June 18, 2006 — For more than 80 miles, dozens of world class female riders tested there resolve in the wind and heat surrounding Mankato, Minn., in the fourth stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix.

But the most exciting action of the day came with the final few laps in the city. With Olympic champion Sarah Ulmer of Jazz Apple opening a 20-second gap more than a lap into the finishing circuit, a win seemed assured.

That was until the overall leader, TEAm Lipton’s Kristin Armstrong, decided to put her stamp of approval on a victory. Attacking on the third time up the Main Street hill that pitched at 14%, she pulled away from the competition to take the stage and increase her lead over Christine Thorburn (Webcor/Platinum Builder).

Armstrong, one of the strongest riders in the women’s peloton, said it was both sensing the time and a bit of luck that gave her the win.

“As we started up that hill a third time, I could sense some of the other girls getting tired,” she said. “I mean, I was tired too, but I find that when the competition is waning, you have to find that something extra and that is what I did today.

“With Sarah going the way she was at the end, I just got lucky to be in the right situation and push out in front.”

And, as usual, she brought the win back to her teammates efforts. “Being here with these eight girls makes all the difference.” Armstrong said of her TEAm Lipton teammates.

The race began extremely close, with no riders seeming to want to break away early. Just after the 37-mile mark, a group of about seven finally pulled away from the main group. Among this group were Colavita/ Cooking Light’s Gina Grain and the powerful TEAm Lipton’s Katherine Lambden. The break was short-lived, with the field catching them at the 42-mile mark.

A final group of about 64 riders remained until the 77-mile mark and the start of the circuit race through Mankato, which included the treacherous Main Street Hill. Ulmer broke out ahead and built a 20-second lead over the field. It was during the third lap that TEAm Lipton once again flexed its muscle and catapulted Armstong to the front.

Armstrong then put on a clinic as she upped her lead and cruised to a comfortable victory over second place finisher and TEAm Lipton teammate Kori Seehofer. Alex Wrubleski of Team Biovail took third.

Webcor-Platinum Women’s Cycling’s Erinne Willock had another strong showing, maintaining her BMC Best Young Rider Jersey. Ulmer was awarded the SportsPro Most Aggressive Rider Jersey for her work in the final laps around Mankato. That climb also earned her the Jelly Belly Sports Beans Queen of the Hill Jersey.

With today’s stage win Armstrong adds to her lead going into Sunday’s Stillwater Criterium. Armstrong knows that the Nature Valley Grand Prix is far from over.

“Tomorrow is going to be tough,” she said of Sunday’s crit, which includes the infamous Chilkoot Hill that pitches at 24% and is the finish for the circuit.

Men’s Report
by James Lockwood

On Thursday, Karl Menzies said Health Net’s win was a present to the team’s director, who was celebrating his birthday.

On Saturday, it was his turn to receive.
The birthday boy fought through four 1-kilometer climbs pitching at 14 percent to roll through the finish of the fourth stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. Menzies gave all the credit to his teammate and new overall leader, Greg Henderson.

“I think Hendie wrapped [the victory] up, put a bow on it and delivered it to me,” the Tasmanian said after the 86-mile road race in Mankato, Minn.

Henderson, who for the first time in five tries did not win a road race, said he was all too pleased to see Menzies take the win. “I looked over my shoulder and saw no one coming around,” he said.

“This is just as sweet,” Henderson continued. “He takes the stage, and I take the yellow jersey. It’s perfect.”

With a 15-second time bonus for first, and a 10-second time bonus for second, Henderson moved into first on GC, followed by Menzies four seconds later. Their teammate, Nathan O’Neill, dropped to third overall, finishing in the lead group.

O’Neill, who was one of the main protagonists on the finishing circuits, said it was no loss to have the win go to Menzies and the jersey go to Henderson. “That was perfect,” he said.

As easy as the win looked for Health Net, with Menzies and Henderson just rolling through the finish, the day proved to be much harder. While a lead pack featuring both Health Net and Navigator’s Insurance formed early, it was a chess match to see who would be willing to do the work. Winds played their part to split the peloton, but tactics played a bigger part, and that kept the peloton intact longer than anticipated.

“Today was a lot about tactics,” Navigator’s Bernard Van Ulden said. “Health Net wanted us to go into autopilot and start working, and that was not going to happen.”

