March 30, 2010

Redlands, Calif. – The precarious sixth-tenths-of-a-second lead that Australian Ben Day took into the final day of the Redlands Bicycle Classic stood up for overall victory Sunday on a frenetic final stage.


Photo Courtesy of - Brian Hodes www.veloimages.com

The Fly V Australia rider’s victory will go into the books as the first National Racing Calendar stage race win for Day and the first for the second-year continental team that has ambitions to reach even higher levels in years to come. The win was also the squad’s 18th of  
the season and follows Day’s wire-to-wire overall title at last week’s San Dimas Stage Race.

Fly V Australia Director Sportif Henk Vogels said the victory could not have been achieved without the incredible “mateship” that exists among the Fly V Australia riders, management and staff. It was that unique Australian bond that kept confidence high throughout the four-
day race.

“What I saw out there was a bunch of mates bleeding for each other,” Vogels said. “It’s been like this from Day 1 on this team and it just seems to be getting stronger.”

Day said he never felt like his slim lead over Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling) was in jeopardy – not when Ben’s brother, Andy, infiltrated a breakaway that gained three minutes at one point; not after he crashed in the feed zone on one of the 12 circuits of the 7.5-
mile Sunset Loop; and not when Rory Sutherland (United Healthcare presented by Maxxis) was set up by his team for the sprint finish to earn a potential race-winning 10-second time bonus.

“We out-witted them today,” Day said. “The boys laid it on the line for me. This is as much a win for them as it is for me.”

Ben Jacques-Maynes finished second and Will Routely led a 3-4-5 finish by Jelly Belly Cycling presented by Kenda. In the end, only four seconds separated the top sixth riders overall. Day became the first wire-to-wire winner of Redlands since Nathan O’Neill won a three-stage  
(time trial, criterium, road race) edition in 2006.

Another hero of the day for Fly V Australia was Canadian Charles Dionne, who finished runner-up to Alejandro Borrajo on the final stage.

“It’s amazing that he did that after doing so much work on the front,” Day said.

Fly V Australia placed a third rider, Jay Thomson, on the final podium as the winner of the best sprinter competition. The South African said he never intended to defend the jersey he earned after riding on the front of the peloton in Saturday’s Stage 2 criterium in defense of  
Day’s lead.

“The yellow jersey was always No. 1,” Thomson said. “And we never had any doubt we were going to win.”

In addition to the team’s performances in the Redlands Bicycle Classic, Fly V Australia’s Alessandro Bazzana won the LA Circuit Race and David Kemp finished runner-up to Rahsaan Bahati (Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team) in the non-stage criterium for Pro-I-II men Sunday  afternoon in Downtown Redlands.

– Fly V Australia –

Photo credits - Brian Hodes www.veloimages.com