Borrajo too quick in final sprint

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Alejandro Borrajo (Jamis-Sutter Home) capped off four frenetic days of racing with victory in the third and final stage of the Redlands Bicycle Classic as Fly V Australia's Ben Day took the overall title.

The Argentine out-sprinted Canadian veteran Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) and Dutchman Raymond Kreder (Holowesko Partners) to finish the event with a flurry. "This is my first win in the USA," said Borrajo. "It was a hard race and it is always good to win. We are happy because the team worked hard all day and in the end we won the stage.

"This year the race was very, very hard and it was hotter than the other stages so it made the race harder. We had four riders coming into the finish line and they put me into good position with 300 metres to go and I did my job."

Meanwhile, Day celebrated winning the first NRC event of the season by the slimmest of margins - a mere half second ahead of Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) and one second to Will Routely (Jelly Belly). The all-rounder climbed into the yellow leader's jersey in the prologue and maintained his lead with the support of his seven teammates over the course of three stages.

"I never really expected this but I have to thank my team," said Day. "I won the prologue a couple of days ago but it was Fly V Australia that won this tour. It's an incredible feeling. Today these guys just absolutely bled for me and it's an absolute honour."

"We make sure that we are great friends and that we have the utmost respect for each other," he added. "Every single one of our jerseys has mateship written into the collar."

Day's teammate Jay Thomson solidified his lead as the event's best sprinter when he captured additional points in the intermediate sprint. "We put everything into this to get to the end in the yellow jersey," said Thomson, who won a stage of the Tour de Langkawi for the South African national team earlier this month. "I started the stage in the green jersey. There was one sprint out there and I got points in there so we were really happy to keep this too."

Davide Frattini (Team Type 1) won the event's best climber's jersey as a result of driving the day's lengthy 10-man breakaway over the circuit's steep King of the Mountain ascent on each lap.

"I didn't plan to win the KOM but it is great," said Frattini. "I was looking to get into a breakaway and when I saw the 10 guys away I bridged across alone. I was hoping Fly V Australia couldn't bring it back and that we would stay away.

"I tried to make sure to keep a high tempo on the climb, that's why I was pulling a lot there. I was pushing a lot on the climb but it wasn't until the end that I figured I might have the KOM jersey."

Bissell won the overall team classification, placing four riders inside the top 10 with Ben and Andy Jacques-Maynes, Jeremy Vennell and Paul Mach.

All or nothing on the final day

Some 170 pro men rolled off the start line into one parade short circuit lap through downtown Redlands before setting off toward the gruelling Sunset circuit. The loop was either up or down, beginning with a King of the Mountain climb up Sunset Drive.

Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) nabbed the first KOM for time bonuses and moved up the general classification. He was followed by Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly) and Day. The overall leader picked up one second for placing third in the time bonus sprint which placed him a full second ahead of Ben Jacques-Maynes and two seconds ahead of Routley.

"We had the first KOM for time on the first lap and that makes the race lively right at the very beginning," explained Day. "I was a little bit nervous there. I felt like I was sprinting for 25 kilometres out. I picked up a second there but Rory and the Jelly Belly guys were right there. This racing was really close. We let a large break go... but, the safety is always in the numbers and my boys just kept coming back every single time."

A break away of 10 riders emerged from the second time over the climb that included Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home), Cory Collier and Jason Donald (Bahati Foundation), Andrew Pinfold (UnitedHealthcare), Pat McCarty (Yahoo!), Phil Zajicek (Fly V Australia), Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefit Strategies), Lachlan Morton (Holowesko Partners), Michael Mathias (Ride Clean) and Jesse Moore (California Giant Berry Farms). Frattini bridged across half a lap later.

The break away gained an initial 30 seconds on the third lap, an advantage that ballooned to over two minutes by the start of the fifth lap. Jacques-Maynes was the highest place rider in the overall classification, 30 seconds back, and became the virtual leader on the road. Zajicek dropped out of the break to help Fly V Australia chase.

"Everyone was rolling pretty good but myself and Pinfold were sitting on because of team orders," said Andy Jacques-Maynes. "I was there to protect Ben and put pressure on Fly V and Jelly Belly to give our guys a free ride. I was surprised the gap held out but it did get pretty big for a while. We still had some time on the last lap so it was an all out effort to get to the time line entering the circuits with as much time as possible, maybe I had the win."

Fly V Australia held a strong tempo with all eight riders on the front of the main field in the most controlled manner ever seen from a team on the Sunset circuit. Day was involved in a small crash through the feed zone, located at the top of the climb, that caused the breakaway to pick up an additional 30 seconds. The overall leader picked himself up and quickly manoeuvered his way back toward the front under the care of his eight teammates.

Mathias, Pinfold and Collier fell off pace over the climb during the next four laps. Frattini put pressure on the ascent to help the break stay away and in doing so he picked up points to solidified his lead of the event's Best Climber classification.

The breakaway gained a maximum of three minutes before the riders from teams Jelly Belly and Bahati Foundation tried to weaken the Fly V Australia train, sending off several attacks over the climb. Their efforts ruffled the leading team's feathers but with in a few kilometres they were back on the front in standard protocol.

