The Redlands Bicycle Classic wrapped up and arduous six days today the way it began, with a sweeping victory by Saturn, who dominated the race with and un-matched show of force that left the rest of the field fighting for fourth place almost from the outset. Chris Horner, Nathan O'Neill and Tom Danielson rode away from the field today to seal the top three spots on the stage and in the GC in convincing style, and Chris Horner became the first man to win the Redland's Bicycle Classic three times.

They also took the Team GC, and Nathan O'Neill finished the day in the climber's jersey.

Saturn triumphant.

There were few chinks in Saturn's armor, but there were other notable performances. HealthNet's Gord Fraser took stage 2, and 7-Up/Maxxis' John Lieswyn rode a tough and determined race, denying a Saturn victory when he, Prime Alliance's David Clinger and Navigator's Glen Mitchell relegated Saturn's Trent Klasna to fourth place on Friday's Sun-Panorama Road Race stage finish. Lieswyn's defiance animated the race everyday in Redlands, and he finished a very respectable 7th place overall.

Prime Alliance rode a steady and consistently strong race, giving Saturn the most trouble, and putting three men - Jonathan Vaughters, Danny Pate and Matt Decanio - into the top ten, and taking the second spot in the team GC. Navigator's Glen Mitchell quietly rode his way into a well-deserved 6th place. Schroeder Iron's Jacob Erker stuck solidly with the top dogs all week long and brought his team a ninth place finish. Erker's teammate Miguel Meza was the only rider not wearing Saturn's yellow and black strip on the final podium, taking the sprint jersey by a dominating margin.

Most of this crew heads out to Sea Otter next week for the rematch! Check back with the Daily Peloton for all the news.

TEAM REPORTS

Team Saturn Report from Giana Roberge

The final stage of the six day Redlands Bicycle Classic wrapped up today with a circuit race through the hills of the beautiful "sunset" loop in the outskirts of Redlands.  High above the smog, the roads traversed much of what was Friday's circuit race that decimated the women's field and brought the strong to the fore in the men's field.  Today proved to be no different, with Jeanson again riding away from her competitors and a trio of Saturn riders destroying what was remaining of the men's field. In the end, Saturn's Chris Horner and Rona's Genevieve Jeanson rode off into the sunset dressed in yellow, leaving their strong mark on Redland's history.

The men's race saw Tom Danielson, Chris Horner and Nathan O'Neill all race away at kilometer 12 into the race when the three all worked to gain some time bonuses at the climber's competition line. However, the men's field was slow to respond to the pressure Saturn levied, and soon the story was of the break and of the broken.  Prime Alliance did their best to respond, but slight disorganization caused them to quickly lose some much needed momentum to bring back Horner, Danielson and O'Neill.  The trio of Saturnites continued to put time into what became a very lethargic field, and as the three worked to open a gap, the remaining riders worked simply to finish the race. 

By the finish of the 11 laps, the Saturn team had taken almost as many minutes out of their competition,  and the only decision left was who out of the three would win the stage.  As O'Neill had already won two stages, and Horner was to be the first ever to win three Redlands Classics (two back to back), so an ecstatic Danielson got the win.  With the top three podium spots for the day and the week all tied up, the Saturn Team also celebrated the Team Title and the Mountain Classification, which O'Neill took home.  All in all, the Saturn Team won three of the six stages, and certainly left their mark on the Redlands Bicycle Classic

Navigators' Report

The final 142Km finale stage of the Redlands Bicycle Classic is always tough and a day for the hard men. However, this year, it was all about Saturn, Saturn, Saturn. Literally, the top 3 men on the overall G.C. crossed the finish line together, several minutes in front of the rest of the 24-rider main field to sew up the stage, and the race.

The on-form Chris Horner, Nathan O'Neill and Tom Danielson took advantage of a first lap split caused by Jonathan Vaughters (Prime Alliance) as he pulled teammate David Clinger to the top of the first KOM for climber points. The 3 Saturn riders attacked together, leaving the chasers to fight it out amongst themselves. The gap to the leaders stayed at about 1:15 for the first 3 of 11 laps. However, as most of the other top-15 places on G.C. were in the chasing group, the incentive to bring back the leaders evaporated as the riders didn't want to risk losing any time by blowing themselves up. The final laps were contested by only about 25 riders, as the rest of the 108 starters decided to accept defeat, and go home.

