March 29, 2006 — The Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis will make its first foray to Europe as a UCI Continental Professional team beginning in late April.

“We’ve had a lot of success competing against the major European teams on our soil,” says Health Net Presented by Maxxis directeur sportif Jeff Corbett. “We’re looking forward to the test of racing over there this spring. We’ll go into these races the same way we do with races in North America — with the intent of winning.”

The team will open the schedule on April 30 with the one-day Trophee des Grimpeurs in France (UCI 1.1). The 134 km circuit race features a significant amount of climbing, as the race’s name suggests: the Climber’s Trophy.

But, notes Health Net Presented by Maxxis rider Kirk O’Bee, “It’s not a pure climber’s race. The circuit has one major climb, but it’s more of a power climb.” The race takes 16 trips around an 8.3 km circuit just outside of Paris, with the finish atop the climb of the Côte de l’Ermitage, a 300 meter hill with a gradient of 13 percent.

“It’s more of a race of attrition. It’s a good course for someone like Hayden (Roulston) or (Mike) Jones,” he says. O’Bee, overall winner of the Tour of Taiwan this year, also has shown strength at Grimpeurs, with a top-20 finish in the 2002 edition of the race.

Three days later, the team will start the Four Days of Dunkirk (4 Jours de Dunkerque; UCI 2.HC), also in France, May 3-7. Dunkirk, which is actually a five-day, five-stage race, is considered a sprinter’s race, O’Bee says, with the overall title often being determined during the difficult, fourth-stage circuit race. But, he adds that the race can be unpredictable, with occasional stretches of bad road, bad weather and notorious crosswinds off the English Channel.

“The race attracts a lot of good teams and riders, and the early stages are really aggressive, with a lot of fighting for position near the front of the race,” O’Bee says. The opening stages normally end in bunch sprints, but it’s not uncommon for the race for the overall title to be decided on the first stage if a break can get away in the winds and stay off the front to the line.

“I think our team has a good opportunity to take some stage wins at Dunkirk,” he says. “We should do well.”

Health Net Presented by Maxxis will finish off its first European trip in the Peace Race (Course de la Paix; UCI 2.HC), which begins in the Czech Republic on May 13 and goes through the 21st. The nine-day race, which has a storied past that began as a race among the former Soviet Bloc countries, is known for its long, varied and difficult stages.

But with nearly a week off before the Peace Race, O’Bee believes the team will be well rested, and have the strength and talent to do well there, too. “We should be working very well together by then,” he adds.

The Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis roster for Europe, Spring 2006:

-Greg Henderson (NZL)
-Mike Jones (USA)
-Karl Menzies (TAS)
-Kirk O’Bee (USA)
-Doug Ollerenshaw (USA)
-Hayden Roulston (NZL)
-Mike Sayers (USA)
-Alberto Tiberio (SUI)