August 8, 2011

NRC: Tour of Elk Grove outcome twists standings

The Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove blazed through three grueling stages in the unrelenting sun of suburban Chicago. The results have added even more intrigue to the ever-tightening standings of the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC) with only four events remaining.

Men

The Tour of Elk Grove was pivotal in setting up the final four events of the NRC. (Photo by Von R. Buzard, voncommercialphotographer.com)

Luis Romero Amaran (CUB/Jamis-Sutter Home) topped more than 100 competitors in the three-stage Tour of Elk Grove in the Chicago suburbs to move from 10th in last week's standings to third. Jacobe Keough (Sandwich, Mass./UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling) placed second in Sunday's circuit race and 30th overall to trim 49 points off his deficit to men's NRC standings leader Francisco Mancebo (ESP/Realcyclist.com). Amaran trails Keough by only 46 points with four events remaining. Jonathan Cantwell (AUS/Team Fly V) finished third on Sunday and 10th in the final results, but slipped to fourth in this week's standings. Frank Pipp (Boulder, Colo./Bissell Professional Cycling) slipped one spot to fifth, 162 points behind Cantwell.

In the men's team standings, UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling trimmed 80 points off its deficit and now trails standings leader Bissell Professional Cycling by 176 points with only four events remaining. Jamis-Sutter Home remains in third place, only 258 points behind UnitedHealthcare. Team Exergy and Realcyclist.com continue to alternate between fourth and fifth places. Team Exergy now sits in fourth, holding a 195-point cushion on Realcyclist.com.

In the final results, Amaran claimed the winner's share of one of the largest prize purses in the NRC by registering one single-stage podium finish, placing second in Saturday's 97-mile road race. He placed 18th in Friday's 4.5-mile time trial and 22nd in Sunday's circuit race which spanned two hours and twenty minutes. Bobby Sweeting (Danbury, Conn./Kenda-5 Hr Energy p/b Geargrinder) placed second overall, 34 seconds behind Amaran and 26 seconds ahead of third-place rider Chad Haga (Fort Collins, Colo./Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth). Freddie Rodriguez (Berkeley, Calif./Team Exergy) finished fourth, 10 seconds ahead of Darren Rolfe (AUS/Team Fly V).

Women

The women's NRC standings underwent an overhaul after the Tour of Elk Grove. (Photo by Von R. Buzard, voncommercialphotographer.com)

Aside from the leader, Janel Holcomb (San Diego, Calif./Colavita-Forno d'Asolo), the women's NRC standings have been completely shuffled as a result of the Tour of Elk Grove. By virtue of topping the final results, Leah Kirchmann (CAN/Colavita-Forno d'Asolo) moved from eighth into second place. Kirchmann trails Holcomb by 235 points with only four events remaining. Erinne Willock (CAN/Team TIBCO to the Top) moved into third place, overtaking Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif./HTC-Highroad Women), who slipped to fourth. Anne Samplonius (Boulder, Colo./NOW and Novartis for MS), who was ninth in last week's standings, rounds out the top five of the women's standings.

Contrary to the individual standings, the women's team NRC standings stayed in tact. Colavita-Forno d'Asolo remains the leader, holding a 1,003-point lead over second place Team TIBCO to the Top. HTC-Highroad Women remains in third with a 738-point lead over fourth place Diadora Pasta Zara. Primal-MapMyRide Women's Racing rounds out the top five, 116 points behind Diadora Pasta Zara. Colavita-Forno d'Asolo actually added 119 points to its lead from last week. Each Colavita-Forno d'Asolo and TIBCO to the Top placed three riders in the top 10 of the general classification at the Tour of Elk Grove. Colavita-Forno d'Asolo can boast the first and third-place riders while TIBCO to the Top registered the fifth, sixth and seventh-place finishers

Kirchmann paired two stage wins and a seventh-place finish to top the final general classification of the women's Tour of Elk Grove and claim her share of one of the largest prize purses in the NRC. Samplonius, who led the general classification into the third day, finished just two seconds behind Kirchmann. Holcomb finished third, eight seconds behind Kirchmann and six seconds ahead of fourth place Robin Farina (Charlotte, N.C./NOW and Novartis for MS). Willock finished fifth in the general classification, only one second behind Farina.

NRC standings

COMING UP

The next event in the NRC is the Grand Cycling Classic, a criterium for women, in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Aug. 20. The next event for the men is the Chris Thater Memorial, a criterium for men and women in Binghamton, N.Y., on Aug. 27-28.

Trio tops National Time Trial Calendar standings

The USA Cycling National Time Trial Calendar (NTTC) in its first year has been hotly contested. There are three men tied atop the men's NTTC standings while Carmen Small (Durango, Colo./Team TIBCO to the Top) has a five-point lead over three women tied for second place in the women's NTTC standings.

The next event on the NTTC is the Masters Road National Championships Time Trial in Bend, Ore., on Aug. 31.

NTTC standings

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