                                      
17 Josh Dillon (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                           
18 Timothy Duggan (USA) TIAA-CREF                                   
19 Tim Johnson (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                         
20 Johs Huseby (USA) Fiordifrutta                                   
21 Dominique Perras (Can) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada               
22 Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                          
23 Mike Dietrich (USA) Fiordifrutta                                 
24 Gustavo Artacho (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home             
25 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home             
26 Chris Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance                         
27 Aaron Olson (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home                 
28 James Mattis (USA) Webcor Builders                               
29 Dan Bowman (USA) TIAA-CREF                                       
30 Thad Dulin (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                      1.16
31 Alec Donahue (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                      1.19
32 Matt White (USA) Fiordifrutta                                1.55
33 Ben Haldeman (USA) Webcor Builders                           2.03
34 Bernard van Ulden (USA) Webcor Builders                      2.21
35 Marc Anderson (USA) TARGETRAINING                            3.14
36 Bill Elliston (USA) TARGETRAINING                                
37 Eugene Boronow (USA) GS Mengoni                                  
38 Roger Aspholm (Fin) Champion System Racing                       
39 Eric Kinney (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                     
40 Alexandre Cloutier (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                         
41 Justin Spinelli (USA) TARGETRAINING                              
42 Patrick Dunaway (USA) McGuire-Langdale                           
43 Ted Huang (USA) Webcor Builders                                  
44 David John Tonks (GBr) Champion System Racing                4.00
45 Robbie King (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                           
46 Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                           
47 Dan Timmerman (USA) Fiordifrutta                                 
48 Ryan Blickem (USA) TARGETRAINING                             4.30
49 Yahor Buben (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                             5.00
50 Joseph Moody (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                          
51 Andrew Knight (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                         
52 Marc Collard (USA) Webcor Builders                               
53 Mark Walters (Can) Navigators Insurance                          
54 Shawn Milne (USA) Navigators Insurance                           
55 Matt Kraus (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                  5.30
56 Zachary Walker (USA) McGuire-Langdale                        6.00
57 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                  6.30
58 Chris Kuhl (USA) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                    8.00
59 Brad Viera (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On                
60 Zak Grabowski (USA) TIAA-CREF                                    
61 Patrick Walsh (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                          20.45
62 Sebastian Alexandre (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home    22.43
63 Mike Norton (USA) Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth          
64 Johnny Hayes (USA) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                 27.36
65 Russ Langley (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On         31.20
66 Josh Taylor (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On               
67 Colin Beardsley (USA) McGuire-Langdale                           
68 Jonny Sundt (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                         
DNF Jon Hamblen (USA) Fiordifrutta                                  
DNF Phil Wong (USA) Fiordifrutta                                    
DNF Chris Rozdilsky (USA) Fiordifrutta                              
DNF Alexandre Lavallée (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                        
DNF Jean Sebastien Maheau (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                     
DNF Martin St-Laurent (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                         
DNF Oleg Grichkine (Rus) Navigators Insurance                       
DNF Jeff Louder (USA) Navigators Insurance                          
DNF Kyle Wamsley (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On             
DNF Ryan DeWald (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On              
DNF John Delong (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On              
DNF Matt Crane (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On               
DNF Stefano Barberi (USA) TIAA-CREF                                 
DNF Scott Zwizanski (USA) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada               
DNF Hayden Godfrey (NZl) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada                
DNF Jackson Stewart (USA) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada               
DNF Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada            
DNF Glen Mitchell (NZl) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada                 
DNF Jason Baer (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                           
DNF Dan Greenfield (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                       
DNF Christian Foster (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                   
DNF Bruno Langlois (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                     
DNF Craig Wilcox (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                       
DNF Ryan McKenzie (Can) SUBWAY                                      
DNF Nathanial Cornelius (USA) SUBWAY                                
DNF Peter Femal (USA) SUBWAY                                        
DNF Kevin Vanes (USA) SUBWAY                                        
DNF Adam Hodges Myerson (USA) Team Nerac.com presented by Bankno    
DNF Dave Werling (USA) Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth        
DNF Amos Brumble (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                               
DNF Jake Hollenbach (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                            
DNF Alaisandr Bialiauski (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                       
DNF Shawn Forsyth (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                              
DNF Tony Settle (USA) Champion System Racing                        
DNF Jerry Kapko (USA) Champion System Racing                        
DNF Jason Beerman (USA) Champion System Racing                      
DNF JP Partland (USA) Champion System Racing                        
DNF John Chiu (HKg) Champion System Racing                          
DNF Michael McGinley (USA) Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports        
DNF Peter Petrillo (USA) Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports          
DNF Stephen Badger (USA) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                   
DNF Lee Rosenthal (USA) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                    
DNF Craig Upton (NZl) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                      
DNF Jason Bremer (USA) GS Mengoni                                   
DNF Lisban Quintero (USA) GS Mengoni                                
DNF Scott Kasin (USA) GS Mengoni                                    
DNF Trent Sullivan (USA) GS Mengoni                                 
DNF Alvaro Tardaguila (Uru) TARGETRAINING                           
DNF Ben Peters (USA) Independent Fabrication                        
DNF Gregory Montello (USA) Independent Fabrication                  
DNF Logan Hodson (USA) Independent Fabrication                      
DNF Jonathan Bruno (USA) Independent Fabrication                    
DNF Luke Krisch (USA) Independent Fabrication                       
DNF Tim Unkert (USA) Independent Fabrication                        
DNF John Funk (USA) Independent Fabrication                         
DNF Alejandro Acton (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                
 
