Tour de Nez - Stage 3
Health Net's Roman Kilun had the two fastest legs of the six at the finish in downtown Truckee speedfest.  Break mates Jon Baker and Justin England deny the peloton for the podium steps.

By Briggs Heaney

Team BMC leads out the race in the turn of the century backdrop of downtown Truckee for the 90 minute criterium. Photo © 2008 Action Images

In what was an amazing day for bicycle racing in America, the third stage of the “Coolest Bike Race in America,” the Tour de Nez, unfolded in downtown Truckee. Conditions for the event were nearly perfect, with temperatures in the high 70’s and sunny skies. A stiff headwind made things interesting for the field, as the action was fast and furious from the opening gun in the seventy minute timed criterium.

Chuck Coyle (Successful Living) stays up in the front half of the peloton through the technical turns. Photo © 2008 Action Images

Multiple attacks marked the first thirty minutes of the race, as pre-race favorite Alex Candelario took an early flyer, as did Eric Wohlberg, the former Canadian national champion riding for the Symmetrics squad. Behind in the main field, the BMC team struggled to pin down the early breaks, while the other teams with big sprinters refused to do much work to help bring back the break.

'Wolfman' Candelario attacks the peloton early in the race.
Photo © 2008 Action Images

Dirk Friel (Vitamin Cottage) and then a third rider joined Candelario for the ill timed two lap break that was chased back by BMC with Scott Nydham leading the chase. Photo © 2008 Action Images

By the time the race had reached the one hour mark, a group of three had managed to escape from the field. Health Net’s Roman Kilun, Vitamin Cottage’s Jon Baker, and Justin England of the Toyota United team worked together to create a tentative gap, while behind BMC, weary from their race long effort to control the field, were unable to do much to bring the trio back. As the minutes ticked down, the gap held at twenty seconds, and the threesome was assured of being able to contest the sprint amongst themselves.

Roman Kilun leads the break of the day, Kilun attacked and was joined by Justin England and Jon Baker. Photo © 2008 Action Images

On the bell lap, the tactics began to play out, as each of the three riders began taking long looks at each other in an attempt to gauge the strength of each other. Coming down the home stretch, it was all Roman Kilun as the 26 year old from Oakland, California took the win easily ahead of Baker and England.

The peloton lines out as the chase ups the pace to close the trio down.
Photo © 2008 Action Images

Kilun explained the situation on the road, and what his thoughts were during the race. “I was feeling really good when I went away with Justin and Jon, and I was surprised that we were able to get such a big gap. My next thought was for my teammates Corey Collier and Matt Cooke, who are high up on the GC. I didn’t want our break to get too much time, but I also wanted to go for the stage win. Since our gap didn’t get too big, I decided to go for it.” Speaking of winning against Baker and England, Kilun explained, “I felt pretty good. You know, they’re both good riders, so I didn’t take them for granted, but I was definitely confident that I could win.”

BMC's Mike Sayers leads the chase bringing the gap down... but not enough as the trio kept them at bay as the bell went off for the final lap. Photo © 2008 Action Images

In what was a great day for the Health Net squad, Cooke and Collier finished second and third respectively in the morning time trial, while Kilun managed the win in the evening criterium. In looking to tomorrow’s road race, Kilun was humble. “I’ll work for my teammates, and try to give them the best chance possible to stay towards the top of the GC. They are both huge talents, and are really good climbers. They’ll show it for sure tomorrow.”

Roman Kilun of Health Net had the fastest legs of the day besting Jon Baker of Boulder Team Vitamin Cottage and Toyota United's Justin England. Photo © 2008 Action Images

In the GC picture, BMC’s Ian McKissick was able to retain the leader’s red jersey, which he’ll try to defend or pass on to a teammate tomorrow on stage four. Roman Kilun claimed the latest green points jersey, while Adam Switters of the Rock Racing team was able to retain the white jersey of best U-23 rider despite significant mechanical problems with his back wheel throughout the race. “I had a problem with my back wheel, my gear kept slipping out on the sharp turns. I ended up being gapped very lap and had to work really hard just to stay in contact.”

