Eric Young sprints to Fort Bayard win (Photo Courtesy of Mitchell Clinton Photography
Dal-Cin retains race lead
April 20, 2017 (Ft. Bayard, NM) - Eric Young (Rally Cycling) sprinted to his third win at Fort Bayard Thursday. The 28-year-old also claimed stage 2 victory in 2015 and 2012. Last year's winner Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) finished second and Jos+¬ Aguirre Infante (Canel's Specialized) took third after 122km of undulating terrain through the Gila wilderness.
GÇ£UnitedHealthcare did a great job controlling the race, theyGÇÖve got that lead out dialed, obviously,GÇ¥ Young said. GÇ£But my guys also did awesome. We wanted to go into the time trial with as many guys up on GC as possible. The priority is to keep the overall intact. But coming into the finish, Adam De Vos did a huge effort in the last 500 meters to get me where I needed to be. My legs felt good and it all worked out.GÇ¥
Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling) remains in the leaders jersey heading into tomorrowGÇÖs time trial. McCabeGÇÖs finish bumped him up to second place overall thanks to bonus seconds available on the line. His teammate Daniel Jaramillo sits in third place, 12 seconds down.
GÇ£My team rode amazing,GÇ¥ Dal-Cin said. GÇ£They kept all the dangerous breaks under control and saved our sprinters and time trialers. You canGÇÖt ask for much more, we had a perfect day.GÇ¥
With a valuable bonus sprint waiting less than 10km into the stage, the race was fast from the start. Max points went to Nick Torraca (Elevate-KHS) followed by Mike Hernandez (Aevolo) and Taylor Shelden (Jelly Belly).
Almost straight after the sprint, the peloton began the first of three category 3 KOM Pinos Altos climb. Despite multiple riders trying to get a break going, no one escaped until around 50km in, when Francisco Mancebo (Canyon Bicycles) attacked on the descent taking Lachlan Norris (UHC), Stephen Bassett (Silber) and Mike Rice (Axeon) along with him.
Content to let the break stretch out a little time, Rally sat back and let the trio gain around a minute. However, the pace proved too much for Mancebo, Bassett and Rice. They lost contact with Norris and fell back into the bunch with less than 40 km left in the stage.
Norris kept fighting, but eventually got caught with 10km to go as the sprinter trains started to form.
On the last turn toward Fort Bayard, Young was in prime position with 500 meters to go and won by a just a few meters ahead of McCabe, who starts tomorrow in the sprint jersey. Bassett will wear the best young rider jersey. Racing Gila for the first time this year, Bayron Guam+í of Movistar Team Ecuador will wear the KOM jersey.
GÇ£We won the KOM [points] today and are happy for that,GÇ¥ Guam+í said at the finish. GÇ£Unfortunately, we were unable to be at the sprint but I think that every day we are feeling better and more confident. So, we just need to wait for tomorrow and the next day. We will try to fight until the finish. We know its hard and there are riders who are very strong but we will fight until the end.GÇ¥
TomorrowGÇÖs stage is a 16mi/26km out and back time trial starting in the village of Tyrone. The UCI women follow the men, who start at 9:15am MDT.
About The Tour of the Gila
The Tour of the Gila takes place in and around Silver City, New Mexico and consists of road race stages, an individual time trial, and a criterium. Stage 1 for the 5-day race, is a point-to-point road race en route to the ghost town of Mogollon. The criterium is held in downtown Silver City with high speeds, 90-degree turns and a brutal climb to weed out the weak. The iconic GÇ£Gila MonsterGÇ¥ road raceGÇÖs final climbing stage ends with a climb up to the tiny enclave of Pinos Altos, nestled in the Gila National Forest. www.tourofthegila.com