Nature Valley Grand Prix: Haedo wins Uptown Minneapolis Crit

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J.J. Haedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home) and Jade Wilcoxson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) each sprinted to their second stage wins of the race Friday night during the stage 4 Uptown Minneapolis Criterium of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Haedo rode safely in the bunch for most of the race and then moved to the front in the closing laps, outsprinting Elbowz rider Travis McCabe and overall race leader Mike Friedman (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) for the win. Optum patrolled the front for Friedman throughout the race, setting him up to take first and second in the two time-bonus sprints and then third in the finalé.

"Optum presented by Kelly Benefits did an amazing job tonight," Friedman said. "Keeping the pressure on, swinging the corners to protect the inside and then going to the outside, picking the pace up when he had to pick the pace up, dropping it down when we had to drop it down, sliding in behind me during the time-bonus sprints to give me a little leeway from the guys behind me. It was an amazing job. All I had to do was sprint three times."

Overall leader Wilcoxson's Optum team also rode the front throughout the women's race, but the orange-and-black squad threw multiple attacks up the road to wear down the competition throughout the 28-lap race. TIBCO's Shelley Olds won both time bonus sprints but could only manage second in the finalé after the Optum train took over on the final lap to set up Wilcoxson's win. Specialized-lululemon's Carmen Small, who started the day second overall, finished third on the stage.

Wilcoxson said she had a fairly easy day in the group until she found teammate Lauren Hall's wheel in the closing laps.

"Toward the end [Hall] was like, 'What do you want me to do.' And I told her to just get me to the front to keep me safe," Wilcoxson said. "At that point I wasn't even thinking about the sprint. And then with one to go my entire team came right by me, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, here we go.'"

Haedo stays safe then delivers another win

The men's 40-lap race started in typical full-gas fashion, with Jamis' Guido Palma setting out on the first lap with a small gap. Optum quickly gathered itself on the front and pulled back the Jamis rider, but the attacks continued. Jamis, Jelly Belly, CashCall, Elbowz, Cal Giant-Specialized, Horizon Organic and a host of other teams all sent riders up the road in groups of two, three and four, but Optum corralled the race and never let any group get more than a 10-to-15 second advantage.

As the laps counted down Optum remained in full control, even when teams of the sprinters tried to challenge them in the closing laps. Optum's Jesse Anthony and Chad Haga hit the front hard near the end to keep Optum at the tip of the spear, with Friedman waiting at the end of the train to launch his own final sprint.

Jamis massed behind Optum to set up Haedo, while Jelly Belly's Freddie Rodriguez picked up Brad Huff on his wheel, but Optum drilled the pace into the final circuit and kept the lead into the second-to-last corner. Then it was all bets off as the sprinters and their lead-out men battled.

"Freddie was like fourth or fifth wheel in the second-to-last corner," Haedo said. "He was yelling at [Brad] Huff to go, but Huff didn't go, so [Rodriguez] took over. Then he had a little trouble cornering, so I came out pretty much next to him in the corner, and from there it's like a drag race. It's all in."

McCabe rode into the final corner just behind Jelly Belly, Optum and Jamis, but he braked slightly after getting pinched and took the inside line through the final corner, emerging first onto the long finishing straight. The Elbowz rider said he just put his head down and lit out for the line, but Haedo, the former WorldTour rider and winner of a stage in the Vuelta a Espana, surged past to take the win. In true sprinter fashion, it was the first time all night that he had been at the front of the race.

"These kind of races, with the peloton we have now, you have to do that: keep out of trouble and be safe for most of the race," Haedo said. "In the end you're going to have a little bit of a fight until the speed really picks up in the last three or four laps, but the last three or four laps were really clean. No one was really fighting, so it's actually nicer."

Optum drives Wilcoxson to second stage win

The women's 28-lap race started out fast and aggressive like the men's, but this time it was Optum sending riders up the road. Denise Ramsden set out on the very first lap, and Brianna Walle joined her a lap later. Olds' TIBCO team picked up the chase, bringing the duo back together in time for Olds to take the first time-bonus sprint in front of Small and Wilcoxson.

Optum pushed the pace again, this time with stage 2 winner Hall taking off for a short solo adventure. The attack and subsequent TIBCO chase split the group in two, with about 20 riders losing time rapidly and eventually getting pulled from the race. TIBCO's chase pulled Hall back, which prompted Optum's Leah Kirchman to take off. Kirchman's lead grew to about 15 seconds with 19 laps to go, but TIBCO's chase eventually brought her back in time for Olds to win another time bonus ahead of Hall and Small with 14 laps to go.

Ramsden, the race's Best Young Rider, waited a couple of laps before taking off again with 12 laps remaining. The Canadian national road race champion added to her advantage until she had an ultimate gap of 12 seconds with seven laps remaining.

"We wanted to be aggressive ourselves so we weren't having to cover everyone and make the other teams have to work a little bit," Ramsden said.

With TIBCO chasing again, Ramsden's lead was down to six seconds with four laps remaining. The TIBCO chase pulled her back on the ensuing lap, setting up a bunch sprint for the finish. TIBCO remained on the front, but Specialized-lululemon started moving up for Small as well.

Optum played the power card on the final lap and took over the front with Wilcoxson waiting to pounce along with Olds and Small.

"They took me to the last corner," Wilcoxson said of her team. "Then I just put my head down and went as fast as I could go."

Wilcoxson rewarded her team's all-out effort with her second stage win in as many days, increasing her overall lead to nine seconds over Olds, who moved into second.

Small, who started the day eight seconds behind Wilcoxson, dropped to third, 11 seconds back, but she said the team's plan to conserve for Saturday's Menomonie road race worked out well.

"We weren't going into it doing a lot," Small said. "Of course I had to go for the time bonuses to salvage what I have or gain some time. So that was what we were looking for, not to do too much tonight. So it worked out with [Optum and TIBCO] racing against each other. It allowed us to sit and not do too much. We just had to work a couple of times to close things down."

Small said the team will be racing aggressively on Saturday, hoping to cut down the time gaps or put a Specialized rider in the lead.

"We have a few cards to play with Tayler [Wiles] being up in there GC as well," she said.

Men - Full Results

Women - Full Results