Press
Valley of the Sun, a Time Trialist's Race
By: Jennifer Weaver
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Phoenix, Arizona brags about its warm and sunny winters. On February 15, 2008 which was the first and deciding stage of Valley of the Sun John Earley Memorial Stage Race, the racers rolled through the 22 kilometer time trial through cold, windy rain.
Ben Kneller of Jittery Joes won the time trial in a 29.27, only five seconds in front of the second and third place finishers, Sam Johnson and Karl Bordine, who tied at 29. 32.
Kneller went into the road race knowing the good riders he was racing against.
“We’ll see how the next few days play out here. There’s a lot of strong guys. It’s up in the air right now,” Kneller said.
Kneller beat Bordine who is the Elite Men’s National Time Trial Champion.
The circuit road race threatened and beat down the field with its two mile windy climb. For the pro one men’s road race, the climb would shatter the field but the following descent would bundle most of the field back together. The position for the top riders was shuffled a bit. During the road race, Karl Bordine of Five Star WVO, won the time bonus and finished third, giving him enough time bonuses to sit at the top of the general classification.
The criterium was a figure eight 1.6 kilometer lap peeling through the crowded downtown Phoenix.
"I was looking out for the guy that got second, unfortunately he was crashed out and so I just sat at the back to be safe at the end,” Bordine spoke about his tactics going into the final stage of the race.
With one lap to go, Rock Racing started the lead out and their sprinter Justin Williams won the criterium.
Lana Atchley of Team Rock won the pro 1,2 women’s time trial with a 58 second lead.
“I’m a time trial specialist so it’s my focus, it’s what I have a passion for. But after that it’s all about who’s going to go as hard as they can that day,” Atchley said after her time trial win.
Atchley crashed on the final stretch before the road race finish but was able to hold her lead. Beatriz Rodriguez of SC Velo won the road race.
The criterium stayed fast throughout the entire 40 minutes with big cash primes almost every other lap. Cari Higgins of America’s Dairyland won the final sprint finish.
Atchley, who is on her fourth year of racing at Valley of the Sun, appreciates the opportunity the race has given her since she started racing as a cat four woman.
"The promoters here at VOS are always organized, they are on time and they try to deal with all our demands as nicely as they can,” Atchely said.
Valley of the Sun was on its 16th year and has always run on all volunteers. It’s a grass roots race that helps to promote amateur racing with its large prize money. With about 850 riders each year, it also gives the opportunity for amateurs to race with some of the best racers on the West Coast.
"This is always going to be a grass roots race, with the emphasis on a good quality race.” said Brian Lemke, one of the lead organizers of Valley of the Sun.
