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COLAVITA/SUTTER HOME MEN’S CYCLING TEAM WINS TWO OF THREE STAGES AT SAN DIMAS
2008 San Dimas Stage Race
March 28-30, 2008
San Dimas, CA
Race Report by Kirsten Robbins
Stage Three (Incycles Criterium, 90 minutes): In his first season racing with the Colavita/Sutter Home Men’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light, Luis Amaran delivered the team’s second stage win at the San Dimas Stage Race in a close sprint in the 90-minute downtown criterium.
Luis and his breakaway companion, Cameron Evans (Symmetrics), broke away from the peloton 40 minutes into the lengthy criterium. The two riders worked efficiently with one another until the final lap when Luis out-maneuvered Evans in a two-up sprint to take the stage victory. “Evans beat me in the bonuses so I had to be a bit more tactical in the final sprint and make sure that I started from behind him,” said Luis. “I pulled through the uphill, then Evans took the front on the downhill into the last corner and I came around him before the line.”
Luis finished in 5th in the overall GC, with teammates Tyler Wren and Anthony Colby following in 8th and 10th, respectively. “We are very happy to have two stage wins in San Dimas,” said Luis. “We won in a field sprint yesterday and a breakaway today. That shows how well balanced our team is.”
Stage Two (Sand Dimas Hospital Road Race, 84 miles): Alejandro Borrajo of the Colavita/Sutter Home Men’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light captured his third victory of the season in a field sprint against the most feared sprinters in the American peloton. Alejandro won the bunch sprint decisively ahead of Henk Vogels (Toyota-United) and Jonathan Cantwell (Jittery Joes). His Colavita/Sutter Home teammates Luis Amaran, Sebastian Haedo, and Davide Frattini represented the squad in several of the stage’s early breakaways as the team focused on advancing the rankings of its GC riders Tyler Wren and Anthony Colby within the top 10.
Alejandro credits his teammates with creating the opening he needed: “The first key moment was when Luis Amaran took me through the park and all the way to the front of the field before the climb. Then there was an attack with three riders over the top of the climb and my brother Anibal sacrificed himself to bring those riders back before the finishing straight away. Then I was able to work my way through the field for a good sprint.” While the fast pace on the climb on the circuit was challenging, Alejandro said, “It suits my kind of strength. I told my teammates that I needed to be in good position over the top of the climb so they brought me to the bottom of it in tenth position and all I had to do was hold that over the top.”
Stage One (Glendora Mountain Time Trial, 3.8 miles): Andy Guptill, Tyler Wren, Sebastian Haedo, Luis Amaran, Davide Frattini, Anthony Colby, Anibal and Alejandro Borrajo represented the Colavita/Sutter Home Men’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light at the San Dimas Stage Race. The men placed three riders in the top 15 during Stage One’s time trial, with Tyler Wren in 7th place.
