Ciclismo Racing Leaves Its Mark on the 2009 Dead Dog Classic : Ian Gray Takes 2nd in the General Classification
Rob Noble, Director of Communications
LARAMIE,
WYOMING - June 28, 2009 - Ian Gray of Ciclismo Racing led the amateur
team to a second place General Classification (GC) finish in this
weekend's Dead Dog Classic stage race. The result is Gray's best finish
on the year and established Ciclismo Racing as the dominant team in the
field. "I am so happy for our guys," said Andy Clark, Director Sportif
for Ciclismo Racing. "We did nearly everything we wanted to do as a
team this weekend and we got a great result."
The two-day, three-stage race took to the roads on Saturday as the riders started in Albany, Wyoming at 8,400 feet elevation and rode up and over the Snowy Range toward Saratoga and then returned back over the Snowy Range to finish at Albany.
Ciclismo Racing put Phil Mann and Dan Workman into an early 5-man breakaway, forcing the other GC contenders to chase. The breakaway survived over the first big climb. A sixth rider joined the breakaway when Dan Porter of Team Rio Grand bridged over a two-minute gap near the summit of the climb and then drove the pace of the breakaway down the decent.
On the slopes of the last big climb, the main field caught all but one of the breakaway riders. Alex Hagman and Ian Gray made the final selection of top riders. Four miles from the finish, Gray attacked the leading group and only Ian MacGregor (Team Type 1) and the eventual race winner, Bradly White (Team OUCH p/b Maxxis), were able to counter Gray's move.
Hagman sat on the chase group while Gray rolled turns with two of the top pros in the U.S. Gray finished third on the day behind White and MacGregor.Hagman finished 5th on the stage.
During the early part of the downtown Criterium the next day, a 7-man breakaway established over a 30-second lead on the field. Ben Kneller of Ciclismo Racing made the selection but he decided to drop back to the main field and help his teammates chase. Ciclismo Racing took control of the chase but couldn't manage to reduce the lead to the breakaway group of 6, which included Dan Porter (Team Rio Grand) who took second and the eventual stage winner, Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly). Kneller and his Ciclismo Racing teammates limited the losses of their two GC men and both Gray and Hagman remained 3rd and 5th in the general classification, respectfully.
The Dead Dog Individual Time Trial started later that same afternoon on Happy Jack Road east of Laramie, Wyoming. The riders started at an elevation of 8,888' above sea level, making the stage extremely difficult on the already tired racers. Ian Gray met the challenge and took 6th on the stage to secure a second-place GC finish for the race.
"This is a great result for Ian and it's a great result for our team," said Andy Clark, Director of Sport for Ciclismo Racing. "This race suits Ian and he stepped up to the challenge."
Clark then focused his attention on his team, "Our guys rode well as a team all weekend. We got Dan (Workman) and Phil (Mann) in a breakaway early on Saturday forcing other riders to chase. Ian and Alex rode up there with some of the top pros. In the Crit, Ben sacrificed his individual glory to help our guys lead the chase. And in the Time Trial, Ian took advantage of the high altitude and rolled a fast time." Clark concluded, "It all worked this weekend."
Ciclismo Racing will compete in the Cascade Classic from July 21 through July 26th in Bend, Oregon and in The Tour of Utah from August 18th through August 23rd in Salt Lake City, Utah.More CiclismoRacing News
The two-day, three-stage race took to the roads on Saturday as the riders started in Albany, Wyoming at 8,400 feet elevation and rode up and over the Snowy Range toward Saratoga and then returned back over the Snowy Range to finish at Albany.
Ciclismo Racing put Phil Mann and Dan Workman into an early 5-man breakaway, forcing the other GC contenders to chase. The breakaway survived over the first big climb. A sixth rider joined the breakaway when Dan Porter of Team Rio Grand bridged over a two-minute gap near the summit of the climb and then drove the pace of the breakaway down the decent.
On the slopes of the last big climb, the main field caught all but one of the breakaway riders. Alex Hagman and Ian Gray made the final selection of top riders. Four miles from the finish, Gray attacked the leading group and only Ian MacGregor (Team Type 1) and the eventual race winner, Bradly White (Team OUCH p/b Maxxis), were able to counter Gray's move.
Hagman sat on the chase group while Gray rolled turns with two of the top pros in the U.S. Gray finished third on the day behind White and MacGregor.Hagman finished 5th on the stage.
During the early part of the downtown Criterium the next day, a 7-man breakaway established over a 30-second lead on the field. Ben Kneller of Ciclismo Racing made the selection but he decided to drop back to the main field and help his teammates chase. Ciclismo Racing took control of the chase but couldn't manage to reduce the lead to the breakaway group of 6, which included Dan Porter (Team Rio Grand) who took second and the eventual stage winner, Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly). Kneller and his Ciclismo Racing teammates limited the losses of their two GC men and both Gray and Hagman remained 3rd and 5th in the general classification, respectfully.
The Dead Dog Individual Time Trial started later that same afternoon on Happy Jack Road east of Laramie, Wyoming. The riders started at an elevation of 8,888' above sea level, making the stage extremely difficult on the already tired racers. Ian Gray met the challenge and took 6th on the stage to secure a second-place GC finish for the race.
"This is a great result for Ian and it's a great result for our team," said Andy Clark, Director of Sport for Ciclismo Racing. "This race suits Ian and he stepped up to the challenge."
Clark then focused his attention on his team, "Our guys rode well as a team all weekend. We got Dan (Workman) and Phil (Mann) in a breakaway early on Saturday forcing other riders to chase. Ian and Alex rode up there with some of the top pros. In the Crit, Ben sacrificed his individual glory to help our guys lead the chase. And in the Time Trial, Ian took advantage of the high altitude and rolled a fast time." Clark concluded, "It all worked this weekend."
Ciclismo Racing will compete in the Cascade Classic from July 21 through July 26th in Bend, Oregon and in The Tour of Utah from August 18th through August 23rd in Salt Lake City, Utah.More CiclismoRacing News