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Kelly Benefit Strategies - OptumHealth Aims for One-Two Punch in Alabama, New York

April 8, 2011

Following last weekend's NRC kickoff at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, KBS-OptumHealth will split up this weekend to attack Alabama's Sunny King Criterium and Foothills Road Race and "America's Queen of the Classics" — the Tour of the Battenkill in Cambridge, New York.

A six-man squad will head to Anniston, Alabama tomorrow for the 9th annual Sunny King Criterium, a .6 mile downtown course nestled in the backyard of the famed Talladega Superspeedway. The four-corner style course should be familiar to fans in Anniston area to whom professional car racing is a part of daily life. According to the Sunny King website, "A criterium is like NASCAR -- except it is powered by legs and lungs, not gasoline engines."

"Sunny King has become a premier criterium in the US," says Performance Director Jonas Carney. "The race organization is top notch and they provide a lot of support to the professional teams, so the competition is great."

The peloton traditionally reaches high speeds on the course, which consists of an uphill sprint finish and a long, fast downhill on the backside straight. The race will mark U.S. Criterium Champion Dan Holloway's return to racing after a crash in Malaysia left him with several broken ribs and a lung contusion. The nature of the injury kept him grounded in Asia for an additional 10 days after the conclusion of the race (lung contusions are particularly susceptible to the effects of traveling at 30,000 feet). Luckily, his recovery was swift and his return to form should be equally rapid. 

"It is great have Dan back so quickly after such a horrific crash." added Carney. "He's a dedicated individual and he did everything right to ensure his recovery would be as short as possible. He is back much earlier than expected and I don't see this crash being much of a setback for him. We're going to give Dan as much racing as we can to get him up to speed; he'll be flying to France immediately after Sunny King."

On Saturday, the Sunny King team will head to nearby Piedmont to compete in the hilly, 69 mile Foothills Classic Road Race.

With the six-man team attacking races down south, three veteran riders will head to Cambridge to take on an entirely different challenge - the Tour of the Battenkill. The "American classic" is regarded as one of the hardest one-day events in North America, and offers up a stark contrast - 4000 feet of brutal climbing (grades reach 18%) on both dirt and paved roads, stretched across covered bridges, colonial-era farmland, and other stunning back-country scenery.

"Our team is thrilled to return to the The Tour of the Battenkill, which I consider one of the best events in North America," added Carney. "It's rare that we are able to compete in a European style road race here in America. We need more events like this in America, and it will be a great lead-in for France."

The 2010 edition of the race saw nearly 2000 pro and amateur riders tackle the race, with a fraction finishing the 64-mile trip. Battenkill's rough roads and unforgiving steep profile will be an excellent warm-up for Tro Bro Léon on April 17th, a classic UCI 1.1 French event. The 206 kilometer race, running in the Brittany region, features 25 sections of dirt road and wildly undulating terrain. Portions of both squads will jump the Atlantic next week to tackle Tro Bro Léon and the 7-day Le Tour de Bretagne (UCI 2.2).

Sunny King Criterium/Foothills Road Race Roster

• Dan Holloway

• Tom Soladay

• Mike Sherer

• Colton Barrett

• Julian Kyer

• Andy Bajadali

Tour of the Batenkill Roster

• Reid Mumford

• Jason Donald

• Jesse Anthony

Green Machine Lands Stateside for Redlands Bicycle Classic

March 30, 2011

Twenty seven years ago at the inaugural Redlands Bicycle Classic, organization was sparse and the purse was a paltry $13,650. That didn't stop U.S. racing legends Alexi Grewal, Steve Hegg, Roy Knickman, and Thurlow Rogers from throwing down on the field, accounting for all four stages just months after they had earned America Olympic gold in the road race and individual pursuit, the first cycling medals for the U.S. since 1912.

Since then, the race has transformed into one of the classic American events and the perennial kick-off for the NRC racing calendar, with a combined purse of $40,000 for the men's and women's fields. The Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth team will bring a tested and tough team to the 2011 edition of the race, one more than ready to officially kick off the NRC season at the 4-day event.

