+ RIDER DIARY

Tour of Gila
15.5-mile Time Trial
May 2, 2001
By Elizabeth Emery
www.goyoee.com
Intersports Cycling Team

Monday morning, after our coffee shop visit, David, Eva, Chloe, Cathy, I, and all our equipment caravanned in three cars from Bisbee to Silver City. Although more difficult to see going 65 miles an hour, I did get a few glimpses at the local flora - bright spring flowers are easy to spot. There was more of my favorite pale orange globe mallows, more flowering yuccas (big white tall flowers coming from the centers of spiky-leafed succulents), more occatillos (tall, thin, prickly spikes topped with beautiful, red buds expanding out from a center). There were also small California poppies (bright orange), purple asters, cactus looking things with big (4" diameter) white flowers, and many bunch grasses (I like the ones that have purple tips). Once near the Gila Wilderness, the general look of the area became more foresty than deserty, as it was around Bisbee.

For this race we're staying in a Holiday Inn just outside the wild west old town area of Silver City. We is David, manager & Eva, mechanic plus the riders me, Chloe Black, Cathy Marsal, Jessica Phillips, and Ruthie Mathes (yes, the super cool, mountain biker).

Without little kitchens, we've eaten out twice. We had a nice dinner on the patio of Gila Café. It got pitch black half-way through and I couldn't see what I was eating. The appetizer was a nice pizzetta with feta cheese and black olives. The next night we went to the Adobe Café and had Southwestern fare. I chose one of my favorites - huevos rancheros Christmas. Ruthie, the big eater of the night, had a spinach salad with chicken, no tomatoes and a veggie omelet without the tomatoes. Service has been slow. Silver City is a small town overrun by all the cyclists. A minimart was happy to have the race again in town and planned on stocking up on water. A healthy place Jessica went to yesterday, had to close on Friday last year because we, the bike riders, had eaten them out of house and home - no surprise to any of you who've had to feed us. The coffee shop woman told us the restaurant across the street was opening up special for dinners this week.

Time Trial, 15.5 miles
The field is 95 women. Saturn, AutoTrader, 800.com, P&G, Boise Cascade, Goldy's, Jane's Cosmetics, and Rona are all here. Since today was the time trial, I'm sure there were many I didn't see. Intersports was some-what incognito today. We received our new uniforms! They are stunning - baby blue as a main color with dark blue, yellow, and white accents. The shorts are dark blue with a yellow, white and pale blue side panel, that wraps around the bum.

The entire stage race is hilly. Today was no exception. The race headed up to a summit at 4.5 miles, goes down, then over two humps where we turned around and rode back to the finish. The entire race will be windy. Today was no exception and it blew in our faces on the way out.

The weather was the big news for today other than, of course, the actual results.

Genvieve Jeanson 38.46 (Rona)
Kim Bruckner 39.58 (Saturn)
Lynne Besstte 40.16 (Saturn)
Anna Wilson 40.45 (Saturn)
Sarah Ulmer 41.26 (AutoTrader)
EE 41.27 (Intersports)
Jessica Phillips 41.41 (Intersports)
Kristi Scrymegeour 41.53 (Saturn)
Katrina Berger 42.04 (800.com)
Pam Schuster 42.11(AutoTrader)

+ PRESS RELEASE

Saturn Women Remain 2-3-4 at Tour of the Gila

SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Canadian Genevieve Jeanson strengthened her lead in the Tour of the Gila Thursday, climbing with ease through the high plateau of southwestern New Mexico and seemingly unfazed by strong, gusty winds. Saturn riders Kim Bruckner and Lyne Bessette remain in second and third overall respectively, separated by one second.

Jeanson, just 19 years old, handily won the 70-mile second stage, which featured 4,530 feet of climbing, including a 5.5-mile ascent to the finish. Her winning time was 3 hours, 5 minutes, 59 seconds.

Bessette won an early time bonus sprint, picking up 15 seconds, and was part of a late breakaway that Jeanson initiated. Saturn riders Bessette, Bruckner and Anna Millward were the only ones capable of following Jeanson. But on the final climb the young Canadian from the Rona team was able to shake off all of her challengers and she finished alone, 2:19 minutes ahead of Bessette. Bruckner followed 12 seconds later and Millward was in a group that was 6:32 behind the winner.

Jeanson's overall lead is 3:53 ahead of Bruckner and 3:54 ahead of Bessette. Millward is fourth at 8:46.

In the men's 92-mile race, with 5,650 feet of climbing, Scott Moninger of the Mercury team won his second consecutive stage. The Boulder, Colo., rider who is known for ascending with great ease, slipped away on the last ascent. Scott Price was second and Saturn's Matt DeCanio was third. Eric Wohlberg, also of the Saturn team, was fifth.

Saturn was aggressive in the early stages of the race, with Tim Johnson and Trent Klasna in a breakaway, initially with two other riders. Klasna and Johnson were able to shed the others and had a 40-second gap on the rest of the field. But as the race approached the final climb, Moninger and the rest of the Mercury team, which had been aggressively chasing, caught the two leaders.

Friday's stage 3 will again feature a lot of ascending, with 5,150 feet of climbing for both men and women on a 73-mile loop. The Tour of the Gila continues through May 6.

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