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)