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US Open Champs Report
Symmetrics Dominates On National Television

April 7, 2007


Svein Tuft capped an incredible day of bicycle riding yesterday by winning the innaugural US Open Championships in Richmond Virginia. Tuft, who was in a two man breakaway with Slipstream's Pat McCarty, dropped the American the final time up the steep cobbled climb and rode away to a glorious victory, broadcast live across the US and Canada on NBC.

The race began in absolutely atrocious conditions - with temperatures below freezing as a result of a freak cold front that descended on the Eastern US. Riders bundled up in every bit of clothing they had. Some riders - like the Tecos riders from Mexico, had to borrow winter wear! In fact, in the spirit of sport, it was the Symmetrics team that lent their Mexican friends leg warmers and winter shells for the event. Symmetrics has ridden all over South and North America as rivals with the Tecos team. So when riders woke up to snow-covered roads, they knew that today would be an extraordinary day - so loaning extra cycling gear was par for the course.

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After a delayed start, and despite the still frigid temperature, racing was still fast and furious! With television cameras following the pack by motorcycle and helicopter, there was certainly no time to relax and bundle up - attacks began from the get-go. On a day like yesterday, the team knew they had to cover each and every move. If the peloton got lazy, it was possible that the break could ride away. As it turned out, the winds were so tough that no breakaway could stay away in the earlygoing - the conditions were that tough. "It was unbelievable," Kevin Field, team manager for the event said. "I've been to lots of bike races in my day but yesterday was truly epic. The wind was brutal but the breaks kept coming. But we fought to get in every move because we knew that if we got to the cobbled circuits we had a strong enough team to make the winning move."

The eventual winner, Svein Tuft, was designated team leader for the day and as a result, made sure to keep his face out of the wind. The S-team buried themselves for Tuft, who after an overall win at the Tour of Cuba, and a blistering victory at the Redlands Classic time trial, was one of the big favourites for the day. "I had a great ride for the first 90km or so," Tuft said. "The guys were great. I rode near the front and kept an eye on things while our team was vigilant in making sure nothing got away that didn't have a yellow and black jersey. I couldn't have done it without them."

By the time the race hit the 8 laps of the 8km circuit, riders were already fatigued--which meant the strong riders had their chance to show their stuff: And here's where Tuft did just that.

Attack after attack, and Symmetrics was there. With the third to last lap came, it was American Patrick McCarty (Slipstream) who attacked solo. Tuft knew his time was now, and he bridged up to McCarty, and with Tuft doing the majority of the work, they established a gap on the peloton which was fragmenting into smaller groups due to attrition. "Pat was getting tired, I could see that," Tuft said. "But I knew he could still give me a rest with short pulls, so we worked together. We were all getting tired from the day."

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Following Tuft was a group of 6 riders who fought to catch the duo - but to no avail. Tuft kept powering the breakaway, putting it into a massive gear up the steep cobbled climb that was the highlight of the finishing circuits. Even NBC commentators - Tour de France veteran Bob Roll and former American pro John Eustace - were impressed with Tuft's power. As well they should be: Tuft's SRM wattage meter showed that the Langley, BC rider average 415 watts for the final hour - an incredible number.

Behind, the six riders were caught by a chase group of twenty. In that group was Andrew "Pinner" Pinfold. Pinfold rode near the front of this group, making sure no one tried to attack and reach Tuft. Tuft, meanwhile, hit the final climb and simply rode away from the exhausted McCarty. Although it may have looked easy on TV, Tuft was giving an extraordinary effort. "I was giving it all up the final climb and with the remaining kms to the finish. I knew that was it, and this was my chance."

Pinner, also riding a great race, marked Health Net's Kirk O'Bee who launched up the cobbled hill in a last ditch effort to reach Tuft. "I went by 3 or 4 guys up the final hill when I saw Kirk go. I wasn't sure how close we were to Tuft but I knew I had to be on his wheel just in case," Pinner said. "As it turned out there was 5 or 6 of us that stayed just ahead of the lead group that got absolutely shredded the final time up the hill. So I'm happy with both Tuft winning and how my legs felt up the climb. It was a crazy hard day."

 
Svein Tuft | Photo © Casey B Gibson
Svein Tuft | Photo © Casey B Gibson
Svein Tuft | Photo © Casey B Gibson
Svein Tuft | Photo © Casey B Gibson
Svein Tuft | Photo © Casey B Gibson
Finish Line | Photo © Tom Saunders, VDOT
Podium | Photo © Tom Saunders, VDOT
Tuft talks with the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, after his victory | Photo © Tom Saunders, VDOT