Venturing to Big Bear Lake for the third year running, the Redlands Bicycle Classic presented by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians second stage revisited the same 7.8-mile time trial on the North Shore of Big Bear Lake. Blue skies greeted the racers, and a calm breeze in the morning made for a straightforward race by the women’s field, but the men would see windier afternoon conditions on the technical out-and-back course.
In a breakout performance for the nascent UCI women’s squad BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental, Rhae Shaw took the win at 16:50, an eight-second margin of victory over second place and new General Classification leader Jasmin Glaesser (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), with Allie Dragoo (Twenty 16 p/b SHO-AIR) finishing the women’s podium at 17:01. Glaesser now narrowly holds a three second lead in the overall over a tied Dragoo and Amber Neben (Visit Dallas p/b Noise4Good).
The men’s race got underway in the afternoon, with perennial time trial favorite Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) taking a big win with a blistering 15:02 time followed closely by Ryan Roth (Silber Pro Cycling) at seven seconds, and Chris Barton (KHS-Maxxis-JLVelo) at nine seconds behind. The ensuing GC shuffle saw Roth take the overall lead, with 2012 winner Phil Gaimon (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) nipping at his heels four seconds back, and Dion Smith (Hincapie Racing) six seconds behind.
The Classic’s third stage is a new twist on an old classic. The City of Yucaipa circuit race will see racers face laps on an undulating, technical circuit around the Crafton Hills with a mountaintop finale on Oak Glen, a difficult ascent not used in the race for several years. The climb features 1500 feet of climbing over 4.5 miles, and should be a defining moment in this year’s overall standings. The men’s race will see 75.9 miles of total distance beginning at 10:30 am, and the women will complete 47.7 miles starting at 11:40 am.
