March 17, 2005 — After four flat races that ended in bunch sprints to open the NRC race series, the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis and the rest of the domestic peloton head for the hills this weekend in the San Dimas Stage Race. The southern California race, formerly knows as the Pomona Valley Stage Race, is the first on the calendar to feature any significant climbing.

“The races get harder from here, and that’s good for us,” Health Net Presented by Maxxis rider Mike Sayers noted after teammates Gord Fraser and Ivan Dominguez finished one-two at the Central Valley Classic Tower Criterium last Sunday.

The team’s Directeur Sportif Jeff Corbett, echoed that comment. “We’re not opposed to flat courses that end in sprints, because obviously, that’s one of our strengths,” he said. “But we’ve been waiting for a different course. It’s hard to get away on a course with no real challenges.

Corbett noted that the Friday and Saturday stages will be the most telling. Friday is a 3.8-mile uphill individual time trial, while Saturday features 14 laps of a hilly 7.8 loop. The race finishes Sunday with a mostly flat 90-minute criterium in downtown San Dimas.

“We want to get out and see how we do with some challenges,” Corbett said. “We need to test ourselves and see where we’re at. We also want to see who our threats are. We’ve seen some guys from other teams going good in the first few races, but uphill is another story. It will be a good test.”

The Health Net Presented by Maxxis line-up for the San Dimas Stage Race will be:

-Ivan Dominguez (Cuba)
-Justin England (USA)
-Gord Fraser (CAN)
-Mike Jones (USA)
-John Lieswyn (USA)
-Scott Moninger (USA)
-Doug Ollerenshaw (USA)
-Mike Sayers (USA)
-Chris Wherry (USA)