March 24, 2004 (Redlands, CA) – Second win in two days for Genevieve Jeanson of Team RONA. After the prologue yesterday, Jeanson won the first stage today, an 85.5-kilometre road race on a new course in the San Bernardino area, in Southern California. Jeanson led her Canadian rival Lyne Bessette of Team Quark by about 30 seconds, and American Christine Thornburn, of Team Webcor, by a greater margin.
Thanks to this win, Jeanson consolidated her grip on the overall lead and the yellow jersey, that she has been wearing in this race since the prologue last year. In general classification Bessette is more than one minute behind. Jeanson also leads in the Queen of the Mountain competition.
Today's stage was marked by a crash 35 kilometres into the race, which split the peloton. But it regrouped and remained compact up to the only real difficulty today, a 4 kilometre climb, getting tougher in the last two. Jeanson progressively hardened the pace to wear out the field and she was all by herself when she reached the top, before plunging to the finish in a 2.5 kilometre technical descent.
“The first part of the course was really windy, said Jeanson, but it wasn't too bothersome. Team RONA's work was impeccable, well structured, and the girls (Anna Milkowski, Andrea Hannos, Helen Kelly, Katheryn Curi, Katrina Grove) with clockwork precision.”
Tomorrow's stage is the infamous Oak Glen Road Race. This demanding stage traditionally tears the field apart as ithe riders are worn out by 129 kilometres of racing over three major climbs, especially the fearsome 6-kilometre climb that leads to the finish line. The Redlands Classic is made up of five stages and a prologue, and runs until Sunday.
Redlands Bicycle Classic
Stage 1 : Crestline Road Race
Stage rankings (unofficial, times not yet available)
1. Genevieve Jeanson (CAN, RONA)
2. Lyne Bessette (CAN, Quark)
3. Christine Thornburn (USA, Webcor)Sue
4. Karen Bockel (GER, TDS-Schwalbe)
5. Sue Palmer Komar (CAN, Genesis Scuba)
Redlands Bicycle Classic
General Classification after stage 1 (times not yet available)
1. Genevieve Jeanson (CAN, RONA)
2. Lyne Bessette (CAN, Quark)
3. Christine Thornburn (USA, Webcor)
Team RONA (www.teamrona.ca) is a Canadian women's cycling team in the Elite Category recognized by the International Cycling Union. The team is made up of four Canadian racers (Geneviève Jeanson, Andrea Hannos, Émilie Roy and Erinne Willock), three Americans (Kathryn Curi, Katrina Grove and Anna Milkowski), Israeli Shani Bloch and Australian Helen Kelly. The team has exercised a policy of zero tolerance for banned substances since it was founded in 2000. This policy is explicitly stated in all its contracts.
RONA (www.rona.ca) is the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. Team RONA receives equipment and service sponsorships from many companies, including Colnago, Biemme, Shimano, Vittoria, Bontrager, Sidi, Limar, Selle Italia, USE, Cinelli, Look, CatEye, Elite, Finish Line, Cane Creek, Saris, Power Tap, Trialtir and Cycles Lambert.