jesse anthony wins nature valley

[SteveP]

nice race by the kid. hes been killing it all year and ending up 2nd and 3rd...
this one came right for him.
1st place gc- a sweet win for jess and the team.

he is a really talented road rider... gets missed cause of the long time cross connection

[e-RICHIE]

nice race by the kid. hes been killing it all year and ending up 2nd and 3rd...
this one came right for him.
1st place gc- a sweet win for jess and the team.

he is a really talented road rider... gets missed cause of the long time cross connection

it seems like he's been around forever atmo and he only turned 26 this month. looks like 'cross might soon take a back seat.
Focus On the Road For Anthony  | podiuminsight.com

[Chance Legstrong]

nearly stole the show Friday night from UHC
made the right move(s) yesterday
fought and scrapped like a veteran today

well earned win for a super human being! (and a pretty good bike racer)

[Chris]

So sweet. I was stoked to see him take it after his performance Friday night. And sticking it to UHC yesterday was great too. Tilford is right.

[e-RICHIE]

Tilford is right.

yeah - i am trying to get him to waste time over here; maybe we should all camp out on his site atmo!

[Chance Legstrong]

yeah - i am trying to get him to waste time over here; maybe we should all camp out on his site atmo!

im racing with him next weekend. we'll kibitz

[SteveP]

jess is downsizing cross for the next couple of seasons.
cant do everything well.

[Chance Legstrong]

jess is downsizing cross for the next couple of seasons.
cant do everything well.

seems like the week long SR suit him. he was pretty geeked up during that french one a while back

[ned]

Tilford is right.

Seems like Nature Valley turned into a win-win for the rivals. UHC gets 5 of 6 stage wins, especially the ones that counted in front of the VIPs. KBS gets the overall.

The women's world champ won 3 of 5 stages in one of the most important domestic races. Is that sandbagging too? (She was spotted in town last weekend. Would've thought her a poser in WC kit if not for the lack of a helmet.)

[Chance Legstrong]

Seems like Nature Valley turned into a win-win for the rivals. UHC gets 5 of 6 stage wins, especially the ones that counted in front of the VIPs. KBS gets the overall.

The women's world champ won 3 of 5 stages in one of the most important domestic races. Is that sandbagging too? (She was spotted in town last weekend. Would've thought her a poser in WC kit if not for the lack of a helmet.)

how is that sandbagging when she races for a US team?
UHC is the only 'bagger in this race and it bit them in the ass

[SteveP]

id say for uhc..getting their pocket picked on gc is not a desired result.
nobody in the 5-6 man break on the road stage?
ouch
where is the team captain?

top guy 10th?
lot of watching,... not as much racin'

[ned]

By no means did I mean to send this one off track from the original post giving props to J Anthony. He had a great week, rode very wisely on Sat, and deserves the top step. At this time last year, Zwizanski--UHC's main competition at NVGP--was already in negotiations with his current team. Hopefully the same "upgrade" holds for Jesse.

As for all the sandbagging talk, here's my take: Last year, NVGP was very negative between UHC and, primarily, KBS. Keep in mind this was a big event for UHC in their 1st year with a Fortune 500 sponsor. The St Paul crit was a significant VIP event with a tent, catering, etc--think Skybox entertainment. After the race, while the VIPs were reveling in the UHC win, some KBS boys thought it applicable to cuss some UHC boys in the presence of said audience. It all seemed to go downhill from there. (Somewhat unrelated, UHC--the company--was displeased with the way UHC--the cycling team--managed the VIP functions and requested the dismissal of the PR guy.)

I think UHC lobbied USAC to lobby UCI to grant permission to race NVGP so they could redeem themselves in the eyes of the corporate deciders. I think all parties--including the NVGP promoters who granted UHC entry--were in favor because UHC--the company--has become involved in both team and race sponsorship ( and they have a shitload of money). Once entry was granted, UHC sent a solid team with winning aspirations. This is a contract year, and if they don't have the same cashflow next year, they're dead.

My previous point was that the whole stage race turned into a win-win situation. I wasn't there this year, but I suspect one of those crits had a big-ass UHC VIP thing going on. At the crits, UHC squad did not disappoint. They botched Saturday's road race, and blew the GC; but last year there was only ONE corporate VIP to be seen at the last stage. UHC corporate got their kick-ass Skybox experience at the St Paul and Uptown crits and paid no attention to the rest of the stage race. Meanwhile, the UHC squad made PR appearances and raised money for charity. KBS, who also has a sponsor in the twin cities, got the GC win. UHC loaded the podium in front of their VIPs. Win-win, I think.

(In disclosure, I worked as a swanny for UHC at NVGP last year. I probably saw too much and was privy to more gossip than should be thrown on the internet.)

[jmg]

The win-win factor goes even further - Optum Health, the presenting sponsor of KBS, is actually part of UnitedHealth Group, so in a sense they still had a piece of the GC.

[e-RICHIE]

I think UHC lobbied USAC to lobby UCI to grant permission to race NVGP so they could redeem themselves in the eyes of the corporate deciders. I think all parties--including the NVGP promoters who granted UHC entry--were in favor because UHC--the company--has become involved in both team and race sponsorship ( and they have a shitload of money).

if this is true it sucks even more atmo. reads like typical colorado springs old boy network
stuff with favors granted base on money and cronyism. how likely true is your hunch?

[the bottle ride]

yeah - i am trying to get him to waste time over here; maybe we should all camp out on his site atmo!

Tilford is great- awesome insight and some great stories.
I am in awe of the longevity of his career- who else was racing Cactus cups in the early 90's still races today?