Navigator’s reluctance to play the game — along with teams in the break missing some key riders — shut down a break of about 24 riders that had formed 18 miles into the race and built an advantage of 40 seconds. With the crosswinds in the farm country, the break would have stuck, but lack of teamwork among the various riders led to the chase catching back on nine miles later.

While Wheel & Sprocket’s Brandon Gavic tried a solo attack immediately after, the next real attack did not occur until just before the feed at mile 33. Coming out of a corner into the crosswinds just before the feed zone, Health Net moved to the front and accelerated. It proved to be the break of the day, with Navigators, Toyota-United, Jelly Belly, and two others making the cut.

The break featured some of the strongest riders in the peloton: Health Net’s O’Neill, Henderson, Menzies, Tim Johnson, Gord Fraser and Kirk O’Bee; Navigator’s Van Ulden, Hilton Clarke, Oleg Grichkine, and Siro Camponogara; Toyota-United’s Ivan Stevic, Sterling Magnell and Josh Thornton; Jelly Belly’s Brice Jones and Matt Rice; TargeTraining’s Frank Pipp; and Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home’s Jonathan Page.

Missing from the break was Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada, and that kept the gap steady at around 90 seconds and the pressure on the break.

“That’s why everyone had to ride,” Menzies said the work in the break. “People were just burying themselves.”

A couple of times, the gap started to drop, but each time riders would find some food, energy, and a little push from others in the break and managed to hold the gap.

Entering the circuit, the lead pack came through all together except for one — Grichkine, who flatted just a few blocks from the circuit. It was the second road race in a row Navigators lost a member of the break to a flat.

“Losing Oleg was huge,” said Navigator’s director sportif Ray Cipollini. “He’s such a motor.”

With Grichkine out, that left Health Net in the driver’s seat with six men in the break. Navigator’s only had four. “There’s only so much you can do,” Cipollini said.

Most of the group stayed together the first lap, with Clarke taking the King of the Hills points. As the group entered the climb the second time, things shattered. Pipp — who took the sprinter’s jersey with the day’s ride — accelerated with Menzies, and riders started falling out the back.

“I have to give credit to TargeTraining and Pipp,” Menzies said. “He was one of the strongest guys out there.”

Behind them, Henderson, O’Neill, Van Ulden, Milne, Clarke, Thornton, and Page started to settle into a rhythm. While Menzies and Pipp’s lead never grew large, it was enough for them hold starting up the third time. Up the climb, Milne and Henderson joined.

Then O’Neill attacked. In his big ring, he sped away from the pack, taking only Thornton with him. Van Ulden was suffering and losing his grip on third place GC. Going through the start/finish line, it was Milne, Henderson, Menzies, O’Neill, Pipp, and Thornton.

Pipp and Milne were in no position to hurt Health Net, and a game of cat-and-mouse began to see who would work. That allowed Van Ulden, Clarke, Stevic, and Page to catch back on.

“It was like a track ride out there,” Van Ulden said. “Today was a lot of tactics.”

On the last time up the climb, O’Neill accelerated again, taking Pipp, Milne, Henderson, and Stevic with. Van Ulden and Menzies looked to be popped as the leaders rolled over the summit.

O’Neill said with Van Ulden back, he did not think Menzies would be in too much trouble for the finish. “I figured Van Ulden would try to get back on and pull Menzies with him.
Van Ulden said that was pretty much what happened. “I was the convenient guy in the right spot.”

It also helped Menzies that no one up front was challenging for the win before the finishing straight.

“No one in the group had any acceleration at all,” O’Neill said. “It made my job easy.”
As Menzies and Van Ulden sped down the hill, Menzies saw his chance to get back on and assume his duties pulling Henderson to the line. Only Pipp gave any shot of breaking Health Net.

“I just thought I didn’t want to wait around and let it come down to a sprint,” he said. “Health Net was just going to take it to the line. So I gave it a little shot about 1.5 kilometers from the finish.”

But O’Neill, Menzies, and Henderson proved too strong and the course too tight.

“It was just so short through the last two corners,” said Clarke, who nipped Stevic at the line for third place. “I don’t think any of us were expecting that.”

Despite having three Health Net riders in the top three, Cipollini said the race is not done, with Van Ulden sitting fourth 19 seconds back. “We’ll do what we can [in the last stage],” he said. “The game is not over.”

The Nature Valley Grand Prix concludes Sunday with a fifth stage criterium in Stillwater, Minn., featuring a finishing climb pitching at 18 percent.

