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May 1/19 15:39 pm - Piccoli Wins Stage 1, Tour of the Gila


Posted by Editoress on 05/1/19
 

The 33rd Annual Tour of the Gila kicked off Wednesday as teams fought for early leads in the five-day stage race, but it was Canadian James Piccoli (Elevate KHS Pro Cycling) who made a final push to outlast the steep competition.

The 25-year-old picked off two Colombian-team climbers in the final two kilo"s of Stage 1’s brutal Mogollon ascent, giving it everything he had to cross the line first. He carries the leader’s jersey on his back going into Thursday’s Inner Loop Road Race – Presented by Brian & Lynn Robinson | Southwest Bone & Joint Institute.

"I was dying a thousand deaths with 1k to go, but I think everyone was,"Piccoli said. "Really happy to do it – this has been a dream of mine for a long time, and to be able to do it for the team after they put in such good hard work for me today is special.”

Piccoli, who came into Tour of the Gila with GC podium successes at the Joe Martin Stage Race and Tour de Taiwan, said he bided his time with help from his team to keep his legs fresh for the final ascent. He said he wanted to save some energy out of the wind on a flat section just before the climb.

"George [Simpson] did an unbelievable pull, and I started the climb literally first wheel, super fresh, and I really owe it to the team; they did an unbelievable job," Piccoli said. "Midway through the race, the race split and that caught us all a little bit by surprise, but we had everyone from Elevate KHS in the split and we were all super calm and I was super well taken care of all day, and all I really had to do was ride as hard as I can for 10 minutes, so I had it pretty easy.”

But the way the race shaped up throughout the day, the finale could have been anyone’s guess. Attacks flew in the first few miles as teams attempted to send riders into a breakaway. Then two bulls nearly strode onto the course just as the caravan of race vehicles were passing; law enforcement distracted them with sirens and managed to avert a disaster.


As the field neared the first intermediate sprint, Travis Samuel (DCBank Pro Cycling) nabbed first-place points with Griffin Easter (303 Project) in second and Gabriel Francisco Rojas Campos (Aevolo) in third.

As the pack hit the feed zone, Samuel decided to hit the gas in hopes of doubling down on sprint points. The move put him in a solo break, which Michael Hernandez (Aevolo) joined several miles later.

"Coming through the feed zone, I just gave it a little dig and then Hernandez came across a couple [kilometres] later, and we worked really well together," Samuel said.

The two stuck it out – at most with a 3-minute and 25-second gap – until the second intermediate sprint, which Hernandez took. Samuel got second place points, and Rex Roberts (Semper Porro), who was back in the field, took third place points. The peloton then swallowed them up with 28 miles to go.

As the group began to fight for the front of the field, crashes ensued, one with eight riders down and a second with one more going down. Later, Tim Savre (Project Echelon Racing) would also hit the pavement.


With 20 kilometres to go, the peloton was all back together after a split, and it made its way onto State Highway 159 toward the base of the climb. The field splintered into small groups, and at the base of the final climb Óscar Miguel Sevilla Rivera (Team Medellín) began riding away from the field.

A select chase formed with 3.5 kilometres to go. They included Piccoli; Edward Alexander Beltrán Suárez and Cristhian Montoya Giraldo from Team Medellín; Nickolas Zukowsky and Keegan Swirbul from Floyd’s Pro Cycling, Alex Hoehn (Aevolo), Marko Pavli? (DC Bank Pro Cycling), and Eder Frayre Moctezuma (Team California).

Piccoli and Montoya Giraldo began to close the gap to Sevilla Rivera, and with less than 2k to go, Piccoli gained a lead on Sevilla Rivera, beating him to the line. Frayre Moctezuma passed Montoya Giraldo and finished in podium position.

Sevilla Rivera, who is from Spain, pointed to a fracture he’s nursing in his forearm and said all in all, his team his happy with their performance. He said his team is used to longer climbs in Colombia in more humid weather, but they still thought Mogollon would be a climb they could use to their advantage against a field he considers is in top form.

