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BESSETTE, COOKE MAKE BMC SOFTWARE TOUR OF ARLINGTON A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ARLINGTON, MA (July 8th, 2001)- Ten months ago, people worldwide were stunned when Saturn cyclist Nicole Reinhart, on the verge of winning the BMC Software Cycling Grand Prix, was killed in a tragic accident during the 2000 BMC Software Tour of Arlington. However, those same people today bore witness to an event that was memorable for all the right reasons; a difficult new course, tremendous support from the local communities, and, most of all, the performances of Saturn's Lyne Bessette and Mercury-Viatel's Baden Cooke, who won the women's and men's events, respectively. |
The key to the day's results was the redesigned Arlington race circuit, which included a 3/4-mile climb with an average grade of 14 percent. It was a course that rewarded aggressive riding, as was quickly borne out by the women, who started their 42-mile race at 12:30 p.m., following a moment of silence. From the start, the pace was hot, as over half of the 70 starters were dropped during the first two 3.5-mile laps. |
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| Top three
female finishers of the BMC Software Tour of Arlington |
1. Lyne Bessette - Saturn Cycling Team
2. Pia Sunstedt - Team Intersports
3. Anna Millward - Saturn Cycling Team
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| Top three
male finishers of the BMC Software Tour of Arlington |
1. Baden Cooke - Mercury-Viatel
2. Vassili Davidenko - Navigators
3. Michael Barry - Saturn Cycling Team
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| Current points leaders of the BMC Software Grand Prix |
Male: Baden Cooke tied with Vassili Davidenko
Female: Anna Millward |
| Current points leaders of the Pro Cycling Tour |
Male: Trent Klasna - Saturn Cycling Team (405 points)
Female: Anna Millward - Saturn Cycling Team (210 points) |
Next stop on the BMC Software Cycling Grand Prix
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San Rafeal Women's Criterium presented by BMC Software
September 8, 2001 (Women only)
San Francisco Grand Prix presented by BMC Software
September 9, 2001 (Men only) |
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Prominent in the action were the usual suspects from Saturn, Bessette, Kimberly Bruckner, and Anna Millward, as well as a few new faces, converted mountain biker Amber Neben, who was just picked up by AutoTrader.com; and Finnish sensation Pia Sundstedt, riding for Intersports of Canada. Sundstedt in particular was active at the front lap after lap, forcing the pace in much the same way as she did when she won the Women's World Cup race in Montreal last year. By the sixth lap, a natural selection had occurred, with the five strongest riders, Bessette, Millward, Neben, Sundstedt, and New Zealander Roz Reekie-May (UPMC/Pittsburgh Cycling) going clear of the rest of the field not to be seen by them again until after the race.
The quintet worked fairly well together over the next 15 miles, quickly building a lead of over three minutes before they reached the climb for the final time. About a third of the way up, Reekie-May launched an attack that was quickly reeled in; however, no sooner had she been returned to the fold than Sundstedt launched a blistering countermove that shattered the breakaway. Only Bessette was able to match her, and the duo topped the climb together, with less than two miles of racing remaining. |
Following a descent where the duo reached speeds in excess of 40 mph, it all came down to the sprint, which Bessette took convincingly from the Finn, who commented afterwards, "I'm not very good at sprinting, so I'm not surprised by the result! I gave it my best, but Lyne was able to stay right with me, and she's a very good finisher". To top off the Saturn women's performance, Anna Millward earned the final podium spot, ahead of Reekie-May and Neben. |
If onlookers were surprised by the ferocity of the women's race, then they must have been downright shocked by the display the men put on during their 63-mile event. Of a starting field of over 80 riders, only 31 managed to finish, due in large part to the sheer aggressiveness of the big teams. On the very first lap, an eight-man breakaway escaped; joined at the 20-mile mark by five others, the group quickly left the remnants of the shattered field behind. |
Things did not get any easier from there, as, at mile 25, Chris Horner (Mercury-Viatel) jumped away from his hardworking breakaway partners halfway up the climb. Dancing effortlessly on his pedals, Horner amassed a solo advantage of 1:15 within five miles and it continued to grow. By the 42-mile mark, he had a 2:17 lead on a 17-man chase that included no less than six of his Mercury-Viatel teammates, and none of the other teams in the following group seemed to want to take responsibility for bringing him back. |
However, the Navigators squad of BMC Software Grand Prix leader Vassili Davidenko knuckled down to the job at hand, whittling away Horner's lead over the next 15 miles. With just 2 laps remaining, they had both brought the courageous Horner back and reduced the lead group to just 10 riders, setting the stage for the final act. Mercury-Viatel led much of the way up the penultimate climb, before Saturn climbing ace Michael Barry came to the fore, splintering the group and drawing Davidenko and Baden Cooke (Mercury-Viatel) away with him. |
The trio stayed away for the rest of the lap and were together on their final ascent, where Barry launched one more legbreaking attack. However, the others were able to match him, and it seemed inevitable that it would come down to a sprint, though it surprisingly became a four-up sprint, as Connecticut-based amateur Jonathan Hamblen (Wheelworks-Cannondale) bridged up to them on the final descent. |
Barry was first through the final corner and shot up the left side of the road, while sprinters Davidenko and Cooke jumped up the right. With 50 meters remaining, it looked like Davidenko might have the win, but Cooke found a second wind and took the win going away from Davidenko, with Barry and Hamblen filling out the top four. Afterwards, Cooke talked about his win, "I wasn't doing too much work on the last lap, we had six other guys behind, so it really wasn't my place to set the pace. But it's great, we've had some disappointments this year, and this win is a big one for us." |
In the BMC Software Grand Prix standings, Anna Millward's third place finish moved her into the lead in the women's standings; while Cooke and Davidenko, tied on points, stand together atop the men's standings. The next BMC Software Grand Prix events are September 8th and 9th in the Bay Area, as BMC Software presents the San Rafael Grand Prix (September 8th, women only) and the San Francisco Grand Prix (September 9th, men only). Meanwhile, the Pro Cycling Tour standings remained unchanged, as Ina Teutenberg and Trent Klasna (both Saturn) retained their orange hats of Tour leadership. The next Pro Cycling Tour event is the Chris Thater Memorial, August 26th in Binghamton, NY. |
For more information on the BMC Software Grand Prix, please visit our website at www.bmcgrandprix.com. |
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BMC Software, Inc. [NYSE: BMC], is the leading provider of enterprise management solutions that assure business availability - maintaining and optimizing business-critical systems with automated infrastructure management and unique service management capabilities. BMC Software is a member of the S&P 500, with fiscal year 2001 revenues exceeding $1.5 billion and offices worldwide. For more information, please visit BMC Software's Web site at www.bmc.com.
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USA Cycling - USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport of cycling in the United States, is comprised of more than 90,000 members, including clubs, pro teams, coaches and mechanics. Member associations include the U.S. Cycling Federation (USCF - road, track and cyclo-cross), the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA -mountain bike), United States Professional Racing Organization (USPRO - pro men's road cycling) and the National Bicycle League (NBL - BMX). USA Cycling can be found on the Internet at www.usacycling.org.
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