Baker and Guarnier win Tour de Nez prologue

By Seth Lightcap

The 18th annual Mighty Tour de Nez sprinted to a start under clear skies and perfect temps on Thursday, June 16th. The longstanding Reno/Tahoe omnium kicked off the first of three days with a 1.7-mile prologue time trial in Sparks, Nevada. Groove Subaru’s Jonathon Baker and Team TIBCO’s Megan Guarnier piloted the fastest laps on the day to take home the stage victory.

The Tour de Nez had never graced the Victorian Square streets where the time trial was held, forcing all the racers to pay close attention to the unknown sweeping corners of the lollipop-shaped course. Spectators had it easy as the raceway wrapped around the John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino and was just adjacent to the bustling Spark’s Farmers Market. Free parking and delicious local peaches were enjoyed by many, if not most in attendance.

Seventy-nine pro men and 26 pro women cranked across the stage one finish line. A decent showing, but the start list definitely reflected the draw of the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota as several top racers were absent.

There was no deterrence in competition for those on hand, however. The TT helmets were out in force and many folks were feeling fast. None more so than Groove Subaru’s Baker and TIBCO’s Guarnier.

Groove Subaru’s Baker Triumphant, Finally.

The Men’s prologue belonged to Baker as the Boulder, Colo. resident set the virgin course record at 3:12.50 and won his first Tour de Nez stage after seven years of falling just shy.

“I’ve taken second three times at the Tour de Nez. Been looking for this stage win for a long time,” said Baker. “I didn’t expect it in the time trial. I’m kind of a climber, but I guess if you’re fast, you’re fast.”

Baker admitted he took a few risks for the win as the course was plagued by several loose corners.

“The race came down to laying off the brakes in the corners. I knew I had to push the limits,” said Baker. “Thankfully I didn’t go past them.”

Not every rider escaped unscathed though. Nearly a half-dozen went down on course.

Sergio Hernandez (NOW/MS Society) kept off the brakes, rocketing around just 0.20 slower than Baker to take second in 3:12.71. Sterling Magnell (McGuire Cycling) rounded out the podium in third with a time of 3:13.32.

Several pre-race favorites came up short in the stage, including Bissell’s Paul Mach who was 12 seconds off the leader in 25th and former Tour de Nez stage winner Roman Kilun who came in 60th. 2009 Tour de Nez overall winner Chad Gerlach was scheduled to race but did not start.

Going into Friday’s Downtown Reno circuit race the men’s team leaders have set up to be Groove Subaru Cycling and Yahoo!, both having placed two riders in the top ten.

TIBCO takes it to ‘em

It was indeed Team TIBCO-To The Top who lived up to their name in the women’s time trial. In her first Tour de Nez appearance, Guarnier pinned the course in 3:34.76, besting her teammate Devon Haskell and local Luna Chix wonder woman Katerina Nash to take the win.

Though surprised at how short the course was, Guarnier said the race was heads-up from start to finish.

“The course was hard because it was so short and so technical,” said Guarnier. “You couldn’t keep yourself cross-eyed. I had to always be thinking about what I was doing, when to brake, when to accelerate, when to corner. The pre-race recon laps I took today were critical.”

TIBCO’s Haskell came in just 0.80 slower than Guarnier to grab second in 3:35.56 with Nash just over a second behind her in 3:36.73 for third.

Landing two team members on the podium bodes well for TIBCO whose other two riders, Kristen LaSasso and Samantha Schneider, took 6th and 15th respectively.

“I’m really looking forward to our chances here,” added Guarnier. “We have four strong girls with a lot of cards to play. There’s not a huge women’s field, but it’s pretty deep, so it should be challenging.”

TIBCO’s main competition will come from the strong Luna Chix duo of Nash and Tyler Stewart, who took 4th in the stage, and the Third Pillar team, who placed two in the top ten, Martina Patella in 5th and Emily Mateu in 7th.

2009 Tour de Nez women’s overall winner Amber Rais (Webcor Builders) was among the favored no-shows.

TdN Stage Two: Friday circuit race In Reno

The Tour de Nez moves just a few miles down Interstate 80 for Friday’s stage two – a twilight circuit race in downtown Reno that runs 50 minutes for the women and 60 minutes for the men. The race will wrap up Saturday with a final circuit stage weaving through the Village at Northstar-At-Tahoe in Truckee, Calif.

Quick results

Pro Men

• 1. Jonathon Baker, Groove Subaru
• 2. Sergio Hernandez, NOW/MS Society
• 3. Sterling Magnell, McGuire Cycling
• 4. Chuck Coyle, Hudz-Subaru
• 5. Ryan Parnes, Yahoo! Cycling

Pro Women

• 1. Megan Guarnier, TIBCO-To The Top
• 2. Devon Haskell, TIBCO-To The Top
• 3. Katerina Nash, Luna Pro Team
• 4. Tyler Stewart, Luna Pro Team
• 5. Martina Patella, Third Pillar

FILED UNDER: News / Race Report / Road TAGS: Tour de Nez