Bissell lands two on the podium in Elk Grove opener

New Zealand Criterium Champion, Peter Latham (Bissell) put his time trial skills to the test and came out on top at the opening stage of the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove held from July 30-August 1 in Elk Grove Village on the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois.

The time trial specialist rode the 7.2-kilometre course in a time of 8:32 on Friday, outpacing 2007 overall winner Mike Friedman (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda) by a few hundredths of a second and his own teammate Jeremy Vennell by one second.

“This was my first NRC win,” Latham said. “Obviously my team is going well. I’ve been close a few times but didn’t know how I would do today. Getting the top placing is nice and it’s nice to get a win for the team.
Jeremy has been riding strong and hopefully we can keep going.”

Latham will start stage two’s 155 km AXA Equitable Circuit Race in the overall race lead. The circuit race is designed for the cagiest of bike racers with 26 corners per lap.

“I think it is the cat’s whisker between the top ten guys,” Latham said. “The GC is wide open with two hard days of racing to come but it is certainly nice to start off on the right foot.”

Money makes the wheels go round

The highly lucrative MTI Construction time trial held in and around the Elk Grove Village. The event catered to the fastest prologue and time trial specialists with a predominantly flat course. As one of the highest prized individual time trials in the country it offered a $10,000 purse.

There are two stages to go: the 155 km AXA Equitable Circuit Race on Saturday, July 31 worth $31,000 and the Gullo International Pro Men 115 km Criterium held on Sunday, August 1 worth
$26,000. The overall classification is worth $47,500 and the team award is valued at $3,500 for a total of $118,000.

“It’s pretty motivating having a $10,000 dollar carrot,” Latham said. “That is a lot of money. We also want to win the bike race. The money is a bonus and it is nice to get across the line first but we want to win the
overall race.”

Latham is widely recognized as a time trial and track pursuit specialist with a long track record of placing on the podium in international competitions. He was on the New Zealand Olympic Games team in both 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing. His results include New Zealand Time Trial National Champion, 3rd in the UCI Under 23 Time Trial World Championships, 3rd in the Teams Pursuit World Track Championships and 2nd in the Individual Pursuit Oceania Championships.

“This course was short, I race on the track at about four kilometres so this course was twice the distance,” Latham said. “I like prologues and was close a few times last year. It was nice to get on top tonight.”

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