May 2-6, 2012 – This upcoming Wednesday, the Jamis/Sutter Home Professional Team will begin the Tour of the Gila in Silver City, New Mexico. With five days of racing containing some of the country’s most grueling climbs and technical descents, all at lung-searing high altitude, the event is one of the most difficult stage races in the United States. Several mountain top finishes give the edge to pure climbers. However, a downtown criterium and hilly individual time trial ensure exciting racing and open the door for sprinters and time trial specialists to challenge for the top step of the podium.

Entering the race with its sights set on both individual stage wins and the general classification, the Jamis/Sutter Home Professional Cycling Team will be on the offensive every day. Climbers Tyler Wren and Luis Amaran both live and train at altitude and have been targeting the race since the beginning of the season. Notoriously strong in time trials, Luis especially will be hoping to gain time on his rivals whenever possible and be in contention for the overall win.

For the criterium, and any other day that could potentially end with a field sprint, Jamis/Sutter Home is bringing a trio of riders that are sure to be among the fastest in the race. Alejandro and Anibal Borrajo, along with Kyle Wamsley are contenders in any fast finish and will be looking to capitalize on some of the flatter days. Always strong and sometimes surprisingly good climbers, Jamey Driscill, Carson Miller and Peter Van Dijk round out the roster in support of the team leaders. However, don’t rule any of them out for a potential stage win if the opportunity presents itself.

Visit Jamissutterhome.com for information on the 2012 team and race schedule.

This past Friday marked a major milestone for the Jamis/Sutter Home Professional Cycling Team as they took the start for one of Europe’s largest and most prestigious stage races: the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon in Spain. While growing the team and its racing schedule over the past several seasons and watching results improve, director Sebastian Alexandre made obtaining an invitation to European races a priority. “We have come far and achieved our goal of expanding our racing calendar to include Europe for the first time ever.” commented an enthusiastic Alexandre, “I have to thank our sponsors, namely Jamis Bicycles and Sutter Home Winery, who have believed in me and the riders as we worked toward this day.”

A quick glance at Catilla y Leon’s past winners highlight a who’s who in the world of professional cycling. Former Tour de France winners and internationally recognized names such as Indurain, Contador and Leipheimer are all included. The winner of the 2011 Vuelta Espana also took the start in this year’s edition.

Jamis/Sutter Home attended with a team able to contest for the win on any given day. Team leaders and overall contenders Luis Amaran and Tyler Wren are always among the strongest climbers in any race they enter and were aiming for a top finish in the general classification as well as taking advantage of any promising breakaways in the mountains. Sprinters Anibal Borrajo and Fernando Antogna were looking for glory in the possible sprint finishes, and with Fernando riding especially well of late, he could not be counted out of possible breakaway success. Completing the roster were Carson Miller, Philip Mooney, and Peter Van Dijk, who while riding in support of their team captains, were always capable of surprising many with their all around strength and climbing prowess.

With the overall winner typically decided in the mountains. The three-day race opened with a rolling stage for the sprinters, where Anibal Borrajo finished a very impressive 9th before tackling a string of category 2 climbs on the penultimate day and several category 1 climbs on the closing day of racing. Horrendous weather that included freezing temperatures, high winds and even snow impacted the race as much as the terrain and the Jamis/Sutter Home riders fought through it all to finish respectably.

“I am very happy with our performances this past weekend” Alexandre stated, “We knew it would be a different style of racing than in the US, especially with some Pro Tour teams targeting this event such as Movistar and Rabobank; but we did very well being the first time we are competing in Europe. Anibal finished top 10 on the first stage and the rest of the team did an excellent job during the race always trying to represent the team in breakaways.”

On deck for the team is the Vuelta Rioja, also is Spain, which will conclude the Team’s first European foray. Referencing this race as well as future goals, Alexandre said “We are competing this Sunday in the one day race Vuelta Rioja before we go back to the US for the Tour of the Gila, one of the team targets for the season. I am confident that Tyler and Luis will be in very good shape when we return.”

