June 11, 2004 – The third stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix was a
downtown criterium in the financial district of Minneapolis in the Nicollet
Mall area. The 1.2K “pancake flat” criterium course was 40 minutes of racing
and offered up a minute worth of time bonuses.

With Quark¹s Lyne Bessette sitting in the lead by only three seconds over
notable sprinters Katrina Grove (Rona) and five seconds over Lynn Gaggiolli
(T-Mobile), Bessette¹s Quark Team would need to race both smart and
aggressively to maintain the Leader¹s Jersey.

The weather was not going to cooperate, however, with heavy rain, winds, and
lightening making officials, race organizers, team managers and riders
nervous. In an effort to keep racing safe, a compromise was reached where
the stage was shortened from 40 to 30 minutes and would be for a stage win
only, with the time bonuses and points sprints removed. The General
Classification would remain unchanged, and the honor would be in the race
win only.

The race was controlled by the Quark Team with Megan Elliott at the front
setting the pace for race leader Bessette. The other teams were content to
let Quark set the pace and did not challenge Elliott¹s pace. With about four
laps remaining, the pace began to pick up as the riders prepared for the
final sprint.

Out of the final corner it was Quarks Sarah Uhl surging for the line, with
Joanne Kiesanowski in second and Melissa Sanborn in third.

With the overall GC unchanged, the Quark Team will again have their hands
full in defending Bessette’s lead. However, the remaining two stages do
compliment Bessette¹s climbing strength.

Results Stage 3:

1. Sarah Uhl (Quark Cycling Team)

2. Joanne Kiesanowski (Colavita Bolla)

3. Melissa Sanborn