A smiling Nathan O'Neill (Image credit: Caroline Yang)
To the surprise of no one, Health Net's Nathan O'Neill won the opening prologue of the Nature Valley Grand Prix yesterday (Wednesday).
At the end of the day. the Australian and Commonwealth Games time trial champion was one of four Health Net p/b Maxxis riders occupying the top five positions after the 4.5-mile individual time trial along the Saint Paul Riverfront.
Greg Henderson, fresh off winning the Reading Classic and Philadelphia International Championship, finished third at 16 seconds back. Another Australian, the perpetually strong Karl Menzies, finished fourth another second back, while Canadian sprint ace Gord Fraser finished fifth, another second behind. Navigators' Bernard Van Ulden was the only non-Health Net rider to crack the top five, finishing 12 seconds behind O'Neill.
"The plan will be to defend Nathan's lead until the end," said directeur-sportif Jeff Corbett. "However, with three more guys in the top five, we have plenty of options."
