Powers, Zirbel prevail in Gila time trial

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On a chilly windy New Mexico day that favored powerful riders, Alison Powers (Now & Novartis for MS) and Tom Zirbel (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) rode onto the top podium step Friday during the stage 3 individual time trial at Silver City's Tour of the Gila.

Powers had hoped for wind and got her wish, but she wasn't able to put enough time into Exergy-Twenty16's Mara Abbott to move into the top spot overall, settling instead into second on GC. Thursday stage winner Janel Holcomb finished second on the day, followed by Exergy-Twenty16's Kristin McGrath and Abbott in third and fourth, respectively.

Baldwin Comes Up Four Seconds Short

Like Powers, Zirbel relied on his size and strength to blast through the gusting winds and take the stage win ahead of UnitedHealthcare's Ben Day and BMC Development Team's Silvan Dillier. The GC battle between race leader Janier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman) and Chris Baldwin (Bissell Pro Cycling), who started the stage separated by 12 seconds, came down to the wire as Baldwin fell just short of taking over the race lead and now trails the Colombian by four seconds.

The men started early in the day as the winds whipped across the open expanse of Tyrone, which sits just outside of Silver City.

Chris Barton (Cashcall Mortgage) set the early mark to beat at 36:58 over the 26 kilometer out-and-back course that started with a climb and descent before doing it all again after the turnaround. Barton's mark held for nearly half an hour before Canyon Bicycles' Stephen Haroldsen crossed the line with a new best time of 36:51.

BMC Development Team's Jakub Novack was the next rider in the hot seat after setting a mark of 35:40, but that mark too would fall to his teammate Dillier's eventual third-place effort of 34:55. Dillier, a 22-year-old rider on the Swiss national track team, said the crosswinds were not a problem for him.

"I'm not so light, so I didn't have much problem with the wind," he said. "I never felt really that it was windy. Just the last downhill was really windy, but before that it was mostly tailwind, and to come back was mostly crosswind, but it was OK."

Zirbel, another big rider with plenty of top time trial results in his career account, came in 10 seconds faster at 34:45 and then had to wait another 21 riders to find out of his time would hold. Zirbel said everyone expects the Tyrone time trial to be windy, but the wind still changes the race.

"I always kind of hope and dream for windy days like this," he said. "This was kind of the limit for me, so I'm sure it was pretty hard for some of the lighter guys. We were definitely getting blown around out there."

Day, starting just seven riders after Zirbel, crossed the line with a mark of 34:50 to claim the runner-up spot, with Bontrager's Lawson Craddock riding into fourth place on the stage and fourth place overall with a time of 34:59.

"It's a strange TT, because right out of the gate we go straight uphill and it's quite a significant part of the race, that first five or six kilometers that go straight up," Day said of his effort. "So it was really a matter of starting hard. And I think out of the whole course, that was the part where you won or lost the race. So I went pretty hard there and just tried to hold it for the second half of the course."

Starting second to last, Baldwin also blazed over the course in 35:15 for seventh, but Acevedo's 35:23 was just enough to save his jersey. Unlike some of his competitors, Baldwin said the wind, especially on the return trip, wreaked havoc on his chances to catch Acevedo.

"I felt like a skinny lanky kite on that last descent," Baldwin said. "I think I lost a lot of time there that I gained on the first part. I may flail a little more in the crosswinds than the small guys because I'm a tall, lightweight rider."

Zirbel had no such problem. At six-foot-five, he had plenty of power to fight the wind and more than enough weight to hold him firmly on the road.

"I felt good coming into this race, and I kind of new that I would be disappointed with anything less," he said. "But it worked out, and I tried not to put too much pressure on myself. It feels good, and it definitely takes a little pressure off, but I don't think we're finished yet."

With a four-second lead, Acevedo is still in the driver's seat with just the criterium and infamous Gila Monster stages remaining, but Jamis director Sebastian Alexandre said he wasn't taking anything for granted.

"You can't be too confident, because it's bike racing," Alexandre said. "But he's a great rider, and there are several great riders here. But I think he's very motivated to win this race. The team is good, and like I said, it's a big motivation to have a rider like Janier on the team in this race, so the guys are super motivated to defend the lead on the next two stages."

Abbott Holds Onto Jersey By Over A Minute

Nine-time US cyclo-cross champion Katie Compton (Trek) came out firing into the winds Friday in Tyrone, setting the best early mark of 42:20 over the 26 km course. Optum's Joelle Numainville crossed the line seven riders later with a new best time of 41:57, before Exergy's Alison Tetrick topped the leader board, setting a time of 41:53. Shelly Olds' time of 40:48 knocked Tetrick out of the hotseat, but Lex Albrecht (Now), the very next rider across the line, quickly eclipsed Old's mark by six seconds.

Holcomb was the first rider to break the 40-minute mark three riders later with a new best time of 39:34. After soloing to a win the day before, the Optum rider didn't think she would perform well during the time trial. She said it enabled her to approach the test with a relaxed attitude.

"After yesterday I had no expectations for the time trial," Holcomb said. "So I was feeling pretty goofy this morning warming up, listening to good music, having fun with the team and hanging out. I figured that even if I'm not going to feel good and still be pretty tired from yesterday, it would still be a good practice for time trials because it's a good length. So I thought I'd still go through the same motions and go through the same routine as if I was going to have a good one."

With encouragement from Optum men's team director Jonas Carney, who was following Holcomb in the team car, the rider wasn't just going through the motions. Although many came close, only Powers was able to knock the stage 2 winner out of another victory with a mark of 39:23. McGrath followed Powers in with a time that was 51 seconds slower, while Donovan slipped out of GC contention with a disappointing time of 42:49.

Powers waited patiently to see if her ride would catapult her into the red SRAM race leader's jersey, but Abbott limited her losses to just 56 seconds and clung to the overall lead by 1:09 over Powers. McGrath is now third, 1:53 in arrears.

"I've done this race several times," Powers said. "So I know that usually you can go pretty hard up that first climb and get some recovery on the downhill, but today with the wind there was very little recovery compared to normal. You had to be on the whole time or you were getting pushed around by the wind. It was very gusty. I felt like it was harder than it ever has been. I felt like it was really hard today."

But Powers, who lives in Pinecliff, Colorado, said she trains regularly in windy conditions at home and gained an advantage from her familiarity with the elements.

"So I do get to practice riding in the wind on my time trial bike," Powers said. "If you're not afraid and you're aggressive and you just ride, that's always helpful. Totally."

Now Powers has two remaining stages to pull back Abbott's 1:09 lead.

"There's still the criterium, and there's not a lot of climbing in the criterium, so that's good," Powers said. "And on the last day, that climb is hard but it's not like Mogollon. And with a super strong team I think we can still have a good race."

But Abbott says she also has a strong team that has many cards left to play in both stages.

"You never know how the race is going to end until the race is over," Abbott said. "But you can take it stage by stage, and stage by stage we've done everything we've wanted to. I've got a really strong team behind me, and I think we've got a lot of cards to play, not only the Mara card. So I think if we all stick together and stay strong we can have some fun on the last day and bring it home."

Full Women's Results

Full Men's Results