Results

Women

1. Kristin Armstrong (TEAm Lipton) 3.53.45
2. Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton) 0.34
3. Alex Wrubleski (Team Biovail)
4. Erinne Willock (Webcor-Platinum)
5. Sue Palmer-Komar (Colavita/ Cooking Light)
6. Mara Abbott (Rio Grande/Sports Garage)
7. Christine Thorburn (Webcor-Platinum)
8. Sarah Ulmer (Jazz Apple) 1.03
9. Anne Samplonius (Team Biovail) 1.23
10. Tina Pic (Colavita/ Cooking Light)

15. Felicia Gomez (Webcor-Platinum) 2.27
17. Betina Hold (Webcor-Platinum)
19. Leigh Hobson (Victory Brewing Team)
21. Amanda Shaw (Team Biovail)
26. Emilie Roy (Equipe du Quebec)
29. Karol-Ann Canuel (Equipe du Quebec)
39. Joelle Numainville (Team Biovail) 4.14
44. Gina Grain (Colavita/ Cooking Light)
61. Tara Ross (Victory Brewing Team) 9.32
62. Lisa Sweeney (Colorado Premier Training – Colnago)
63. Kirsten Robbins (Victory Brewing Team) 11.52
64. Jennifer Trew (Team Kenda Tire)
75. Stephanie Bourbeau (Team Biovail) 13.58
79. Julia Bradley (Team R.A.C.E.) 16.59
83. Joanie Caron (Equipe du Quebec)
85. Marie-Pier Bédard (Equipe du Quebec)
87. Alison Testroete (Team Biovail)
DNF Johanne Cyr (Equipe du Quebec)


GC after Stage 5

1. Kristin Armstrong (TEAm Lipton) 7.14.44
2. Christine Thorburn (Webcor-Platinum) 1.08
3. Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton) 1.10
4. Erinne Willock (Webcor-Platinum) 1.26
5. Alex Wrubleski (Team Biovail) 1.28
6. Sue Palmer-Komar (Colavita/ Cooking Light) 1.32
7. Mara Abbott (Rio Grande/Sports Garage) 2.08
8. Sarah Ulmer (Jazz Apple) 2.14
9. Anne Samplonius (Team Biovail) 2.38
10. Felicia Gomez (Webcor-Platinum) 3.30

22. Leigh Hobson (Victory Brewing Team) 7.21
23. Emilie Roy (Equipe du Quebec) 7.46
24. Betina Hold (Webcor-Platinum) 7.58
26. Amanda Shaw (Team Biovail) 8.05
33. Karol-Ann Canuel (Equipe du Quebec) 10.36
38. Gina Grain (Colavita/ Cooking Light) 11.36
43. Joelle Numainville (Team Biovail) 12.20
54. Lisa Sweeney (Colorado Premier Training – Colnago) 14.34
62. Tara Ross (Victory Brewing Team) 18.36
66. Kirsten Robbins (Victory Brewing Team) 20.26
71. Jennifer Trew (Team Kenda Tire) 22.31
74. Alison Testroete (Team Biovail) 23.02
80. Marie-Pier Bédard (Equipe du Quebec) 25.48
81. Joanie Caron (Equipe du Quebec) 27.13
85. Stephanie Bourbeau (Team Biovail) 31.21
91. Julia Bradley (Team R.A.C.E.) 36.32

Men

1. Karl Menzies (Health Net pb Maxxis) 3.15.57
2. Greg Henderson (Health Net pb Maxxis)
3. Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance)
4. Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United)
5. Jonathon Page (Colavita Olive Oil – Sutter)
6. Frank Pipp (Targetraining)
7. Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance)
8. Bernard Van Ulden (Navigators Insurance)
9. Nathan O’Neill (Health Net pb Maxxis)
10. Gordon Fraser (Health Net pb Maxxis)

26 Martin Gilbert (Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada) 3.04

GC after Stage 5

1. Greg Henderson (Health Net pb Maxxis) 5.36.06
2. Karl Menzies (Health Net pb Maxxis) 0.04
3. Nathan O’Neill (Health Net pb Maxxis) 0.06
4. Bernard Van Ulden (Navigators Insurance) 0.19
5. Gordon Fraser (Health Net pb Maxxis) 0.26
6. Frank Pipp (Targetraining) 0.43
7. Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) 0.54
8. Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) 1.17
9. Jonathon Page (Colavita Olive Oil – Sutter) 1.23
10. Matt Rice (Jelly Belly) 1.38

13. Martin Gilbert (Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada) 4.25