At the finish, it was the 3 Saturn riders crossing the line together, with Danielson followed by Horner and O'Neill. There were no major changes on the final G.C. and Horner maintained his Yellow Jersey. For the Navigators men in blue, the final tally for the team of 5 was 1 podium and a 6th place overall on G.C. (Glen Mitchell).

Schroeder Iron Report from Jamie Nichols

Saturn... and Miguel Meza!

Claremont, California, April 6, 2003 - The story from Redlands today is the unbelievable strength of the Saturn team. Chris Horner, Tom Danielson and Nathan O'Neill powered away from the field in the Redlands Business Center Sunset Loop Road Race, after Jonathan Vaughters set up the KOM sprint for teammate David Clinger perhaps with a little more gusto than was necessary: Clinger's nearest competitor, Schroeder Iron's Adam Livingston, was injured in a crash on yesterday's criterium course.

The Saturn power trio launch countered the KOM sprint, establishing and keeping a lead of a little over a minute for a few laps of the Sunset Loop Circuit, with Vaughters in the 25 man chase group trying to rally the troops, but the chase proved futile, and with Horner, O'Neill and Danielson the top three in the GC, the field gave up the pursuit and let the leaders go to the tune of 12:09. Only about 25 riders crossed the finish line in downtown Redlands.

Among that 25 were Schroeder Iron's Miguel Meza, who took all the sprint points on the day, won the field sprint at the finish, and was the only non-Saturn rider to crack the podium, his sprint jersey victory won by a margin of 29 points over HealthNet's Mike Sayers; and Jacob Erker, who finished 9th overall, putting the cap on a strong performance by the Schroeder Iron Pro Cycling team.

Next week the team heads to The Sea Otter Classic with good form and momentum, ready to face the challenge!

Prime Alliance Report from Roy Knickman

Sunday would be the last chance to try and break up Saturn’s stranglehold on the overall. With the great depth they had at the event, challenging riders were going to need to attack early and attack hard. Going into the first of eleven laps on the hilly circuit, it was Saturn that turned the tables on the entire field and used this strategy to their advantage. Vaughters started things out setting the pace at the front for Clinger’s and the first King of the Mountain Sprint. When Vaughters pulled off, Horner, O’Neil and Danielson followed Clinger, with the other Saturn riders sitting up. Once past the sprint, Horner attacked and the two other Saturn riders followed.

Clinger, caught of guard, started to chase but could not get to the front three. In the field, Prime Alliance organized with Pate setting a vicious pace that immediately shed all but twenty-five riders. Pate, Decanio and Vaughters set to work on what had quickly become a one-minute gap. For three laps the gap hovered between 1:10 and 1:20. With help from only one other rider, 7-Up’s strongman Lieswyn, and Pate and Decanio starting to wear down, the team gave up chase and the race was over as the Saturn Trio rode away to take the top three spots on the day.

In the overall, Saturn’s incredible performances landed then the top three positions on the podium with Horner again at the top. Prime Alliance, the only team to put up a fight, had Vaughters 4th, Pate 5th, and Decanio 8th. The team competition was the same, with Saturn 1st and Prime Alliance 2nd.