"When I saw [Piccoli] at a kilometre and a half, I waited and thought I could hold his wheel, but he got away, and when it was six or seven seconds, I just didn’t have the legs,"Sevilla Rivera said in Spanish. Piccoli has an 8-second lead on Sevilla Rivera heading into Stage 2: Inner Loop Road Race.

Story by Sarah Muench and Cherry Niel, Clipped In

 

 

Men's and Women's Photos

Results from the first stage in Silver City, New Mexico

 

Stage 1: Mogollon Road Race, 148 km
1 James Piccoli (Can) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling 3:33:12
2 Oscar Miguel Sevilla Rivera (Esp) Medellin at 0:04
3 Eder Frayre Moctezuma (Mex) Team California 0:10
4 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Floyd's Pro Cycling 0:13
5 Cristhian Montoya Giraldo (Col) Medellin 0:17
6 Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling 0:24
7 Edward Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) Medellin 0:29
8 Barry Miller (USA) Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team 0:40
9 Adam Roberge (Can) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling 0:42
10 Alex Hoehn (USA) Aevolo 0:48
11 Tyler Stites (USA) Aevolo 0:53
12 Sean Gardner (USA) Gateway Devo Cycling 1:12
13 Marko Pavlic (Mar) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 1:23
14 Luis Ricardo Villalobos Hernande (Mex) Aevolo 1:39
15 Flavio Alejandro De Luna Davila (Mex) 303 Project
16 Chad Hall (USA) Team California both s.t.
17 Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 1:48
18 Zachary Nehr (USA) Project Echelon Racing 2:08
19 Matthew Zimmer (USA) Project Echelon Racing s.t.
20 Cory Lockwood (USA) Semper Porro 2:24
21 Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) Medellin s.t.
22 Cooper Shanks (USA) Team Mike's Bikes p/b Equator Coffees 2:43
23 Brett Rindt (USA) Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team 3:01
24 Gabriel Francisco Rojas Campos (CRc) Aevolo s.t.
25 Conor Schunk (USA) Gateway Devo Cycling 3:03
26 Ryan Kingsolver (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 3:07
27 David Greif (USA) Project Echelon Racing 3:11
28 Jean-Denis Thibault (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 3:30
29 Paul Hartner (USA) Project Echelon Racing 3:31
30 Jordan Cheyne (Can) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling 3:38
31 Thomas Wavrin (USA) Support Clean Sport/Guttenplan Coaching 3:41
32 Tanner Ward (USA) Veloselect Racing Team 3:59
33 Brett Wachtendorf (USA) Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team s.t.
34 Fernando Arroyo Rosario (Mex) Otto Jacome Cycling Team 4:05
35 Eric Brunner (USA) 303 Project 4:08
36 Nathaniel English (USA) Team Mike's Bikes p/b Equator Coffees 4:18
37 Laurent Gervais (Can) Aevolo 4:20
38 John Jantz (USA) Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team 4:23
39 Ethan Overson (USA) Gateway Devo Cycling s.t.
40 Alexander Amiri (USA) Team California 4:28
41 Callum Gordon (NZl) Team Mike's Bikes p/b Equator Coffees 4:33
42 Andrew Shimizu (USA) Team Mike's Bikes p/b Equator Coffees s.t.
43 Antoine Leplingard (Fra) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 4:36
44 Patrick Collins (USA) Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team 4:49
45 Colby Lange (GBr) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 4:54
46 Tyrel Fuchs (USA) Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team 4:57
47 Abner Gonzalez Rivera (USA) Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team 5:12
48 Chris Riekert (USA) Team Mike's Bikes p/b Equator Coffees 5:18
49 Thomas Schellenberg (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 5:42
50 Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 5:57
51 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Floyd's Pro Cycling 6:10
52 Travis Mccabe (USA) Floyd's Pro Cycling
53 Lance Haidet (USA) Aevolo both s.t.
