Toyota-United’s Justin England Wins 48th Annual Nevada City Classic

By editor on June 17th, 2008

Ivan Stevic secures 3rd place overall at the Nature Valley Grand Prix

Bend, OR– Justin England makes late solo attack to claim his first win as a member of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team at the Nevada City Classic. In what is considered by many cycling aficionados to be the toughest one-day race in America, and is the second oldest race in America, the 48th annual Nevada City Classic has been a platform for some of the great American legends of the sport to show their skills and strength over the decades. Past winners include 3-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

The 90 minute race was contested on the historical 1.1 mile loop in downtown Nevada City which features the infamous 120 foot stair step climb plus a rolling hill on the back straightaway for a tough 5,000 feet of climbing through the event. After 45 minutes of non-stop attacks, England was able to breakaway with Scott Nydam (BMC), the two worked together to increase their lead over the hard chasing field for the remainder of the race. However, with 3 laps to go, England wanted to make certain to win the race as he did back in 2004 so he attacked Nydam down the home straight reaching speeds of over 50MPH. “Once I got a small two bike length gap on Scott, I just drilled it up the hill and extended my lead to about 10 seconds” said England. I saw with less than a lap to go Scott was making his way back to me, so I gave it more juice and won by a comfortable margin and got that monkey off my back with my first win on the team and in 3 years”.

“I’m so proud of Justin’s win today, since I know how difficult that race is having competed in it myself on a few occasions over the years going back to 1980”. Said Team Owner Sean Tucker. “I remember when Greg LeMond won the race in 1980 when he came back from Europe in his Renault-Gitane team kit and he looked like such a euro pro at that time and just rode away from everyone and lapped the field except one Toby Powers”. Tucker continued, “For Justin to win this race on my watch means a lot to me personally, since I was never able to do it myself, this is about as close as I will ever come”.
Meanwhile, back in the very wet Midwest states, the rest of the Toyota-United Team suited up to defend their title at the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minneapolis, MN. Ivan Stevic was the reigning champ and began the week licking his chops to repeat as he prepares for the Olympic Games in Beijing, China in early August. Unfortunately, the team had nothing but bad luck all week long.

Stage 1, was a criterium held in pouring rain, with no fewer than half the Toyota-United Team crashing multiple times throughout the event. Then with 25 laps to go, the lead motorcycle crashed in to four riders and that was enough for the remaining riders in the race to call it a night via protest. So in the end the stage was nullified and the prize money was given to a local charity.

Stage 2, was a 106.5 kilometer road race held in sunny but warm conditions. The race came down to a battle between the Health Net lead-out train and Toyota-United train. Unfortunately, with two kilometers to go, Chris Wherry was hit from behind by another rider, taking him down and breaking his bike.
Ivan Stevic was able to manage 4th place with a banged up Dominique Rollin coming in 5th place and Caleb Manion in 8th.

Stage 3, was the crucial St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial where the overall winner typically emerges from the pack with s solid ride. Ivan Stevic was the team’s best rider on the day coming in 6th place 20 seconds down on stage winner Ben Jacques-Maynes in a time of 12:32. This left Ivan Stevic in 5th place 20 seconds back from the leader and his work cut out for him as this race is typically won by seconds not minutes.

Stage 4, was the Downtown Minneapolis Criterium, a 40 lap race in front of 30,000 fans. With the teams racing hard all night ling and the Bissell Team riding in support of their team leader, the race proved to be a fast race. “The team’s plan was to win tonight’s race so I could gain the valuable time bonus seconds to get back in the game for the overall title” said Stevic after the race. In the end, Stevic was 2nd losing to an on form Kirk O’Bee from Team Health Net Presented by Maxxis by a mere ½” but setting him up to contest the overall race and defend his title.

Stage 5, was the always challenging Mankato Road Race, a 145 kilometer jaunt through rolling hills, cross winds and a nasty 600 meter climb that greets the riders on four circuits as they come into town. Health Net’s Rory Sutherland had a little extra motivation with his Grandmother on her death bed back in Australia and he promised her he would win the race for her and that he did. Attacking repeatedly up the hill each lap with Stevic in tow until the final lap Stevic could no longer match the brute force and determination Sutherland displayed and was eventually dropped coming in 6th place, seven seconds behind race winner Sutherland. However, Stevic was able to move into 3rd place overall only 15 seconds behind Sutherland.

Stage 6, was to be a shoot out between Stevic and Sutherland as the two watched each other closely on the Stillwater Criterium, notoriously known for the 18 laps over the 18% gradient hill at the finish line. Team Health Net rode at the front all day long setting a stiff tempo to discourage any breaks to get away and disrupt what was to be Sutherland’s third overall win in a stage race in as many tries in 2008. Although, the Toyota-United boys and Stevic had other ideas in mind, in the end Sutherland was simply too strong and retained his overall lead while finishing in 2nd place on the stage. Stevic came in 4th place on the stage and remained in 3rd place overall, 15 seconds behind the winner where he started on the day. “I’m used to wining and I really hate to lose like this, but my team and I did all we could do this week so what can I say other than Rory did a great race and congrats to him”. Said Stevic after the race.