Visit Jamissutterhome.com for information on the 2012 team and race schedule.

Professional cycling, to me, is this interesting and beautiful intersection of the sporting and marketing worlds. The truth is, as I see it, that all of the domestic teams bring essentially the same sporting merit to the table at this event. We all can and consistently do put riders in the the breakaways, in the ancillary jerseys, near the top five in stages, and near the top twenty in the general classification- competitive, but not for the overall win. While there is an often distinct hierarchy between us all during the regular season at NRC and smaller UCI races, we all bring a similar amount to the table at AToC from a sporting point of view. Another assumption I will make from this viewpoint is that we all cannot be included in this race, even if there is in fact room for us all on the road and in the hotels. The reason Amgen Tour of California is so successful is because of the World Tour teams and star athletes that it attracts, not because of us Continental teams. It’s a grim reality for us, but the race earns its prestige in large part because it is very selective.

If you take those arguments as given, as race promoters AEG & Medallist may, the discussion naturally turns to which of the smaller teams offer the race the most marketing value. Amgen Tour of California is a sporting event, but also, as its branded name suggests, an expensive, valuable marketing endeavor for a quiver of well-paying sponsors. The supply ceiling created by the promoters, combined with Continental teams’ growing collective demand to participate in the race, naturally creates the sponsor ‘activation’ price that AEG’s Michael Roth was referring to in the recent CyclingNews article on Team Type 1’s exclusion. So it seems to me that the collective shock that Medallist’s decisions are not purely based on sporting merit is unwarranted.

Amgen Tour of California is a phenomenal event that challenges all the cyclists and brings substantial publicity to all the sponsors, as evidenced by the fact that the world’s and country’s best teams clamor to take part. It’s easy to criticize AEG & Medallist, but the fact remains that they have created a lasting, world-class event that has brought a lot of sponsor exposure and sporting opportunity to each of our domestic squads. I for one am very thankful for that, and recognize that we can’t all take part every year and have it still be a top-level event.

Personally, I can see the silver lining here- Jamis/Sutter Home instead gets to race a world-class event in Spain, Castilla y Leon, and, perhaps I will be better prepared for an assault on the national championships in Greenville the week after AToC without the immense suffering the race inevitably inflicts. That’s the thing about bike racing- there are always more chances to throw down.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-mexico-2012/stage-5/photos/213566

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-mexico-2012/stage-5/photos/213556

http://www.bikeworldnews.com/2012/03/15/crusher-tushar-fills/

Vuelta Mexico – March 18-25, 2012
Fresh off training camp in California’s beautiful Napa Valley, the Jamis/Sutter Home Professional Cycling Team is ready to tackle the 2012 season in earnest. Beginning on March 18th, the team will be competing in the challenging, eight day Vuelta Mexico. Starting in the seaside resort city of Acupulco and finishing in Mexico City, the race is notorious for relentless climbs and high altitude stages that leave each and every competitor gasping for air. As the riders work their way north through the country, they will be faced with varying stages designed to reward aggressive tactics and push every type of rider to their limit. Two circuit stages will give the sprinters a chance to showcase their speed, while two mountain stages and an uphill time trial will see the race’s best climbers take the spotlight. Several “medium mountain” days should also allow opportunists and breakaway specialists to roll the dice and go for stage wins.

The Jamis/Sutter Home Team is attending the Vuelta Mexico with an ace seven rider squad that will be in the mix on every type of stage. Climber Tyler Wren will be a force to be reckoned with when the road tilts upward, and the fact that he lives at altitude will work in his favor when the air gets thin. Sprinter Alajandro Borrajo is hungry for a win and looking forward to opportunities to show his finishing speed. Time trialist Fernando Antogna will be focused on the race against the clock and rolleurs Brad Gehrig, Carson Miller, Peter Van Dijk and Phil Mooney will be looking to capitalize on any and all chances to slip off the front of the field.

Keep up to date on race results and more by following the team on Facebook.

Visit Jamissutterhome.com for information on the 2012 team and race schedule.

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