RACE REPORT
Tour de Nez, Reno, NV
June 22-24
Report provided by the staff of the Dialy Peloton. Read original article
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Recap
Toyota United/Pro's Tony Cruz takes second win in Nez, first victory this season. Menzies second, Chris Baldwin third.
Tom Zirbel (Priority Health) won the uphill prologue time trial as the 14th annual Reno centered Tour de Nez kicked off Thursday morning in Verdi, Nevada. The popular event billed more as a party drew large crowds to watch the races. Toyota/United's Chris Baldwin and 2004 winner Antonio Cruz were right behind Zirbel in the time trial to grasp two of the top podium steps.
Tour de Nez is an "omnium" where each stage finish scores points. The final winner is decided by point gained on each stage.
Stage 1
Verdi Time Trial
Name Time - Points
1. Tom Zirbel (Priority Health), 5km in 6:02 - 30
2. Chris Baldwin (Toyota/United Pro), 6:04 0:02 - 25
3. Bernard Van Ulden (Webcor/Alto Velo) 6:04.99 0:02 - 23
4. Antonio Cruz (Toyota/United) 6:08.26 0:06 - 21
5. Curtis Gunn (Successful Living) 6:10.976:12.06 0:08 - 19
6. Carl Menzies (Health Net/Maxxis) 6:12.06 - 17
7. Brian Bucholz (Webcor/Palo Alto) 6:14.42 - 15
8. Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance) 06:17.28 - 13
9. Randy Reichardt (Bang Salon/HART) 6:19.06 - 12
10. Heath Blackgrove (Toyota/United Pro) 6:19.62 - 11
Stage 2
Menzies sprints to win and leader's jersey
Karl Menzies of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis left behind his two breakaway companions coming out of the final turn to win the Downtown Truckee Criterium, the second stage of the Tour de Nez, Thursday evening.
Menzies, Andrew Bajadali (Jelly Belly) and Tony Cruz (Toyota-United) went off the front of a crash-splintered peloton about half-way through the 60-minute race after Menzies followed an attack by Bajadali.
The trio quickly opened up an eight-second lead. And with the three main teams in the race represented, the remaining group of 30 couldn't - or wouldn't - organize a serious chase and the gap expanded. Despite having raced nearly non-stop since late April, Menzies showed why he earned the nickname "Ten" Menzies by repeatedly accelerating and riding his companions off his wheel.
When it came down to the final lap, Menzies got on the front, came through the final corner in that position and never let go. Cruz finished second and Bajadali third. Combined with his 6th place finish in the opening TT, Menzies took over the red leader's jersey with 72 points. Cruz's third place finish in the morning time trial helped to put him in second overall behind Menzies with 67 points.
Stage 2 Truckee Criterium
1 Carl Menzies Health Net/ Maxxis 00:00:00 - 55
2 Tony Cruz Toyota/United pro - 46
3 Andrew Bajadali Jelly Belly - 41
4 Gordon McCauley Successfulliving - 38
5 Alex Candelario Jelly Belly - 35
6 Scott Moninger Health Net/Maxxis - 32
7 Kyle Gritters Health Net/Maxxis - 30
8 Robbie King Priority Health - 28
9 Tommy Nankervis Priority Health - 26
10 Ken Hanson 28 BMC Racing Team - 24
Stage 3
Tahoe City Road Race
The Health Net/Maxxis did what it needed to do to protect Karl Menzies' lead in the Tour de Nez during Friday's grueling 173 km road race that features over 10,000 feet of climbing through the Sierra Nevada range around Tahoe City. The thin air at altitude and abundance of climbing favors Scott Moninger of Health Net, who won this stage last year en route to winning the overall of the Tour de Nez.
Roman Kilun and Doug Ollerenshaw got in the main break of the day with a group that included eventual stage winner Chris Wherry (Toyota-United), Aaron Olsen (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Michael Carter (Einstein's Bagels) and Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly).
With Candelario the only threat to Menzies in the overall omnium (points) format - Menzies came in leading with 72 points, while Candelario had 35, with 92 points on offer for the win - it was the job of Ollerenshaw and Kilun to essentially make sure that Candelario got as few points as possible in the end. Unfortunately, an untimely flat caused Ollerenshaw to drop from the break, leaving the job of covering Candelario to Kilun.
"There were a lot of attacks in the break, but I didn't help cover anything unless Alex was involved," Kilun said. "Once he realized that's what I was doing, he stopped attacking."
On the final climb, Wherry rode away for the win, followed by Saunier Duval's Olsen and Carter. Candelario came in fourth, while Menzies sprinted for sixth place. Though he lost a few points to Candelario, Menzies extended his lead on second overall Tony Cruz (Toyota-United) by a eight points. He led 124-112 heading into Saturday's final-stage criterium.