FINAL STAGE RESULTS

Stage 5— Redlands Business Center Sunset Road Race
1 Tom DANIELSON  SAT 3:23:00
2 Nathan O'NEILL  SAT 0:00:00
3 Chris HORNER  SAT 0:00:00
4 Miguel MEZA  SCH 0:12:09
5 Brice JONES  7UP 0:12:09
6 Derek WILKERSON  JEL 0:12:09
7 Phil DIXON  GBR 0:12:09
8 Peter MAZUR  LEM 0:12:09
9 Danny PATE  PRI 0:12:09
10 Jacob ERKER  SCH 0:12:09
11 Russell STEVENSON  HLN 0:12:09
12 Ben JACQUES-MAYNES  SNV 0:12:09
13 Andreas HESTLER  CAN 0:12:09
14 Andy JACQUES-MAYNES  SNV 0:12:09
15 Ben BROOKS  JEL 0:12:09
16 Christophe SAUSER  GBR 0:12:09
17 Glen MITCHELL  NVR 0:12:09
18 Michael JONES  TWV 0:12:09
19 John LIESWYN  7UP 0:12:09
20 Matt DECANIO  PRI 0:12:09
21 Burke SWINDLEHURST  NVR 0:12:09
22 Eric WOHLBERG  SAT 0:12:09
23 Phil ZAJICEK  SAT 0:12:09
24 Jonathan VAUGHTERS  PRI 0:12:09
25 Will FRISCHKORN  SAT 0:12:09
26 Trent KLASNA  SAT 0:12:09
27 Oliver BECKINSALE  GBR 0:12:09
28 Greg HENDERSON  7UP 1:00:00
29 Eneas FREYRE  LEM 1:25:00
30 Charles DIONNE  SAT 1:34:00
30 David CLINGER  PRI 1:34:00
30 Justin SPINELLI  NVR 1:34:00
30 William STEINBRECHER  JEL 1:34:00
30 Chris FISHER  JEL 1:34:00
30 Brent DAWSON  JEL 1:34:00
30 Chris PIC  7UP 1:34:00
30 Chann MCRAE  SCH 1:34:00
30 Liam KILLEEN  GBR 1:34:00
30 Zak TOOGOOD  GBR 1:34:00
30 Troy WHITE  SNV 1:34:00
30 Benjamin SHARP  TWV 1:34:00
30 Leigh PALMER  LEM 1:34:00
30 Gordon FRASER  HLN 1:34:00
30 John HUNT  HLN 1:34:00
30 Alex KOSLOV  HLN 1:34:00
30 Jeff HARTMANN  TRK 1:34:00
30 Victor AYALA  MIN 1:34:00
30 James VAN TOEVER  MOR 1:34:00
30 Hovey CARTER  MOR 1:34:00
30 Matt USBORNE  MOR 1:34:00
30 Christian WALKER  MOR 1:34:00
30 Hugh MORAN  MOR 1:34:00
30 Larry PERERA  SBC 1:34:00
30 Matt TOULOUSE  CAN 1:34:00
30 Roddi LEGA  CAN 1:34:00
30 Chris MCDONALD  SQA 1:34:00
30 Jon TARKINGTON  VIT 1:34:00
30 Blake CALDWELL  VIT 1:34:00
30 Steve TILFORD  GMS 1:34:00
30 Frank MAPEL  GMS 1:34:00
30 Bill STOLTE  GMS 1:34:00
30 Carl DECKER  GMS 1:34:00
63 Christian CUESTA  MOR 2:00:00
63 Phillip SUBLETTE  SQA 2:00:00
63 Bartek FIDELUS  CYC 2:00:00
66 Peter KNUDSON  SCH 2:04:00
66 Eddy GRAGUS  TRK 2:04:00
66 Patrick FETZER  MON 2:04:00
66 Dane JANKOWIAK  SCH 2:04:00
66 Ken TOMAN  MON 2:04:00
66 Geoffrey RAPOPORT  MIN 2:04:00
66 Josh HOROWITZ  MIN 2:04:00
66 Chuck HILL  VIT 2:04:00
74 Ricky FEDERAU  CAN 2:06:00
74 Nicholas TRUSTY  SQA 2:06:00
74 Nathaniel FAULKNER  TRK 2:06:00
77 Adrian LAIDLER  LEM 2:25:00
78 Tim CAROLAN  TRK 2:35:00
78 Drew MILLER  TRK 2:35:00
78 Chris ZUKOWSKI  CYC 2:35:00
78 Andrew PADILLA  CYC 2:35:00
78 Patrick CARO  SQA 2:35:00
78 Jason KLIKNA  SNV 2:35:00
78 Brian FORBES  JEL 2:35:00
85 Matthew SVATEK  SBC 2:40:20
85 Adam HODGES MYERSON  SBC 2:40:20
87 Tony ZARSADIAS  MOR 2:42:00
88 Michael HERDMAN  MON 2:50:30
89 Jason BAUSCH  SCH 2:57:00
89 Drew DETERS  MON 2:57:00
89 Adam LIVINGSTON  SCH 2:57:00
89 David WENGER  TWV 2:57:00
93 Ryan PINKHAM  SBC 3:15:30
94 Michael SAYERS  HLN 3:15:30
DNF Alex CANDELARIO  PRI  
DNF Michael CREED  PRI  
DNF John PETERS  PRI  
DNF Marty NOTHSTEIN  NVR  
DNF Ryan GUAY  NVR  
DNF Mariano FRIEDICK  JEL  
DNF Kevin MONAHAN  7UP  
DNF Oscar PINEDA  7UP  
DNF Doug ZIEWACZ  7UP  
DNF Todd LITTLEHALES  SNV  
DNF Jonathan HAMBLEN  TWV  
DNF Bill INNES  LEM  
DNF Nathan RUSSELL  MIN  
DNF Chris SHEPPARD  CAN  
DNF Charles COYLE  VIT  
DNF Jon SUNDT  GMS    

