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Sutherland repeats; Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness shines in last stage of Nature Valley

By James Lockwood

In cycling, sometimes it’s more about your opponent’s weaknesses than your own strengths that can win you the race.

Going into the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, only seven seconds separated Bissell Pro Cycling’s Tom Zirbel from OUCH-Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland. But, in terms of racing tactics, that gap turned out to be greater.

Sutherland used his teammates to lead him out two laps to go at the bottom of the infamous Chilkoot Hill in the Stillwater Criterium to launch him ahead of Zirbel, who got caught out of position behind Sutherland’s teammates and had to dig deep to match Sutherland’s momentum.

The tactic was enough to propel Sutherland, the defending champion of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, 10 seconds ahead of Zirbel at the finish and win him the overall championship of the Nature Valley Grand Prix by three seconds.

“We had our plan this week, and we were always just one off,” Rory said. “Finally, we made our plan work.”

“Our tactic was to go as hard as we could the last three laps,” OUCH-Maxxis director Mike Tamayo said. “We knew what Zirbel’s weaknesses were. We wanted to make it really hard going up the hill and then set a blistering pace going downhill.

“We knew that going into that hill few people could stay with Rory. So, we set a lead out for Rory to go as hard as he could.”

Zirbel said he got caught in that lead out, having to check his breaks behind Sutherland’s teammates, and that little loss of momentum made the difference between first and second overall.

“It was a matter of exploiting my weakness,” said a visibly dejected Zirbel after the race. “They used their legs, and they used their tactics.

“Today, it wasn’t for a lack of legs that I lost. If I could have kept the momentum going up the hill, I could have stayed with Rory. They are smart racers.”

Zirbel’s teammate, Ben Jacques-Maynes, had other words to describe OUCH’s tactics. He accused OUCH-Maxxis of purposely checking their brakes coming out of the last corner going into the hill, forcing Zirbel to brake while Sutherland accelerated.

“Winning with their legs wasn’t going to win it for them,” said Jacques-Maynes, who last year lost to the jersey to Sutherland in the second to last stage. “[Zirbel] should hold his head up high. He was awesome.”

On the day, Sutherland finished third and Zirbel fifth. Both came behind Phillip Mamos of Amore & Vita presented by Life Time Fitness-Velo Vie, who sprinted up the finishing climb to win by two seconds ahead of Anthony Colby of Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light and Sutherland. Zirbel finished in a group of three with Luis Romero Amaran and Tyler Wren, both teammates of Colby.

It was Colby’s attack with five laps to go near the top of the 6th Street climb – coming after Chilkoot Hill and a false flat – that put he and Mamos into a position to win.

“I wasn’t really sure if we would stay away, but I thought, ‘What’s it to [Bissell and OUCH] if I go,” said Colby, who entered the day 42 seconds down to Zirbel. “I tried to stay one step ahead.”

“The Colavita guy attacked, and I was on him,” Mamos, a German living in Italy, said. “Rory comes through, and it was perfect. I knew he was strong, and I thought, ‘Just stay on his wheel.’

“I waited as long as I could, and then I just attacked [Sutherland and Colby]. It was good to win.”

“The goal was to come here to win a stage. We’re very happy,” said Mamos’ teammate, Chad Gerlach, who finished second in the Mankato Road Race and earned the Jelly Belly Sports Beans King of the Hills Jersey.

All day, the riders from Colavita-Sutter Home and Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness worked the break, but it was OUCH’s Tim Johnson and then Floyd Landis who lighted up the day. Johnson, who has been on four winning teams in the Nature Valley Grand Prix going back to the days of Saturn Cycling, started things from the gun in the second lap of the 20-lap race and then was replaced by Landis on lap four. Both men were within a minute of the lead going into the day.

With Landis ahead, Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness sent Volodymyr Starchyk ahead with Colavita-Suttter Homes’ Kyle Walmsley and Jim Camut of Land Rover-Orbea benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The four maintained a tenuous gap of 15 second through half the race until Colavita started sending more riders to up the road.

All the time, Bissell led the peloton, maintaining the gap.

“It’s tough to get a lot of time on that course,” Landis said of his chances to win. His efforts, though, working the break for 10 laps, earned him the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Jersey. “It was a good course for Rory, and a good course for the team.”

Sutherland said it was difficult through the whole stage, mostly because he had to be patient. As Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness and Colavita-Sutter Home sent guys ahead and worked the break, Sutherland bid his time behind Bissell’s train.

“It’s different to have to wait and hedge your bets,” Sutherland said the OUCH’s plan. “The longer you wait, the more daunting it is.”

“My eyes were closed going through the last two corners, literally. The goal today was to win the race, not the stage,” he said.

Sutherland described the overall victory this year as more nerve-wracking than last.year, when he went into the Stillwater Criterium defending the leader’s jersey rather than chasing it.

“Seven seconds, it’s a pretty long time,” he said. “I’d rather come in sixth than come in second, no disrespect to Tom.”

In fact, there was nothing but accolades for the way Bissell defended the jersey from the start of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

“Bissell did an awesome job,” Sutherland said.

“They did a great job defending,” said his teammate, Johnson.

Other jersey winners on the day included Land Rover-Orbea’s Bob Sweeting, who won the APC Best Young Rider Jersey; Tom Soladay of Team Mountain Khakis presented by EP-No who won the Wheaties Sprinters Jersey; and Matthew Busche of IS Corp Cycling team who won the Nature Valley Best Amateur Jersey.

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