Holds off chase group containing Van Garderen, Danielson on hot South Carolina afternoon
Timmy Duggan (Liquigas-Cannondale) used a well-timed solo move to take the win by himself in the USA professional road race championship. Duggan won the race of attrition on a hot afternoon in Greenville, South Carolina, holding off a chasing group of approximately 12 riders.
Frank Pipp (Bissell) won the sprint for second ahead of Kiel Reijnen (Team Type 1-Sanofi).
Duggan was active in the Tour of California, pulling the peloton for numerous kilometers in support of team-mate Peter Sagan. He was a rock for Liquigas-Cannondale during that race, making today’s result satisfying, but not surprising.
In his second year with Liquigas-Cannondale, the win is the 29-year-old Duggan’s first since 2005.
“It's incredible. It hasn't hit me yet,” Duggan marvelled afterward. “The way this race played out, I've been thinking about it for a long time. I don't have a mean sprint on me, I have to do everything right to go solo and win a race like this - a race everyone wants to win. It feels good to play the tactics right and make it happen.”
The day started with three circuits in the downtown Greenville area, before heading out and running four loops of a lap containing Paris Mountain. A large group got away early, containing 30 riders, including Duggan and Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home). Wren crested Paris Mountain at the front enough times to take the Volkswagon King of the Mountains title at the end of the day.
The gap to the lead group topped out at four minutes, as the pressure in the peloton shrunk it in size to around forty riders. This left two almost equal groups on the road, with both containing threats, creating an escape-and-chase scenario that forced some hard racing in spite of the heat.
Nearing the final ascent of Paris Mountain, an elite group moved off the front of the primary chasing bunch in an attempt to catch the leaders. Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing), defending champion Matthew Busche (Radioshack-Nissan), Chad Beyer (Competitive Cyclist), Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell), Nathan Brown (Bontrager-Livestrong), and Tom Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda) hit the top of the climb together and set to work on the descent.
This group of six was chasing the leaders, who were being paced almost entirely by Tom Peterson (Garmin-Barracuda).
But up front and just as Peterson began asking for help, Duggan had moved away from his lead group coming off the climb, and his lead was a half-minute as he flew back into Greenville for three more laps of the city.
Duggan, who came up through the ranks in the Garmin organization, kept his lead fluctuating between thirty and fifty seconds. Van Garderen made a brief solo bid to bring him back, but the runner up in Saturday’s time trial would eventually run out of steam.
Duggan took a thirty second lead into the final lap and held his momentum, keeping 26 seconds over Pipp, who would sprint to second.
The latter said that he was fine with the result. “Normally, I might be disappointed with second, but I had nothing to do with Timmy going away,” he stated. "He obviously had an amazing day. Bissell is quite happy with second in the national championships."
Reijnen was third in 2010 but was affected by illness last year. He said he was pleased to be back to where he was two years ago. “After today I'd like to think that I've come back to the level I was at in 2010. The field here was stellar, and the tactics are always a little bit crazy at this race anyway, because sometimes a sprinter wins, sometimes the breakaway wins, sometimes a climber wins,” he stated. “If you want to get a result at nationals, you have to take some risks.”
Ken Hanson (Team Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) and James Stemper (Kenda 5 Hour Energy Cycling Team) finished just off the podium in fourth and fifth place. Defending champ Busche placed tenth, 31 seconds back, while another former winner George Hincapie (BMC Racing Team) was sixteenth, two minutes 36 behind.
Other notable names in the top twenty were Tom Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda, 11th), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team, 13th) and Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Barracuda, 14th)
Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home) dominated the Volkswagen King of the Mountain competition, finishing with almost double the points of runner-up Danielson.
"It was our goal coming into this race to get me into this KOM jersey," he said. "When I saw the race was having this Volkswagen KOM, Jamis-Sutter Home really wanted to make that a priority. I knew I had good legs. It's always a roll of the dice to go into an early move. It's fine. Sometimes it pays off.
“I knew I had good form, so I wanted to use it somehow."
So too Duggan, who underlined his ability today.
USA professional road race championships:
1, Timmy Duggan (Liquigas-Cannondale) 4 hours 17 mins 40 secs
2, Frank Pipp (Bissell Pro Cycling Team) at 26 secs
3, Kiel Reijnen (Team Type 1 - Sanofi)
4, Kenneth Hanson (Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) at 27 secs
5, James Stemper (Kenda 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team) at 28 secs
6, Tyler Wren (Jamis - Sutter Home)
7, Chad Beyer (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team) at 29 secs
8, Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling Team)
9, Bradley White (UnitedHealthcare) at 30 secs
10, Matthew Busche (RadioShack-Nissan) at 31 secs
11, Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda) at 34 secs
12, Michael Olheiser (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team) at 46 secs
13, Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) at 54 secs
14, David Zabriskie (Garmin-Barracuda) at 1 min 11 secs
15, Alex Howes (Garmin-Barracuda) at 2 mins 36 secs
16, George Hincapie (BMC Racing Team)
17, Andrew Bajadali (Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) at 2 mins 37 secs
18, Ted King (Liquigas-Cannondale) at 2 mins 38 secs
19, Andy Jacques-Maynes (Kenda 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team) at 2 mins 40 secs
20, Freddie Rodriguez (Team Exergy) at 3 mins 20 secs
21, Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare) at 3 mins 21 secs
22, Jonathan Mccarty (Spidertech p/b C10)
23, Thomas Peterson (Garmin-Barracuda)
24, Maxim Jenkins (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team)
25, Matthew Cooke (Team Exergy) at 3 mins 22 secs
26, Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly Cycling) at 3 mins 25 secs
27, Carson Miller (Jamis - Sutter Home)
28, Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing Team) at 4 mins 19 secs
29, Alexander Hagman (Jelly Belly Cycling) at 6 mins 57 secs
30, Benjamin King (RadioShack-Nissan)
31, Jesse Anthony (Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
32, Robert Sweeting (Kenda 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team)
33, Emerson Oronte (Jelly Belly Cycling) at 6 mins 58 secs
34, Nathaniel English (Kenda 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team)
35, Joseph Rosskopf (Team Type 1 - Sanofi)
36, Tyler Magner (BMC/Hincapie Sportswear Development Team)
37, Ian Burnett (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team)
38, Tanner Putt (BMC/Hincapie Sportswear Development Team)
39, James Driscoll (Jamis - Sutter Home) at 10 mins 56 secs
40, Jason Mccartney (UnitedHealthcare)
41, Alexander Candelario (Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
42, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda)
43, David Williams (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team)
44, Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Barracuda)
45, Alister Ratcliff (Chipotle-First Solar Development Team)
46, Travis Livermon (Team Mountain Khakis - SmartStop)
King of the Mountains:
1, Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home) 30 pts
2, Tom Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda) 16
3, Robert Sweeting (Kenda 5, Hour Energy Cycling Team) 14
4, Carson Miller (Jamis-Sutter Home) 12
5, Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) 10