Sprinter Points after Stage 5
1 Miguel MEZA  70
2 Michael SAYERS  41
3 Brent DAWSON  24
4 Trent KLASNA  21
5 Gordon FRASER  18
6 Frank MAPEL  9
7 Nathan O'NEILL  7
8 David CLINGER  7
9 Chris HORNER  6
10 Matt DECANIO  6
11 Jacob ERKER  6
12 Greg HENDERSON  5
13 Chann MCRAE  5
14 Eric WOHLBERG  4
15 Ben BROOKS  3
16 Burke SWINDLEHURST  3
17 Will FRISCHKORN  3
18 Derek WILKERSON  2
19 John LIESWYN  1
20 Leigh PALMER  1  

Climber Points after Stage 5
1 Nathan O'NEILL  39
2 David CLINGER  39
3 Chris HORNER  33
4 Adam LIVINGSTON  24
5 Tom DANIELSON  22
6 Michael SAYERS  18
7 Danny PATE  11
8 Glen MITCHELL  10
9 Jonathan VAUGHTERS  10
10 Matt DECANIO  8
11 John LIESWYN  8
12 Trent KLASNA  6
13 Ben BROOKS  5
14 Jacob ERKER  5
15 Burke SWINDLEHURST  4
16 Miguel MEZA  2
17 Phil ZAJICEK  2
18 Frank MAPEL  2
19 Will FRISCHKORN  2
20 Greg HENDERSON  1  

Team GC after Stage 5
1 Saturn Cycling Team 42:37:10
2 Prime Alliance 0:41:39
3 Great Britain 0:50:16
4 7Up/Maxxis 1:41:21
5 Jelly Belly/Carlsbad Clothing 2:14:31
6 Sierra Nevada/Clif Bar 2:14:31
7 Schroeder Iron Pro Cycling 2:19:42
8 Navigators Cycling 2:22:06
9 Health Net Cycling Team 3:36:51
10 Canada 3:42:50
11 LeMond Fitness/Cra-Z Soap 3:50:42
12 Morati-Honeywell 4:58:16
13 Green Mountain Sports 5:12:48
14 Team West Virginia 5:17:23
15 Trek-VW All Stars 6:16:51
16 Vitamin Cottage/DEAN 6:27:42
17 Squadra 6:58:59
18 MinuteMaid/Dasani/LaGrange 7:04:23
19 Cyclery USA Trek VW 8:54:06
20 Sportsbook.com 9:00:00
21 Monex 9:08:44  