"It seemed like there was a lot of sitting and waiting today," said Ben Jacques-Maynes. "Jelly Belly made a huge move and I thought it was a little early on the two and half laps to go. It was a good hit out but they didn't carry it through. That was the only other racing in the peloton. Our move was having Andy up the road and I had no need to attack or try and drag that back. We gave him the benefit to try to ride for the GC. I got one second in the last time bonus sprint which put me back on terms with Day."

The breakaway maintained a slim lead as they entered the five small finishing circuits in downtown Redlands. They were reabsorbed with four laps to go, signaling UnitedHealthcare to rally its remaining riders at the front of the dwindled peloton.

Luis Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home) made a last-ditch effort to jump ahead in the overall with three laps to go in pursuit of the 10-second time bonus offered to the winner of the stage. He was brought back with half a lap to go by UnitedHealthcare, just in time for its riders Karl Menzies and Rory Sutherland along with Borrajo, Dionne and Kreder to wind up their legs for the gallop to the line.

"Luis attacked to move up in the overall and to win the stage," said Borrajo. "If he won the stage then he would have moved up a couple of places. It was very hard for him because the group was always looking at him for the GC. He being of the front helped me too because I could sit behind United [UnitedHealthcare] so it was good for me."

Teutenberg takes two

Evelyn Stevens turned herself inside out to make it an HTC-Columbia blackout on the final day in Redlands after attacking a nine-woman breakaway with two kilometres to go and holding her lead into the finish line ahead of teammate and overall race winner Ina Yoko-Teutenberg and Carmen Small (Colavita-Baci).

"We brought the group back together and I heard Ina say 'Evelyn, go' with a few kilometres to go," said Stevens. "We chased down the group and that was the most important thing. This was awesome. You work for some like Ina and you want to give it your all, she's the best. This is my first win of the season which is amazing but it's so much better because the team won the race too."

Teutenberg won her second consecutive title at the Redlands Bicycle Classic ahead of Katharine Carroll (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12) and Alexis Rhodes (Team Vera Bradley Foundation).

"This is a very rewarding win, especially because the race today was so hard," said Teutenberg. "I am a sprinter so I don't win too many stage races and it is rewarding. It was the perfect ending with one, two and the overall win.

"Without having a strong team I knew I wouldn't have been able to make it. I knew Mara and Amber would go from the bottom of the climb every lap. It was hard. It wasn't a pleasant Sunset [stage] today, I'll tell you that much."

Stevens' hard-fought victory came after nearly 100km of domestique work for her leading teammate. She brought back every dangerous breakaway attempted throughout the nine laps of the Sunset circuit.

"Evelyn did that [win] by herself and I think it was the first time she used her instincts and it worked," Teutenberg said. "She did an amazing job. She rode the last 30 K off the front for me. The last three laps, I couldn't hold on to the attacks and she pretty much single handedly road me back every time. She deserved that victory."

Teutenberg added a second jersey to her collection by winning the event's Best Sprinter competition. Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) won the event's Best Climber competition and TIBCO won the overall team classification.

The first time up the QOM offered a time bonus to the overall contenders looking to move ahead in the general classification. It also provided points to the event's best climbers. Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) was the first across the line ahead of Katheryn Mattis (Webcor-Builders) and Mara Abbott (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12).

Other riders in the reshuffling break included Stevens and Teutenberg, Carroll, Rhodes and Amber Neben (Dare To Be-BMW Bianchi), Robin Farina (Team Vera Bradley), Rebecca Much, Meredith Miller, Kristen LaSasso and Brooke Miller (TIBCO), Carmen Small (Colaivta-Baci) and Erinne Willock (Webcor-Builders) .

Former race leader, Neben pushed the pace over the climb on the second lap stretching the gap to 40 seconds between her nine-rider break and the main field. Stevens was forced to the front to bring back the dangerous break before the start of the next climb.

Powers made a move on the technical descent followed by a counter attack from Mattis. However the front riders remain in tact for the next two laps.

With five laps to go, Willock and LaSasso opened up a 20-second gap ahead of the break away, they too were reabsorbed into the chase group lead by Powers.

Neben tried several times to get away on the sunset climb, making a strong move with four laps to go, followed by Abbott. The pair of threatening general classification riders gained approximately 25 seconds on the chase group lead by Evelyn Stevens and Teutenberg.

"I figured there was only one way to do this and it's gotta be hard," Neben said. "I tried to make it hard every lap to keep pressure on the field. If no one else was going to, I was going to do it. I tried to throw some attacks in early and spend some matches early but finally in the last four laps Mara and I started getting away but we couldn't get back around."

Neben and Abbott put in an attack nearly every lap on the climb. Following each climb, Stevens drove the pace down the tricky descent to bring the field back together. "Mara and Amber are such good climbers and Ina said to stay with her and we just pulled it back every time," Stevens said.

Powers attacked in pursuit of the stage win on the long descent before the climb. She gained a maximum of 27 seconds but was brought back as she crested the top of the ascent. Stevens went back to the front to bring back the threatening solo rider. She attacked on the descent down to the City of Redlands finish line with two kilometres to go.

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