The Jersey winners return to the podium: Sprint Points - Roman Kilun (HealthNet), G.C. leader -Ian McKissick (BMC Pro Cycling), and Best Young Rider - Adam Switters (Rock Racing) Photo © 2008 Action Images

Racing continues tomorrow with a 65 mile circuit race that is sure to shake up the general classification, as the riders will tackle 10 laps of a demanding 6.5 mile circuit, with a total of over 800 vertical feet of climbing on each circuit. Look for BMC to be out in force, along with Kelly Benefit’s Andrew Bajadali and Bissel’s Burke Swindlehurst. Finally, today’s breakaway rider Justin England should be in the mix, as he tries to take the overall win without any team support.

Health Net/Maxxis Comments
Kilun kills it in the evening crit,
Roman Kilun of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis was the driving force at the front of a three-man break in the technical Stage 3 Tour de Nez criterium Thursday evening in Truckee, CA. So when the break succeeded in eluding the grasp of the chasing field, it was only fitting that Kilun was at the front coming across the line in front of a very vocal crowd approaching 5,000.

Kilun had plenty of time to post his victory over his two break-mates, Jon Baker (Vitamin Cottage) and Justin England (Toyota-United), and earn a win that moved him up to 10th overall. The win also earned Kilun the sprint leader’s jersey.

“All the main GC riders were really aggressive this evening,” Kilun said. “Once we got in the break, I saw Justin was struggling a bit, so I drove the pace. I was trying to keep the gap at 20 seconds, then let it come down as the chase picked up. The ideal would’ve been for me to get the win, but only maybe by a second.”

Stage 3 Podium: Johnathon Baker (Vitamin Cottage), Roman Kilun (HealthNet), and Justin England (Toyota-United) Photo © 2008 Action Images

Tour de Nez
Stage 3 Results
Truckee Downtown Criterium
1 100 KILUN, Roman HEA 1:14:18 0:00:00 10
2 60 BAKER, Jonathan VIT 1:14:18 0:00:00 6
3 7 ENGLAND, Justin TOY 1:14:18 0:00:00 4
4 18 ESCUELA, Ricardo SUC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
5 1  CANDELARIO, Alex KEL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
6 17 WHITE, Bradley SUC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
7 54 VAN UDEN, Roman ROR 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
8 10 MCKISSICK, Ian BMC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
9 25 OLSON, Aaron BIS 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
10 5  BAJADALI, Andrew KEL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
11 32 JACQUES-MAYNES, Andy CAL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
12 42 LIVINGSTON, Adam 5SW 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
13 11 SAYERS, michael BMC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
14 13 NYDAM, scott BMC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
15 27 SWINDLEHURST, Burke BIS 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
16 92 GIL, Andres PAC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
17 85 COLLIER, Corey HEA 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
18 3  BUCHHOLZ, Brian KEL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
19 4 BOWMAN, Daniel KEL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
20 41 GRITTERS, Brandon TEA 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
21 20 ZIRBEL, Tom BIS 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
22 97 WOHLBERG, Eric SYM 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
23 8 HOLT, Ian US 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
24 95 COZZA, Steven SLI 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
25 46 DEIBLER, Nathaniel 5SW 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
26 63 FRIEL, Dirk VIT 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
27 61 PINKERTON, Joseph VIT 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
28 2 SPINELLI, Justin KEL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
29 52 MILLER, Carson ROR 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
30 79 AYALA, Victor KAH 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
31 81 COOKE, matthew HEA 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
32 78 BRADSHAW, Ben KAH 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
33 34 MOORE, Jesse CAL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
34 35 VIGUS, Devon CAL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
35 33 MATTIS, James CAL 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
36 71 MACH, Paul ZTE 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
37 83 CLARK, dylan BPG 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
38 23 HOWARD, Steven BIS 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
39 24 KEM, Omer BIS 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
40 15 COYLE, Chuck SUC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
41 96 BENNETT, Eric SLP 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
42 94 SWITTERS, Adam ROC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
43 70 KEARNEY, Christian ZTE 1:14:31 0:00:13 "
44 40 BORDINE, Karl TEA 1:15:08 0:00:50 "
45 22 HOWARD, Graham BIS 1:15:35 0:01:17 "
46 26 SCHMITT, Morgan BIS 1:15:38 0:01:20 "
47 89 KERR, Justin LIQ 1:15:38 0:01:20 "
48 76 PARRA, Edgar KAH 1:15:38 0:01:20 "
49 62 REICHARDT, Randy VIT 1:15:39 0:01:21 "
50 90 KOKE, Kris LIQ 1:15:39 0:01:21 "
51 80 BESTWICK, Andy ALL 1:15:41 0:01:23 "
52 98 FARNHAM, Timothy NBS 1:15:41 0:01:23 "
53 43 GUNN-WILKINSON, James 5SW 1:15:41 0:01:23 "
54 19 RABY, Ben SRM 1:15:41 0:01:23 "
55 16 GUNN, Curtis SUC 1:15:43 0:01:25 "
56 77 SEAGRAVE, Matthew KAH 1:15:44 0:01:26 "
57 31 HUNT, John CAL 1:16:11 0:01:53 "
58 93 WINN, Chris RMC 1:17:19 0:03:01 "
59 44 CHE, Paul 5SW 1:17:19 0:03:01 "
60 88 HOROWITZ, Josh LIQ 1:17:36 0:03:18 "
61 99 SRENASKI, Tim TOK 1:17:36 0:03:18 "
62 84 JACQUES, Michael GRE 1:17:36 0:03:18 "
63 9 COULTER, Jonathan WEB 1:17:36 0:03:18 "
64 72 SWAN, Chris ZTE 1:17:36 0:03:18 "
65 50 BARTLETT, Joshua ROR 1:17:36 0:03:18 "
66 51 HUNN, Logan ROR 1:19:10 0:04:52 "
67 91 KWON, Eddy MOB 1:19:32 0:05:14 "
68 14 STEWART, Jackson BMC 1:14:31 0:00:13 "