Individual GC after Stage 5
1 Chris HORNER  SAT 14:12:05
2 Nathan O'NEILL  SAT 0:00:01
3 Tom DANIELSON  SAT 0:00:59
4 Jonathan VAUGHTERS  PRI 0:13:25
5 Danny PATE  PRI 0:14:24
6 Glen MITCHELL  NVR 0:14:33
7 John LIESWYN  7UP 0:14:56
8 Matt DECANIO  PRI 0:15:36
9 Jacob ERKER  SCH 0:15:42
10 Ben BROOKS  JEL 0:15:48
11 Oliver BECKINSALE  GBR 0:16:33
12 Russell STEVENSON  HLN 0:16:39
13 Ben JACQUES-MAYNES  SNV 0:16:43
14 Christophe SAUSER  GBR 0:16:58
15 Michael JONES  TWV 0:17:20
16 Burke SWINDLEHURST  NVR 0:17:35
17 Andy JACQUES-MAYNES  SNV 0:18:09
18 Miguel MEZA  SCH 0:18:51
19 Andreas HESTLER  CAN 0:18:55
20 Trent KLASNA  SAT 0:19:22
21 Phil DIXON  GBR 0:19:23
22 Brice JONES  7UP 0:20:10
23 Peter MAZUR  LEM 0:22:37
24 Derek WILKERSON  JEL 0:27:09
25 Phil ZAJICEK  SAT 0:31:47
26 Eric WOHLBERG  SAT 0:31:53
27 Will FRISCHKORN  SAT 0:35:53
28 Greg HENDERSON  7UP 1:19:16
29 Liam KILLEEN  GBR 1:39:31
30 Christian WALKER  MOR 1:39:39
31 Hugh MORAN  MOR 1:40:19
32 Chris FISHER  JEL 1:40:22
33 James VAN TOEVER  MOR 1:40:24
34 Troy WHITE  SNV 1:40:43
35 Alex KOSLOV  HLN 1:41:00
36 Steve TILFORD  GMS 1:41:33
37 John HUNT  HLN 1:41:53
38 Matt TOULOUSE  CAN 1:42:16
39 Gordon FRASER  HLN 1:42:24
40 David CLINGER  PRI 1:44:47
41 Hovey CARTER  MOR 1:47:39
42 Chris PIC  7UP 1:51:18
43 Chann MCRAE  SCH 1:51:45
44 Carl DECKER  GMS 1:52:14
45 Zak TOOGOOD  GBR 1:52:56
46 Eneas FREYRE  LEM 1:52:56
47 Frank MAPEL  GMS 1:53:17
48 Roddi LEGA  CAN 1:53:57
49 Larry PERERA  SBC 1:54:42
50 Bill STOLTE  GMS 1:56:25
51 Blake CALDWELL  VIT 1:56:31
52 Jon TARKINGTON  VIT 1:56:49
53 Chris MCDONALD  SQA 1:56:53
54 Brent DAWSON  JEL 1:57:59
55 Charles DIONNE  SAT 1:58:15
56 Leigh PALMER  LEM 1:58:20
57 William STEINBRECHER  JEL 2:04:44
58 Benjamin SHARP  TWV 2:08:02
59 Jeff HARTMANN  TRK 2:08:43
60 Matt USBORNE  MOR 2:10:29
61 Justin SPINELLI  NVR 2:10:44
62 Victor AYALA  MIN 2:18:27
63 Bartek FIDELUS  CYC 2:19:18
64 Christian CUESTA  MOR 2:19:47
65 Eddy GRAGUS  TRK 2:23:46
66 Dane JANKOWIAK  SCH 2:25:39
67 Peter KNUDSON  SCH 2:27:29
68 Josh HOROWITZ  MIN 2:29:09
69 Phillip SUBLETTE  SQA 2:30:39
70 Ricky FEDERAU  CAN 2:34:14
71 Adrian LAIDLER  LEM 2:34:33
72 Patrick FETZER  MON 2:42:17
73 Nicholas TRUSTY  SQA 2:42:44
74 Geoffrey RAPOPORT  MIN 2:46:42
75 Nathaniel FAULKNER  TRK 2:47:15
76 Drew MILLER  TRK 2:51:04
77 Ken TOMAN  MON 2:51:09
78 Chuck HILL  VIT 2:51:28
79 Jason KLIKNA  SNV 2:56:14
80 Brian FORBES  JEL 3:05:57
81 Tim CAROLAN  TRK 3:10:23
82 Patrick CARO  SQA 3:13:11
83 Andrew PADILLA  CYC 3:14:12
84 Adam LIVINGSTON  SCH 3:15:59
85 David WENGER  TWV 3:17:20
86 Jason BAUSCH  SCH 3:18:32
87 Michael SAYERS  HLN 3:24:09
88 Chris ZUKOWSKI  CYC 3:26:27
89 Matthew SVATEK  SBC 3:33:43
90 Tony ZARSADIAS  MOR 3:39:55
91 Michael HERDMAN  MON 3:40:41
92 Adam HODGES MYERSON  SBC 3:42:46
93 Drew DETERS  MON 3:57:15
94 Ryan PINKHAM  SBC 4:16:00