Bakersfield, CA – The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team’s Rory Sutherland (AUS) raced through the scorching heat and barely shaded streets of Bakersfield, California and the 18-mile long Stage 5 Individual Time Trial course earlier today in a time of 37 minutes and nine seconds. Sutherland’s time was enough to land him in 10^th place on the day and move him into 8^th place in the overall standings. His time was one minute and 10 seconds behind stage winner and current race leader, Dave Zabriskie (USA) of Garmin-Barracuda, who proved to be the fastest man today, winning the time trial in a time of 35 minutes and 59 seconds. RadioShack-Nissan-Trek’s Jens Voigt (GER) took second, 23 seconds off Zabriskie’s winning time. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) of the BMC Racing Team rounded out the top three, finishing 34 seconds off the winning time and pushing his way into second in the GC.

Sutherland’s Teammates, Jeff Louder (USA) and Marc de Maar (CUR) were terrific through the first four stages of the race, occupying the 3^rd and 8^th spots, respectively in the General Classification. Both time-trialed well today but slipped from the top 10 overall as the GC experienced a big shakeup in the standings.

The peloton heads into the first of back-to-back major mountain stages on Friday, with a Stage 6 mountaintop finish at Big Bear Lake followed by a Stage 7 finishing climb on Mt. Baldy, where many are predicting the Tour may be won or lost. Sunday, the Tour concludes with its 2012 finale in downtown Los Angeles, wrapping up at LA Live. 

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Roster for the 2012 Amgen Tour of California:

Rory Sutherland (AUS)

Marc de Maar (CUR)

Jeff Louder (USA)

Philip Deignan (IRE)

Jonny Clarke (AUS)

Jason McCartney (USA)

Brad White (USA)

Chris Jones (USA)

The 2012 Amgen Tour of California:

Running eight days, from May 13-20, 2012, the Amgen Tour of California will showcase more than 750 miles of scenic California roadways, coastlines and iconic settings. The 14 official stage start and finish communities selected for the 2012 race included: Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz County, San Jose, Livermore, Sonora (new for 2012), Clovis, Bakersfield, Palmdale, Big Bear Lake, Ontario (new for 2012), Mt Baldy, Beverly Hills (new for 2012) and Los Angeles.

The Amgen Tour of California Airs on the NBC Sports Network: 

FRIDAY, MAY 18

PALMDALE TO BIG BEAR LAKE - 2PM PDT/5PM EDT (LIVE)

SATURDAY, MAY 19

ONTARIO TO MT. BALDY - 4PM PDT/7PM EDT

2012 Contest - How Does ENVE Fit?

ENVE Composites and Smart Aero Technologies partnered to create a wheel system that is durable enough to withstand the daily demands of training as well as racing.  The process to achieve this goal included countless hours of wind-tunnel testing and dozens of shape iterations that ultimately produced what is known today as the Smart ENVE System.  To learn more about the Smart ENVE System and the technology behind this cutting edge product click on the links and here. 

Here is an opportunity to be fitted by world renowned aerodynamicist, Simon Smart in the same tunnel where the Smart ENVE System was born. After your fitting, you will take home the SES wheelset that makes the fastest you.

In order for this opportunity to be yours, all you must do is inspire...

Requirements for Entry:

To participate, submit media that depicts your most memorable triathlon experience. The moment could be the reason why you did a triathlon, a moment during training, on race day, or after it was over. Entries may be in the form of photos (up to 3), videos (up to 3 min.), written submission, or any combination of the three.

Entries may be submitted to contest@enve.com, to submit large video files please email a link to the location where your video is stored.

Contest Execution:

Contestants will be notified of the date when their entry will be posted to ENVE’s Facebook page so they can let their supporters know when to vote.

According to the calendar, entries will be posted on the ENVE Facebook where the contestant’s fans, friends, etc… will “like” our FB (if they don’t already) and then “like” the contestants post to help them procure the most “likes”. (NOTE – Contestants may not pay webcasts, podcasts, bloggers, etc… for promoting their entry.  It is ok for someone to ask a friend to mention them and the contest in their blog; they just cannot be paid for it.)

Finalists will be published according to a schedule and voted on for 1 grand prize winner, and 2 runner-up winners.

Prizes:

Grand Prize:  One individual will travel to the UK to be fitted by Simon Smart at the wind tunnel in Brackley, Northhamptonshire, home of the Mercedes GP-Petronas team headquarters.  Winner will also receive the Smart ENVE System wheelset that best meets their needs.

Winner of the grand prize will be given a selection of dates to choose from to complete travel.

Runner-Up: Two individuals (1 x male and 1 x female) will win a Smart ENVE System wheelset of their choice.

Key Dates and Timeline:

May 16, 2012 – Begin Accepting Entries
June 4, 2012 – Begin Posting Entries
June 30, 2012 – Cutoff Date for Receiving Entries
August 1, 2012 – Announce Winners

Silver City, New Mexico – Rory Sutherland (AUS) capped an outstanding week of racing in the desert southwest for the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, taking the overall win at the 26th Annual SRAM Tour of the Gila. Sutherland started off the Tour of the Gila with a victory in Stage 1 and he and his Teammates never relinquished the lead. Earning multiple podiums and top 10 finishes throughout the grueling race Team UnitedHealthcare protected the leader’s jersey from beginning to end. Competitive Cyclist’s Chad Beyer and Bontrager-Livestrong’s Joe Dombrowski rounded out the top three in the General Classification, finishing second and third, respectively.

Sutherland talked about his win in New Mexico, stating, “This was not easy, it was tough. The boys did a great job getting us to this point and sometimes you have to put it on your shoulders and bring it home. When your Teammates ride so hard for you, you don’t have a choice. You have to pay them back for what they’ve done and show them how much their effort means. We are heading in the direction we want and are seeing the hard work of the past few months start to pay off.”Sutherland added, “The other teams were great, especially Competitive Cyclist and Bontrager-Livestrong. Simply a tremendous effort from everyone racing here at SRAM Tour of the Gila.”

General Manager and Team Director, Mike Tamayo, said, “The SRAM Tour of the Gila is a great stage race and its good for us to get a stage race win on US soil. It’s important for our title sponsor, UnitedHealthcare, and for all of our sponsors. Winning the overall at Gila and watching the boys race up the Gila monster reassured us that the Team has done all the right things this spring.”

Tamayo continued, “Today the Team did exactly what it needed to do. Jonny (Clarke), Davide (Frattini), Ben (Day) and Chris (Jones) rode the front of the race like superstars. Jeff and Jason were in the breakaway and once the breakaway made it over the biggest climb, those two guys were in a select group that Rory, Marc (de Maar), Competitive Cyclist’s Paco Mancebo, and all the top riders where in. Jeff and Jason rode their butts off, closing the gap from five minutes to three minutes. Then, the last 10km it was Rory solo with the top riders sitting on his wheel. He slowly chipped away at the gap and won the overall by just 15 seconds.”

Reflecting on the Tour, Tamayo concluded, “We’re proud of our effort here. Also, it was impressive to watch the Bontrager-Livestrong Development Team ride so well and impress everyone, especially going 1-2 on the final stage today. They are proving a lot and they deserve to be at the Amgen Tour of California.”

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Roster for the 26th Annual SRAM Tour of the Gila:
Rory Sutherland (AUS)
Marc de Maar (CUR)
Jeff Louder (USA)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Chris Jones (USA)
Jonny Clarke (AUS)
Ben Day (AUS)
Davide Frattini (ITA)