54 Matti Rowe (USA) Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team 6:14
55 Innokenty Zavyalov (USA) Semper Porro 7:03
56 Mornay Van Heerden (RSA) ProTouch 7:11
57 Emery Hernandez Vazquez (Mex) Otto Jacome Cycling Team 7:21
58 George Simpson (USA) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling 7:40
59 Isaiah Newkirk (USA) 303 Project s.t.
60 Tim Mcbirney (USA) Team California 7:53
61 Gerardo Medina Robles (Mex) Team California s.t.
62 Pablo Antonio Fernandez Murillo (USA) Support Clean Sport/Guttenplan Coaching 8:10
63 Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling s.t.
64 Gabriel Antonio Baca Soto (Mex) 303 Project 8:20
65 Carlos Duarte Gonzalez (USA) Team California
66 Gregory Daniel (USA) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
67 Griffin Easter (USA) 303 Project
68 Austin Stephens (USA) 303 Project all s.t.
69 Travis Samuel (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 9:25
70 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) Floyd's Pro Cycling s.t.
71 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Medellin 9:34
72 Grant Ellwood (USA) 303 Project 9:38
73 Enrique Javier Serrato Lozano (USA) Team California 10:12
74 Austin Gomes (USA) Gateway Devo Cycling 10:15
75 Justin Poulson (USA) Semper Porro 12:33
76 Trevor O'Donnell (Can) Gateway Devo Cycling 12:45
77 Carson Miles (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling s.t.
78 James Fourie (RSA) ProTouch 12:49
79 Alexander Cowan (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling 13:03
80 Omar Andrés Aguilera Garcia (USA) Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team 13:16
81 Evan Bausbacher (USA) Gateway Devo Cycling 13:19
82 Cesar Omar Serna Quintana (Mex) Otto Jacome Cycling Team 13:42
83 John Borstelmann (USA) Team Mike's Bikes p/b Equator Coffees 13:48
84 Maxx Chance (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis
85 Finn Gullickson (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis
86 Mitchell Eliot (RSA) ProTouch
87 Eugenio Mirafuentes Resende (Mex) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
88 Jose Reyes Aguilera Garcia (USA) Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team all s.t.
89 Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling 14:03
90 Eric Young (USA) Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling
91 Joseph Bacala (USA) Semper Porro both s.t.
92 David Gaona Vazquez (Mex) Otto Jacome Cycling Team 14:14
93 Joseph Garey (USA) Semper Porro 14:46
94 Rex Roberts (USA) Semper Porro s.t.
95 Evan Hartig (USA) Project Echelon Racing 15:05
96 Michael Hernandez (USA) Aevolo 15:13
97 Richard Arnopol (USA) Project Echelon Racing 15:38
98 Chien Chou Chen (Tpe) Veloselect Racing Team 16:22
99 Miguel Antonio Santillanes Garcia (USA) Support Clean Sport/Guttenplan Coaching 16:39
100 Myles Van Musschenbroek (RSA) ProTouch 17:21
101 Zack Morris (Can) Veloselect Racing Team 17:25
102 Ethan Palamerek (Can) Support Clean Sport/Guttenplan Coaching 19:00
103 Timothy Savre (USA) Project Echelon Racing 19:07
104 Henry York (USA) Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team 20:07
105 Jonathan Grignard (Bel) Veloselect Racing Team 20:48
106 Joel Yates (NZl) Gateway Devo Cycling 21:52
107 Camden Vodicka (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 24:21
108 Paul Perez Mercado (Mex) Otto Jacome Cycling Team 27:24
109 Pieter Seyffert (RSA) ProTouch 32:04
DNF Alexandre Latil (Fra) Veloselect Racing Team
DNF Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Medellin
DNF Cesar Nicolas Paredes Avellaneda (Col) Medellin
DNS Stephen Pedone (USA) Support Clean Sport/Guttenplan Coaching
DNS Danny Finneran (USA) Support Clean Sport/Guttenplan Coaching
DNS Ian Holt (USA) Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team
DNS William Goodfellow (Can) Veloselect Racing Team  



 

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