Abandons
21 CORREIA, Joao BIS
45 DEMARCHI, Chris 5SW
53 MORRIS, Shaun ROR
82 LOADER, logan BPG
87 KNELLAR, Ben JIT

Sprints Classification
1 100 KILUN, Roman HEA 22
2 18 ESCUELA, Ricardo SUC 20
3 23 HOWARD, Steven BIS 18
4 7 ENGLAND, Justin TOY 13
5 60 BAKER, Jonathan VIT 13
6 10 MCKISSICK, Ian BMC 11
7 5  BAJADALI, Andrew KEL 11
8 97 WOHLBERG, Eric SYM 10
9 1 CANDELARIO, Alex KEL 9
10 11 SAYERS, michael BMC 6  

Best Young Rider - U23
1 94 SWITTERS, Adam ROC 2:39:35 0:00:00
2 23 HOWARD, Steven BIS 2:39:53 0:00:18
3 52 MILLER, Carson ROR 2:40:09 0:00:34
4 54 VAN UDEN, Roman ROR 2:40:16 0:00:41
5 78 BRADSHAW, Ben KAH 2:40:17 0:00:42
6 96 BENNETT, Eric SLP 2:41:18 0:01:43
7 76 " MEX19880313 PARRA, Edgar KAH 2:42:36 0:03:01
8 51 HUNN, Logan ROR 2:44:44 0:05:09

General classification after Stage 3
62.423 km (38.787 miles) - 23.57 km/h (14,647mph)
1 10 MCKISSICK, Ian BMC 2:38:53 0:00:00
2 7 ENGLAND, Justin TOY 2:38:59 0:00:06
3 85 COLLIER, Corey HEA 2:39:10 0:00:17
4 81 COOKE, matthew HEA 2:39:10 0:00:17
5 5 " USA19730501 BAJADALI, Andrew KEL 2:39:11 0:00:18
6 25 " USAC0054612 OLSON, Aaron BIS 2:39:12 0:00:19
7 13 NYDAM, scott BMC 2:39:12 0:00:19
8 27 SWINDLEHURST, Burke BIS 2:39:13 0:00:20
9 60 BAKER, Jonathan VIT 2:39:15 0:00:22
10 100 KILUN, Roman HEA 2:39:16 0:00:23
11 95 COZZA, Steven SLI 2:39:17 0:00:24
12 18 ESCUELA, Ricardo SUC 2:39:19 0:00:26
13 17 WHITE, Bradley SUC 2:39:25 0:00:32
14 32 JACQUES-MAYNES, Andy CAL 2:39:25 0:00:32
15 4 BOWMAN, Daniel KEL 2:39:35 0:00:42
16 94 SWITTERS, Adam ROC 2:39:35 0:00:42
17 71 MACH, Paul ZTE 2:39:36 0:00:43
18 20 ZIRBEL, Tom BIS 2:39:36 0:00:43
19 42 LIVINGSTON, Adam 5SW 2:39:39 0:00:46
20 97 WOHLBERG, Eric SYM 2:39:41 0:00:48
21 14 STEWART, Jackson BMC 2:39:45 0:00:52
22 2 SPINELLI, Justin KEL 2:39:46 0:00:53
23 1 CANDELARIO, Alex KEL 2:39:50 0:00:57

