Uptown Minneapolis Criterium: Men

Nature Valley Grand Prix Turns into Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home Show with Third Win
By James Lockwood

Sebastian Haedo stood before a monstrous crowd after the fourth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix waiting for his team director to translate the questions coming from the race announcer.

The Argentinean who rides for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light speaks no English. But, nothing was lost in translation with his performance Friday evening in the Uptown Minneapolis Criterium. His team lines up, he sprints, he wins.

Haedo took his second win of the six-stage race, and along with the second place he earned leading out his teammate Alejandro Borrajo in the team’s victory in the Cannon Falls Road Race, he now sits third overall with the bonus seconds that came with his placings.

“This victory is awesome,” he said. “It was a good day for me and it was a good day for Colavita. We all did our work today, and we were able to put together an important win for me.”

The third team victory for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home put the team in good position going into the 95-mile queen stage Saturday, the Mankato (Minn.) Road Race. It was something other teams were noting.

“On paper, we didn’t want Borrajo to get any time,” said OUCH-Maxxis’s Andrew Pinfold, who finished third on the stage. “Not that Haedo is not good, but Barrajo is a little better climber.”

“I think we are getting the old Borrajo back,” said Team Mountain Khakis’ Tom Soladay, who used a Bissell-controlled peloton to protect his sprinter’s jersey for the second day. “When he is on form, he is dangerous.”

For Friday, though, it was Haedo getting the accolades for his second win. The victory was not certain, however, as the team could not get its sprint train lined up until one-and-a-half laps to go in the 40-lap race.

“It was a brothel out there,” said Jelly Belly Cycling Team’s Brad Huff, who finished second. “Every team wanted to be at the front, and not everyone should have been at the front.”

“From lap 15 to lap three [to go], it was just mayhem,” Pinfold said.

Much of the race was uneventful. From the start, few riders were able to break away, and Bissell Pro Cycling marshaled the front with its whole team, setting a steady but comfortable tempo to keep breaks in check and its overall leader, Tom Zirbel, safe.

“I had an armchair ride the first 30 laps,” Zirbel said.

“It was all about protecting Tom tonight,” said Bissell road director Eric Wohlberg. “In a crit, being on the front is the best place to be.”

Soladay said that worked out to his advantage trying to protect the Wheaties Sprinter’s Jersey, a goal of his for the grand prix.

“I knew that Bissell didn’t want any of the sprint points. That was great for me. When I went up, I had eight guys between me and the rest of the field who might challenge for the points,” he said. “With Bissell up front and the tight corners, you really had to light a match to get away.”

Until the last 10 laps, Soladay and Bissell served as the show.

Then Jelly Belly moved forward with its train, and the jockeying began.

“It was a little too early with the sprints out of the corners, but it worked out for me. It allowed me to rest in the train,” Huff said.

“It worked out for Brad,” Pinfold said. “He didn’t have to fight through the laps. He stayed fresh, and it showed at the end.”

For Pinfold, his teammate John Murphy, and Colavita, it was not so easy. As Jelly Belly came to the front, Bissell as a team went back, OUCH attempted to form its train for Murphy, and individual riders from various teams tried to get onto the right wheels hoping for the victory.

“Tim Johnson was just sheparding myself and Murphy through,” Pinfold said. “Everyone was fighting for wheels. I think everyone just wanted to get the win on this stage.”

As the laps counted down, Jelly Belly started to fade, and it opened the door for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home and Haedo.

“What we came here for we got,” said Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home’s director Sebastian Alexandre. “The team did a very good job.”

Despite the convincing victories in the past three stages, Alexandre remained coy about the team’s chances to make it four in a row in the Mankato Road Race, featuring a circuit finish that includes a mile-long climb averaging 14 percent.

“Tomorrow is going to be a different stage,” he said.

Bissell’s Wohlberg concurred. Despite Haedo’s move up the general classification, OUCH’s defending champion Rory Sutherland – winner of last year’s stage in Mankato – still sits seven seconds back of Zirbel, and OUCH, Bissell, and Jelly Belly all have riders within a minute of the lead.

“Colavita is closing the gap to us,” he said. “The next two days will be a little more suited for our guys. We’re going to see who can get up that hill and see what happens. We’re going to try to turn the tables.”

 

 

 

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