Merco Credit Union Classic - Race Report
A Race Report from Merco Credit Union Classic 2007 from Mark Olson, Priority Health Cycling Team Manager
The National Race Calendar season of road racing began this weekend in
Merced, CA with the Merco Grand Prix Criterium and the Foothills Roads
Race, an exciting opener of the season for most American racers. The
Priority Health Cycling Team presented by Bissell, as well as many
other teams who participated the Tour of California were in the Merced
to race our hearts out and also keep our skin intact as the 2/3 of the
150 rider field dusts off their race bike handling skills. It can be a
dicey race.
In the criterium, our team plan was to make sure that we were
represented in any of the early moves, and then to get Emile into
winning position in the final laps. Our team rode in great position,
near the front of the pack. With the high pace, no breakaways emerged
until a trio escaped off the front in the last 20 laps. Priority
Health joined forces with Toyota United to keep the breakaway within 15
seconds, and as the break was recaptured in the closing laps, Emile was
holding Ivan Dominguez's (the eventual race winner's) wheel until
crashes and jostling in the last lap forced him off it, but Emile
placed 14th.
In the Foothills road race, a 5 lap, 120 mile race through rural
orchards, we enjoyed a nearly windless day. On an exposed course where
crosswinds can decimate the field, this made it easy for most all
racers to survive to the finish, but Priority Health wasn’t going to
make it easy for them. A huge number of attacks brought no lasting
breakaways in the first lap, but in the second lap, a breakaway of 12
containing Ted and Emile finally stuck. It was quickly joined by four
more riders, and was almost the right combination of riders and teams
to survive to the finish. However, BMC was not happy with their odds,
so they chased hard and brought it back a lap later.
At the end of the 3rd lap, Garrett soloed off the front of the
piloting. He was joined 20 miles later by a fresher Eric Wohlberg, and
the duo pushed their lead on the field to close to four minutes. But
during the final lap, Sierra Nevada and Toyota chased hard, and in the
final 6 miles brought back the break. Our fast finishers were in great
position for the finish until one of the 90 degree corners in the road
sent a group of riders containing Emile skidding off course and up a
driveway. HealthNet who had sat in the pack without doing any work all
day took the top two places, with Priority Health’s Ben Jacques-Maynes
taking an impressive fourth in a blistering downhill sprint to the line.
Mark Olson
Team Manager
Priority Health Cycling Team Presented by Bissell
