Reigning U.S. national road champion Meredith Miller and all-around strongwoman Joanne Kiesanowski will lead Team TIBCO/To the Top into its first major stage race of the 2010 season this weekend in San Dimas.
“This will be our first race against top competition with a full, eight-rider squad,” noted team directeur sportif Emma Rickards. “The field looks to be really strong and this will give us a good start, and good preparation ahead of the NRC and Women’s Prestige Series opener next weekend in Redlands.
In Miller, Kiesanowski and Australian Emma Mackie, the team brings three highly experienced riders to the first stage race in the U.S. that won’t have teams equipped with radios.
“Their experience in race situations is critical,” Rickards said. “Without race radios, their knowledge and decision-making will be tremendous assets for us.”
Team TIBCO/To the Top will also look to newcomer Rebecca Much to put in a strong performance after taking a stage win and overall honors at the Tucson Bicycle Classic last weekend.
The three-day San Dimas Stage Race opens Friday with a 3.7 mile climbing time trial up Glendora Mountain Road into the San Gabriel Mountains. Saturday offers up a hilly, 56-mile road race covered in eight laps of a seven-mile circuit. The race concludes Sunday with a fast 55-minute criterium in downtown San Dimas, run on a 1.2-mile, mostly flat course, featuring two long straight-aways.
Team TIBCO/To the Top for the San Dimas Stage Race, March 19-21:
Megan Guarnier, USA
Devon Haskell, USA
Jerika Hutchinson, USA
Joanne Kiesanowski, NZL
Emma Mackie, AUS
Amanda Miller, USA
Meredith Miller, USA
Rebecca Much, USA