May 13, 2005 - Tour of the Gila

Tour of the Gila, April 27th - May 1st
Fiordifrutta 3rd on Team GC, Wong 7th Overall, Timmerman Podiums in the Criterium

This was the last race in the Southwest before the boys headed home, and was also on the National Racing Calendar which ensured a very competitive field of riders. Larry Perera, despite being sick, joined Rozdilsky, Timmerman, Dietrich and Wong for this 5 day stage race. Taking place in Silver City, New Mexico this race promised to be a tough one with plenty of wind and elevation.

Wong 7th in Stage 1: Tyrone Individual Time Trial-16.15 miles

This day took place in the late afternoon to ensure there would be plenty of ripping winds. The course is an out and back held on rolling terrain with a gradual climb right out of the blocks. Today the wind decided to hit us with a cross headwind on the way out, which meant the last downhill would be a fast one. It was looking like times were all around 40 minutes for this brutal TT.
In the end, using a 56t chain ring for the downhill, Wong set the top time for the team with a 37:57. It was good enough for 7th place and 1:15 behind winner Ryan Blyckem(Trek/VW). The rest of the boys were not far behind with Timmerman in 23rd and Dietrich in 24th.

Wong and Dietrich Top 10 in Stage 2: Silver City to Mogollon Road Race-94 miles

It was decided today to try and sit in and relax for the final climb. This tactic was suggested by Perera, but he took one for the team and represented Fiordifrutta in the long break. Other than that the day was pretty uneventful until the last 15 miles. This allowed everyone to try and relax while Landis Trek/VW did a great job riding tempo. As the infamous Mogollon climb started to approach the peloton started to fight for position to prepare for this climb, which is 10 miles in length and rises to around 7000 feet. Rozdilsky did an excellent job of keeping Wong and Dietrich in position for the final climb.

As the pack took a final turn onto the finishing climb it seemed like there was going to be a field sprint by the way people were fighting. Then finally there was a big crash which was bound to happen. Unfortunately it took out Wong who was near the front but was still effected. The problem was his bike slid off the road and down an embankment. After climbing down and back up to the road he could see the GC contenders 20-30 seconds up the road. Fortunately Dietrich waited and helped him chase back on. By the time they caught on the attacks started to fly. Two Mexican Tecos riders just blasted off up the hill.

The boys could feel the altitude as it was very hard to recover after maxing out chasing back on. The small group was in pieces. The two Tecos riders ended up going 1-2 even putting a gap on the very strong Ivan Stevic(Aerospace) and Burke Swindlehurst(Seasilver). Wong ended the day with 7th a minute back from the Mexicans and 20 seconds from the remaining few. Dietrich came in 9th at 30 seconds behind Wong.

Wong 10th in Stage 3: Fort Baynard Road Race-80 miles

With Wong still in 7th on GC and Dietrich and Timmerman moving into the top 20, it was decided to ride today conservatively and just watch the top guys. Today featured a rolling course (up to 7500 ft) with a few big climbs and a flat finish. The main talk though was of the crazy steep downhill with many switchbacks and blind corners. This chilly day started with four Fiordifruttas as Perera was lost due to his sickness and forced to abandon. But he is a team player and decided to help out with the feed zones.

The pace was fast from the gun today with a 3rd category climb just 10 miles in, which was immediately followed by another 3rd category climb. No serious break ever got away at this point since Bajadali's Vitamin Cottage team rode a hard tempo to protect his new leaders jersey. The second 3rd category climb led us to the crazy downhill which was complete with gravel in the corners. Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai) put a gap into the field because of his bike handling abilities.

Timmerman, who was not to be out done, went with him and the two drifted their road bikes around the corners and put 30 seconds on the field by the bottom. It was crazy to watch. Their advantage was short lived since Wells was a high placed GC rider. From here on the pack stayed together and we finally came to the last 3rd category climb.

The attacks started flying and Wong, Dietrich and Timmerman covered all the dangerous moves. But near the top, Dietrich got into a great move with some strong Tecos riders. The problem was there was still 10 miles to go and Vitamin Cottage and Webcor were interested in bringing it back. They were caught with 5 miles to go as Webcor started their lead out. Coming into the finish it was stung out in the crosswind and over the rollers. At the line Wong was 10th with Rozdisky and Dietrich were right there.

Timmerman 3rd in Stage 4: Silver City Criterium - 43.2 miles

This crit course was a big square with a decent hill and the boys all raced aggressively, attacking and going on breaks. But nothing would end up sticking today. Timmerman didn't have the best position going into the final sprint, but he finally got to show his sprint off by managing a 3rd place. The others came in with the field. Great job to Timmerman for a podium at an NRC race!

Stage 5: The Gila Monster Road Race-106.4

This is the queen stage and it has five categorized climbs that rise to 7500 feet. It started off pretty relaxed as a break went off. There was a category 4 climb first at 10 miles in. The pack just cruised along keeping the break in check. Knowing what lay ahead not many were interested in attacking. At the 52 mile mark the riders were challenged by a tough 2nd category climb which very slightly whittled down the pack. After descending there was a short flat before the next climb which was a very difficult 1st category.

Right at the base, the action started with the entire Tecos team attacking. Two would get away. There was now a very select group of 7 with all the GC contenders. Wong and Dietrich made the cut and were present near the front of this group. Swindlehurst got away near the top and bridged to the Tecos riders. It was discussed and decided to try and work together and catch them on the downhill and flat before the last big climb. Pulling them back was proving tough since only four guys were working including race leader Bajadali, Wells and Wong and Dietrich.

The break was now gaining time as they hit the next Category 2 climb. There were a few attacks out of the chase group but Wong and Dietrich were right there. The climb was proving tough for everyone, but the top finally came. After a twisty descent there was one more Category 4 climb before some flats before the finish. The chase group now started gaining slowly on the last climb. We hit the downhill as Dietrich got a flat at a very bad time. He did however end up chasing back on, but he arrived at a bad time with 2 miles to go right when the attacks started flying again. At the end of the day Wong was 8th in the final drag race to the line with Dietrich in 12th.

Overall would see Wong in 6th, Dietrich in 10th and Timmerman in 28th and Fiordifrutta in 3rd on team GC. This is one of the harder stage races in the U.S. but with Rozdisky's and Perera's knowledge of how the races would play out since they both have raced it before. It made it a little easier. Plus the awesome support we got played a big factor.