Stage 3 Tahoe City Road Race
1 Chris Wherry Toyota/United Pro 00:00:00 92
2 Aaron Olson Saunier Duval/Prodir - 78
3 Michael Carter Team Einstein's - 75
4 Alex Candelario Jelly Belly - 61
5 Tom Zirbel Priority Health - 56
6 Carl Menzies Health Net - 52
7 Phil Zajicek Navigators - 48
8 Tony Cruz Toyota/United Pro - 44
9 Chris Baldwin Toyota/United Pro - 42
10 Andrew Bajadali Jelly Belly - 38
Stage 4 Criterium
Team Successful Living’s Curtis Gunn Wins Stage 4
Tony Cruz of Team Toyota-United Takes Overall Win
Taking race predictors and even himself by surprise, Curtis Gunn (Successful Living) took the victory at the Reno Criterium in a two-man sprint against Christian Valenzuela (Monex). Indeed, neither of these riders were predicted to be the strong men in this race which featured some of the strongest teams and best professional bike racers in the country. It was Gunn's most prestigious victory to date.
Today's race featured a .8-mile course, which wound through downtown Reno. Each lap, riders negotiated ten turns including the downhill chicane that lead into the final straightaway to the finish-line; a notoriously treacherous area, it would again claim its victims today.
From the gun, the race was fast and strung out. Within 30 minutes into the one-and-a-half hour event, the field had been whittled away to roughly 45 riders due to the speed and a several crashes; it was at this point that the Gunn/Valenzuela duo moved away from the field. A crash at the front of the main pack another half-hour later and a steady effort by team Health Net to keep the group together to protect overall omnium leader, Karl Menzies, sealed the deal; the gap between the breakaway pair and the group stayed at a steady 40 seconds to a minute for the rest of the race.
Coming into the final sprint, Gunn made a mighty effort before the chicane to get a gap on Valenzuela and held it off for the win. In the field, big-man Menzies came blazing first through the final chicane only to puncture his rear wheel, and in doing so, he took out Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly) who was sitting in second position. This opened the door for fast-man Cruz to take the field sprint and third in the race.
Stage 4 Result
1 Curtis Gunn Successfulliving - 50
2 Christian Valenzuela Monex - 45
3 Tony Cruz Toyota/United - 41
4 Robbie King Priority Health - 38
5 Aaron Olson Saunier Duval/Prodir - 36
6 Phil Zajicek Navigators - 32
7 Chris Baldwin Toyota/United Pro - 30
8 Andrew Bajadali Jelly Belly - 28
9 Andy Jacques-Maynes Giant /Village Peddler - 24
10 Bernard van Ulden Webcor / Alto Velo - 26
Cruz's finish put him in first place overall for the omnium. Tazmanian Menzies, even after not finishing today's race, took second and consistent finisher and current National Time Trial Champion, Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) took third.
Today wrapped up the Tour de Nez's three days of racing. In addition to featuring the nation’s top professional riders, many other fun and fabulous cycling-related events are on the schedule including kid’s races, clunker classic races, a bike swap, fun rides, and more. For complete information about the Tour de Nez, visit www.tourdenez.com
14th Annual Tour De Nez
Final Overall Results
1 Tony Cruz Toyota/United Pro 152
2 Carl Menzies Health Net/Maxxis 124
3 chris baldwin Toyota/United Pro 119
4 Aaron Olson Saunier Duval/Prodir 118
5 Andrew Bajadali Jelly Belly 115
6 Chris Wherry Toyota/United Pro 103
7 phil zajicek Navigators 102
8 Tom Zirbel Priority Health 99
9 Curtis Gunn Successfulliving 96
10 Alex Candelario Jelly Belly 96
Toyota/United:
Former Reno resident Tony Cruz was the hometown favorite at this year’s Tour de Nez and Cruz, the 2004 Tour champion, did not disappoint. After three days of racing and three top 5 finishes including a third place in the Mighty Tour De Nez Pro Criterium today, Cruz sealed the overall title with an 18 point lead over Health Net’s Karl Menzies, winning the race for the second time in his career. Teammate Chris Baldwin was third overall, just five points behind Menzies.
"It was great to bring one home for the team," says Cruz, "especially to do it here in Reno. Throughout the whole course, people were cheering for me so I was pretty motivated to win."
Toyota-United, the only team to make podium appearances in each of the Tour's four stages:
- Chris Baldwin, 2nd Stage 1 Verdi Time Trial (06/22)
- Tony Cruz, 2nd, Stage 2 Truckee Pro Criterium (06/22)
- Chris Wherry, 1st, Stage 3 Tahoe Road Race (06/23)
- Tony Cruz, 3rd, Stage 4 Mighty Tour De Nez Criterium (06/24)
Cruz, whose win marks his first of the season, says it was a team effort from start to finish. "Everyone worked hard, especially today. Baldwin, Wherry and Heath (Blackgrove) were so aggressive and kept attacking, and put me in position to be there in the final sprint."
