March 31/11 16:56 pm - Redlands Classic: Women's Prologue, Willock 3rd

Posted by Editoress on 03/31/11
 

Amber Neben conquered another ITT today at the Redlands Classic, with Evelyn Stevens behind her. This was Steven's first US race this season and after arriving from Europe only two days ago, Jens Zemke among others was thrilled with the results.

"Amber won with Evelyn at eight seconds behind, so obviously jet lag was not a problem!"

"We had a good warm up with good scouting and the girls were all very motivated. It's great to have Amber in yellow already and Evelyn in the KOM jersey on top of that."

"We have a similar position now as we did in San Dimas, defending the top two positions. Plus, we have Amanda in seventh so well off for the next stage."

Amber Neben recalls, "It was a hot one today, not much of a consistency in the course- it surged sporadically with a few quick, steep climbs and a false flat toward the end. So it was a challenge but I was able to set the team up for a good start."

This marks the third Redlands ITT of Steven's career, but the first time on her new Specialized Shiv.

"It's really a ten-minute effort out here and it's tough to find a rhythm." Steven's says, "But my new bike performed beautifully, and now we have a lot of cards to play into the weekend."

"We're going to race smart tomorrow," says Neben,"We've got three people who can win it and we're going to set one of us up for a victory."

HTC-Highroad press release

Team TIBCO/To the Top’s Erinne Willock put in a strong ride to take 3rd in the opening prologue of the Redlands Classic today. She was one of four Team TIBCO riders to crack the top 20 in the 5 km uphill race against the clock, in temperatures that were approaching 90 degrees.

“I knew I had really good form coming in,” the Canadian climber said. “I’m very happy with the results.”

Willock rode her Specialized Amira to a time of 11:25, putting her 0:13 behind former World Time Trial Champion Amber Neben, and just 0:05 behind Neben’s HTC-Highroad teammate Evelyn Stevens, the current U.S. Time Trial Champion.

Carmen Small, who also showed good form at the San Dimas Stage Race last weekend, gave Team TIBCO its second rider in the top 10, with a 6th place ride at 0:35 behind Neben. Alison Powers and Meredith Miller finished in 12th and 17th place respectively, both a little more than 1:00 behind the stage winner.

“This is a really strong field, so to get these results is confirmation of the strength of our squad here,” said Team Directeur Sportif Lisa Hunt. “Tomorrow should be a good day for Erinne and Carmen. (Kristen) Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.) is just a couple seconds ahead of Carmen. We know she’s going to be aggressive and looking to move up. There should be a lot of pressure on HTC tomorrow.”

“I’m feeling really confident about tomorrow and the rest of the race,” Willock added. “We have a really strong team here. I think we have a good battle on our hands.”

TIBCO/To the Top press release