Zirbel wins stage 1 time trial, assumes Nature Valley Grand Prix lead

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Optum Pro Cycling came out swinging Wednesday for the first stage of the 2012 Nature Valley Grand Prix, taking the top spot in the men's race with Tom Zirbel and in the women's race with Carmen Small. The orange-and-black squad also placed multiple riders in the top 10 of both events.

The six-stage race started with the St. Paul time trial, a 12.4 km race against the clock that ran along the Mississippi River next to a former Ford auto plant. Light rain and a moderate wind picked up as the day wore on but seemed to have little effect on the times.

Zirbel started about two-thirds of the way through the men's field and blasted over the mostly flat course with a time of 15:56, narrowly slipping past the previous best time of 16:00 set by Kenda/5-Hour Energy's John Murphy. Zirbel's teammate Scott Zwizanski set the early best time of 16:02 but slipped to third by the end of the day.

Zirbel said he benefited from a course change this year that removed a significant hill from the route.

"That course is great for a bigger rider like me," he said. "It's all just power on the flats. I was pretty happy to see they changed the course and took out that big hill at the end."

Although Kenda missed out on the top spot, the team placed three riders in the top 10, with Bobby Sweeting claiming fifth at 16:10 and Andy Jacques-Maynes grabbing ninth at 16:17. Bissell Pro Cycling claimed two top-10 spots. Frank Pipp came in fourth at 16:10 and Ben Jacques-Maynes went sixth at 16:13. Competitive Cyclist's Mike Olheiser grabbed the seventh spot, just three-tenths of a second behind Jacques-Maynes. Team Exergy's Andres Diaz was eighth at 16:14.

With less than 30 seconds separating the top 15 riders and a maximum of 22 seconds in time bonuses up for grabs in the stage 2 criterium, the Wednesday evening race should be fast and furious. Murphy, sitting just four seconds out of the lead and known for his fast finish, said he will likely be gunning for yellow in a stage race with three criteriums and two road races remaining.

"The plan was essentially to limit my losses in the TT and then stay as close as possible," Murphy said. "Optum obviously has a strong team here, so it will be a big battle. I can ride the crits with the best of them, so hopefully I can take advantage there. Kenda/5-hour Energy has a great team here to support me, and we also have some other good cards to play. I think with six-man teams we're going to see some action."

Optum team director Jonas Carney also said he was expecting the Wednesday evening criterium to heat up fast, with Murphy and his Kenda squad leading the charge.

"You gotta figure (Murphy) is thinking about taking the jersey," Carney said. "I assume there will be other fast guys, sprinter types like Frank Pipp and Freddie Rodriguez, who will be looking to take those time bonuses, too. So the jersey could very well change hands a couple times this week just based on time bonuses."

Optum left sprinters Alex Candelario and Ken Hanson off the roster for Nature Valley, but Zirbel said he expects the team to place well in the overall by week's end, and the time trial performance bolstered those chances.

"The plan was to stack the time trial as best we could and give ourselves some options," said Zirbel, who fell two criterium laps short of winning the overall in 2009 while racing for Bissell. "With six-man teams it can change in a heartbeat, as we saw with the Menomonie stage last year. I think (2011 overall winner) Jesse Anthony is riding really well right now. This course didn't suit him as well as last year's course, but he's going to be really strong at Menomonie, Cannon Falls and definitely at Stillwater."

Small leads Optum barrage of top 10

Carmen Small left the starting house early in the women's race and set the 17:30 mark that would hold throughout the day. ExergyTWENTY12's Jackie Crowell grabbed the second spot behind Small, besting 2011 Nature Valley overall winner Amber Neben (Specialized-lululemon), the last rider on the course, by just two-tenths of a second.

"I'm totally surprised," Small said after the stage, adding that although the Nature Valley Grand Prix route suits her, the team has many options for trying to win the overall. "We have an incredible team here. Every one of our girls is capable of winning, so we'll see what happens."

Optum placed four riders in the top 10, with Janel Holcomb grabbing fourth at 17:43, Jade Wilcoxson in sixth at 17:52 and Denise Ramsden claiming the seventh spot, six-tenths of a second behind Wilcoxson.

ExergyTWENTY12's Kristin McGrath joined her teammate Crowell in the top 10, covering the course in 17:49 for fifth. Nature Valley Pro Chase amateur Brianna Walle impressed with an eighth-place ride at 17:55, and Emilia Fahlin grabbed the ninth spot at 17:56, giving Specialized-lululemon two riders in the top 10.

With multiple cards to play for the general classification, Optum has set itself up well for the evening criterium in downtown St. Paul and also to make a run at the overall.

"I like the crits," Small said. "I actually enjoy them; most people don't enjoy them as much as I do. We also have a really good sprinter here with Leah Kirchmann. She's been killing it."

Optum team director Rachel Heal agreed with Small's assessment of the team's chances for good results this week, adding that the time bonuses will likely play a huge part in deciding the outcome. But Heal was a little more guarded about which rider the team will be working for in the battle for the race leader's jersey.

"It may stay with (Small), it may switch to another rider," Heal said. "We've got some really strong riders out there. We've got great sprinters here and some really good crit riders. There are big time bonuses in this race, and Carmen is a good time trialist, but she's also got a good sprint on her, so we've got a good card to play."

The Nature Valley Grand Prix continues Wednesday evening with the downtown St. Paul criterium, followed by the stage 3 Cannon Falls road race Thursday morning.

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