March 28/04 2:59 am - Redlands Women's Stage 5 Update

Posted by Editor on 03/28/04
 

Redlands Classic - California

Our correspondent Leigh Hargrove (Pushbikes.ca) has called in a report from the final stage of the women's race.

The Sunset Road Race is a tough 99.5 kilometre race with 8 laps of a 10.5 kilometre circuit, plus an in-out section from the start/finish. Each lap consists of a long climb and a sharp descent (20% grade for part of the descent). The weather conditions are hot (nearly 30C) and sunny.

Canadian Nicole demars (Victory Brewing) attacked on the first lap KoM, and hasn't looked back. She is over 28 minutes down on GC, so there is little incentive for the leaders to chase. Currently, halfway through the fifth lap, Demars is two minutes and ten seconds in front. The peloton exploded on the first lap, when Demars attacked, but the riders are sitting up a bit, and there are now about 60 in the main group behind Demars. Genevieve Jeanson (Rona) is sitting at the back of the group, and looks tired, according to Leigh. However, could she be conserving her energy for an attempt late in the race?