24 3 BUCHHOLZ, Brian KEL 2:39:53 0:01:00
25 34 MOORE, Jesse CAL 2:39:53 0:01:00
26 23 HOWARD, Steven BIS 2:39:53 0:01:00
27 8 HOLT, Ian US 2:39:58 0:01:05
28 63 FRIEL, Dirk VIT 2:40:09 0:01:16
29 52 MILLER, Carson ROR 2:40:09 0:01:16
30 61 PINKERTON, Joseph VIT 2:40:16 0:01:23
31 54 VAN UDEN, Roman ROR 2:40:16 0:01:23
32 78 BRADSHAW, Ben KAH 2:40:17 0:01:24
33 83 CLARK, dylan BPG 2:40:21 0:01:28
34 26 SCHMITT, Morgan BIS 2:40:27 0:01:34
35 11 SAYERS, michael BMC 2:40:27 0:01:34
36 40 BORDINE, Karl TEA 2:40:37 0:01:44
37 46 DEIBLER, Nathaniel 5SW 2:40:46 0:01:53
38 92 GIL, Andres PAC 2:40:48 0:01:55

39 19 RABY, Ben SRM 2:41:01 0:02:08
40 89 KERR, Justin LIQ 2:41:13 0:02:20
41 70 KEARNEY, Christian ZTE 2:41:16 0:02:23
42 96 BENNETT, Eric SLP 2:41:18 0:02:25
43 79 AYALA, Victor KAH 2:41:24 0:02:31
44 90 KOKE, Kris LIQ 2:41:34 0:02:41
45 62 REICHARDT, Randy VIT 2:41:47 0:02:54

46 35 VIGUS, Devon CAL 2:42:09 0:03:16
47 76  PARRA, Edgar KAH 2:42:36 0:03:43
48 93  WINN, Chris RMC 2:42:42 0:03:49
49 33 MATTIS, James CAL 2:43:08 0:04:15
50 41 GRITTERS, Brandon TEA 2:43:52 0:04:59
51 15  COYLE, Chuck SUC 2:44:09 0:05:16
52 24 KEM, Omer BIS 2:44:29 0:05:36
53 51 HUNN, Logan ROR 2:44:44 0:05:51
54 31 HUNT, John CAL 2:45:24 0:06:31
55 88 HOROWITZ, Josh LIQ 2:45:39 0:06:46

56 50 BARTLETT, Joshua ROR 2:46:03 0:07:10
57 80 BESTWICK, Andy ALL 2:46:09 0:07:16
58 77 SEAGRAVE, Matthew KAH 2:46:25 0:07:32
59 22 HOWARD, Graham BIS 2:46:49 0:07:56
60 98 FARNHAM, Timothy NBS 2:47:06 0:08:13
61 99 SRENASKI, Tim TOK 2:47:16 0:08:23
62 43 GUNN-WILKINSON, James 5SW 2:47:16 0:08:23
63 44 CHE, Paul 5SW 2:47:17 0:08:24
64 84 JACQUES, Michael GRE 2:48:44 0:09:51
65 16 " USA19710731 GUNN, Curtis SUC 2:48:52 0:09:59
66 72 SWAN, Chris ZTE 2:50:38 0:11:45
67 9 COULTER, Jonathan WEB 2:52:00 0:13:07
68 91 KWON, Eddy MOB 2:53:16 0:14:23

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