Press Release
All hail Haedo
May 7, 2006
Juan Jose Haedo and Ivan Dominguez pointed at each other, smiled and shrugged as they reached the finish line side by side at the end of Saturday night's Sunny King Criterium men's pro race. The Toyota-United Pro Cycling teammates had to decide which rider would win.
They both did, with Haedo winning the race for the second consecutive year and Dominguez winning the six-race USA Criterium series points title.
In a show of dominance, Toyota-United riders sat back as six Jelly Belly riders expended energy to reel in Viktor Rapinski, who led for 36 laps. Six Toyota-United riders passed en masse in lap 68 of the 70-lap race in downtown Anniston.
When it came to the final crossing of the finish line, all there was to decide was which of the team's top two riders would win.
"He was going to let me win, but, when he slowed down, I slowed down, too," the Cuban-born Dominguez said. "We were like, 'Oh, OK, whatever. That's fine.'"
Haedo, who won here last year with the Colavita team, saw the finish-line levity as an appropriate ending to Toyota-United's dominant run through the USA Crit series.
"I think it's just being happy that things came along pretty well in the last couple of races," the Argentine rider said. "We began the year with a little bit of bad luck, and now it's paying off."
Dominguez finished the USA Crit series with 1,373 points, 197 points ahead of Navigators' Russian star Vassili Davidenko in second place. Haedo finished third, 91 points behind Davidenko.
Toyota-United led the series with 2,564 team points, well ahead of second-place Navigators at 1,608.
Like the Toyota-United team, the USA Crit series was in its first year. The series started April 29 and encompassed six races in Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, with the Sunny King Crit last on this year's schedule.
Saturday's men's pro race culminated a card of 10 races in downtown Anniston, covering several levels of competition.
Team Colavita sprinter Tina Mayolo-Pic won the women's pro race, conserving energy in the final 10 laps to make a final-lap sprint.
Several cyclists who rode in Saturday's races will ride in today's 102-mile Cheaha Challenge road race. The start is 7:30 a.m. at the Piedmont Civic Center.
Saturday's Sunny King men's pro race drew a record field of 125 riders. This thanks to its inclusion in the USA Crit series and this year's USA Cycling National Race Calender, making the Sunny King Crit a points race in both.
Toyota-United formed this year with a goal to fill the dominance void left by Lance Armstrong's 2005 retirement from cycling. The team dominated the USA Crits series, with its riders winning the final four of six races.
Dominguez and Haedo both won twice.
Toyota-United toyed with the field Saturday night, staying well back until its timed charge.
Jittery Joe's Trent Wilson and Colavita's Kyle Wamsley broke away early and ran together for as large as a 25-second lead.
Rapinski, who led the most laps on the USA Crits series with 66, took over and seemed dominant. He, too, opened as much as a 25-second lead and led by 19 seconds with 10 laps to go.
Jelly Belly's six riders kept chase, with all six leading the pack behind Rapinski for several laps. Rapinski's lead began dropping by nearly two seconds per lap.
Toyota-United's riders were content to let Jelly Belly's burn, and Toyota-United passed dramatically. Six of its riders crossed the finish line first to end lap 68.
"It's funny the way they chased that down, because Jelly Belly chased it down," said Gene Dixon, who runs the USA Crits series. "I'm not too sure why. I think they should have let it go."
Davidenko and Colavita's Mark McCormack made a game push and led after lap 69, but there was little doubt that Toyota-United would gobble them up.
"Toyota just controlled the series like they should," Dixon said. "They're the best out there."
Haedo became the first rider to win the Sunny King Crit two consecutive years.
"It's good to win two years in a row," he said. "It's not easy."
It sure looked easy for Toyota-United.
Juan Jose Haedo, flanked by teammate Juan Dominguez, left, and third-place finisher Jeff Hopkins, won his second straight Sunny King Criterium Saturday night. Photo: Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star