Day and Teutenberg Win Overall at San Dimas Stage Race
3/21/10 - The San Dimas Stage Race wrapped up after three days of racing with the Incycle/Cannondale Old Town Grand Prix. Hilton Clarke (Bahati Foundation) managed to win the stage after the break of five was caught and it came down to a field sprint. Fly V Australia’s Ben Day managed to hang on to the leaders jersey and the Overall after a strong display of teamwork from his Fly V Australia Team.
Ben Day told SoCalCycling.com how his race played out, “My Fly V Australia teammates really gave me an armchair ride today, once again showing our strength across the boards. After winning the first intermediate sprint in this dominate display, the GC pressure was relieved a bit for the finale.” Day continued, “Coming into the finish, the race was status quo and we had the intention to set the race up for one of our sprinters. We came up a bit short unfortunately and Hilton Clarke from Bahati Foundation picked up the win for their new team. Another Aussie winner - 3 in three days! Australia needs a ProTour team!”
The Men's Jersey winners.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
Ben also added, “It was a great weekend of racing and one which I bow down to my boys in the help and support they gave me. Another win for Fly V. Remember to stay in touch with the team pegasusracing.com.au and on Twitter at @flyvaustralia! Be apart of our ProTour journey!”
Hilton Clarke (Bahati Foundation) wins the Incycle/Cannondale Old Town Grand Prix.
photo © Mitchell Clinton/ www.clintonphoto.com
In the women’s race, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg soloed to an amazing stage victory in San Dimas on Sunday which saw her winning the final criterium by over a minute. Taking time bonus sprints on the way she also stole the overall General Classification by 18 seconds after starting the day 1'23" down on Peanut Butter and Co.'s Mara Abbott.
Teutenberg attacked mid way into the race and was joined by four others including Meredith Miller, Carmen Small (Colavita/Baci), Robin Farina (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) and Katherine Carroll (Peanut Butter & Co.TWENTY12).
The group of five quickly gained a minute on the field forcing Carroll to go back to the field to help defend her teammates yellow jersey. However the gap remained and Teutenberg eventually attacked the break to finish solo.
Deja Vu. Ina Teutenberg drops the hammer and the break and wins the Overall.
photo © Mitchell Clinton/ www.clintonphoto.com
"It was unexpected today," said Teutenberg. "Initially our plan was to try to get Evelyn [Stevens] the time bonus seconds as she was only 16 seconds behind Mara in GC. But she only got three seconds in the first bonus sprint so we had to go for the stage win instead.
"It was a really fast race," she added. "Peanut Butter made it fast from the beginning which surprised me a bit but it ended up being perfect because I needed the field to be a little tired when we attacked.
"We attacked 35 minutes into the race. It was really hard to make the break happen but the four of us all worked really well together. I was lucky to have Meredith Miller in the break because she was really strong today.
"I wasn't thinking that we could make enough time in a break for me to have a chance at GC but we got the gap up to a minute and we were holding it so I knew I had to give it everything.
The Women's Jersey winners.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
"At one point I thought we were starting to slow down a bit in the break so I knew I had to attack the towards the end, even though I felt bad doing that. Carmen and Robin were also in front of me in GC and at the end of a hard race I wasn't sure that I could beat them.
"I attacked with four and a half laps and I had to dig really deep to stay away. I'm happy we pulled it off. It was an exciting finish and it made up for things not going to plan yesterday."