Sprint #1
 
1 Aaron Olson (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home                 5 pts
 
Sprint #2
 
1 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                      5 pts
 
KOM #1
 
1 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                     10 pts
2 Alejandro Acton (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                 6
3 Timothy Duggan (USA) TIAA-CREF                                   3
 
KOM #2
 
1 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                     10 pts
2 Geoff Kabush (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                        6
3 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home             3
 
KOM #3
 
1 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                     10 pts
2 Geoff Kabush (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                        6
3 Michael Lange (USA) TIAA-CREF                                    3
 
1 Mark McCormack (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home        8.23.14
2 Todd Wells (USA) Capital Velo Club-Pig Iron Sports            0.04
3 Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators Insurance                  0.36
4 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home          0.40
5 Chris Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance                      0.44
6 Dominique Perras (Can) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada            0.48
7 Charles Dionne (Can) Webcor Builders                          1.19
8 Peter Baker (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On                
9 Mike Dietrich (USA) Fiordifrutta                                  
10 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home                  
11 Lucas Euser (USA) Webcor Builders                                
12 Michael Lange (USA) TIAA-CREF                                    
13 Todd Herriott (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home               
14 Geoff Kabush (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                        
15 James Mattis (USA) Webcor Builders                           1.26
16 Tim Johnson (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                     2.57
17 Anthony Colby (USA) TARGETRAINING                            3.09
18 Aaron Olson (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home                 
19 Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                       4.12
20 Mark Walters (Can) Navigators Insurance                      5.12
21 Bernard van Ulden (USA) Webcor Builders                      5.52
22 Timothy Duggan (USA) TIAA-CREF                               6.55
23 Dan Bowman (USA) TIAA-CREF                                       
24 Roger Aspholm (Fin) Champion System Racing                   8.12
25 Ted Huang (USA) Webcor Builders                                  
26 Justin Spinelli (USA) TARGETRAINING                          9.02
27 Dan Timmerman (USA) Fiordifrutta                            12.06
28 Gustavo Artacho (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home        12.24
29 Johs Huseby (USA) Fiordifrutta                                   
30 Ben Haldeman (USA) Webcor Builders                          13.20
31 Matt White (USA) Fiordifrutta                               14.06
32 Robbie King (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                      14.23
33 Marc Collard (USA) Webcor Builders                          16.17
34 Shawn Milne (USA) Navigators Insurance                           
35 Andrew Knight (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                    17.11
36 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home        17.20
37 Erik Saunders (USA) McGuire-Langdale                        17.24
38 Greg Wolf (USA) TARGETRAINING                                    
39 Craig Lewis (USA) TIAA-CREF                                      
40 Josh Dillon (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                           
41 Thad Dulin (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                     17.33
42 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                 17.47
43 Marc Anderson (USA) TARGETRAINING                           18.55
44 Jason Allen (USA) McGuire-Langdale                          19.30
45 Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                          
46 Bill Elliston (USA) TARGETRAINING                           19.31
47 Patrick Dunaway (USA) McGuire-Langdale                           
48 Zak Grabowski (USA) TIAA-CREF                               20.11
49 Yahor Buben (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                            20.41
50 Ryan Blickem (USA) TARGETRAINING                            20.47
51 Joseph Moody (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                     21.17
52 Eric Kinney (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                21.37
53 Matt Kraus (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                 21.47
54 David John Tonks (GBr) Champion System Racing               22.23
55 Chris Kuhl (USA) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                   24.17
56 Eugene Boronow (USA) GS Mengoni                             32.55
57 Alexandre Cloutier (Can) Volkswagen-TREK                         
58 Patrick Walsh (USA) CCB-Volkswagen                          32.56
59 Mike Norton (USA) Team Nerac.com presented by Banknorth     38.24
60 Sebastian Alexandre (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home    39.00
61 Jonny Sundt (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                    42.37
62 Zachary Walker (USA) McGuire-Langdale                       43.11
63 Johnny Hayes (USA) CRCA-Sakonnet Technology                 43.53
64 Josh Taylor (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On          47.37
65 Colin Beardsley (USA) McGuire-Langdale                           
66 Alec Donahue (USA) Louis Garneau Racing                     48.30
67 Russ Langley (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On         49.43
68 Brad Viera (USA) Snow Valley Presented by Seal-On           55.11
 
Sprint GC
 
1 Sebastian Alexandre (Arg) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home        15 pts
2 Timothy Duggan (USA) TIAA-CREF                                  10
3 Geoff Kabush (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                        5
3 Aaron Olson (USA) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home                 5
3 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                      5
 
Mountains GC
 
1 Bryan Smith (USA) TIAA-CREF                                     30 pts
2 Geoff Kabush (Can) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari                       25
3 Dominique Perras (Can) Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada              16
4 Timothy Duggan (USA) TIAA-CREF                                  13
5 Alejandro Acton (USA) North Atlantic Velo-Pedros                 6
5 Chris Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance                         6
5 Dan Timmerman (USA) Fiordifrutta                                 6
8 Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators Insurance                     3
8 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home             3
8 Michael Lange (USA) TIAA-CREF                                    3
8 Mark Walters (Can) Navigators Insurance                          3