Andy Bajadali, who won the event in 2007 with Jelly Belly, will make his 2011 racing debut at the California event, after spending the majority of the 2010 season recovering from knee surgery. It will be Baj's first opportunity to test his legs in a race after spending the winter training and rebuilding his excellent form. Look for Bajadali and fellow course veterans Alex Candelario, Mike Friedman, and Dan Bowman to make waves, especially after two weeks of UCI 2.2 stage racing in Asia.

Flying directly from the Tour de Taiwan, expect both Bowman (7th overall on GC) and Candelario (six top ten finishes) to be well prepared for the classic event, as they will look to build on the momentum they built through ten tough, mountainous days of racing.

"Redlands is a fixture of the American racing scene. It's one of the best courses in the country," said Performance Director Jonas Carney. "Redlands has a long history and we'd like to add the KBS-OptumHealth name to the prestigious list of winners. Coming off of Jelajah Malaysia and the Tour de Taiwan, we believe we'll field a very competitive squad."

The race covers classic varieties of American racing, beginning with Thursdays 3.1km Prologue. The field will duel it out on the 60km downtown criterium course before the final and decisive day, the Sunset Loop road race.

"The Sunset Loop is one of the most difficult circuits in American racing," added Performance Manager Jake Erker. "It doesn't necessarily determine the overall winner every year, however, the GC leaders have to be in the front group to have any chance in the overall. It is actually a course supremely suited to Candelario. With his current climbing form and sprinting ability, he could be the most dangerous rider in the field coming into the finish."

The Redlands race is known for its lucrative time bonuses, which come early and often, and traditionally play a large part in determining the eventual winner. Look for any team intent on taking the overall GC to capitalize on these bonuses.

2011 KBS-OptumHealth Redlands Bicycle Classic Roster

• Alex Candelario

• Mike Creed

• Mike Friedman

• Jason Donald

• Reid Mumford

• Dan Bowman

• Jesse Anthony

• Andy Bajadali

Subject: Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth Malaysia finale

Hi Everyone,

Here's a final report from Jonas from Jelajah Malaysia

Jesse ended up with 9th overall in Jelajah. The guys rode pretty strong on the final day. All four of our guys made the front group of around 40. Jason went solo with 20k to go and got caught with 5k to go. In the last 2k Jesse took a flyer and ended up finishing 5th on the stage, vaulting up to 9th overall. His move was significant, as previously, over 20 riders were on the same time.

Obviously we had hoped for more, but given the injuries to Holloway and Cooper, who hurt his knee after a bike change on Stage 1, we were lacking the firepower to make the difference. However I'm proud of the guys for battling through and getting our first stage race of 2011 completed.

So we’re all on our way home, except Ryan Kelly, our soigneur and Mike Creed who are heading to the Tour de Taiwan and Holloway who is kicking it in KL for another week. He is expected to fly home on Monday the 21st and then we will assess his injuries and plan his return.

STAGE INDIVIDUAL CLASSIFICATION

5. ANTHONY, Jesse KBS

GENERAL INDIVIDUAL CLASSIFICATION BY TIME (YELLOW JERSEY)

9. ANTHONY, Jesse KBS

Jacob Erker
Performance Manager
Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth Pro Cycling Team

Subject: Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth Pro Cycling Update

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the 2011 Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth Cycling Season!

Racing has finally gotten underway for the team after a very successful training camp held last month in Oxnard. The team has split up into two squads to tackle our early season goals. Jonas is currently with his crew racing Jelajah Malaysia (March 8-13) after starting our Asian racing schedule with the OCBC Cycle Singapore Criterium. Joining Jonas are Jesse Anthony, Reid Mumford, Mike Creed, Jason Donald, Dan Holloway and Marsh Cooper. The team met up with Steve Bayliss from Schick and attended autograph signings and, I believe the highlight of the trip, dinner at the Bayliss homestead! Of course, the racing in Singapore was a fantastic experience for the guys as well. Imagine a city like Singapore shut down for a bike race and Cycle Tour with thousands of people! The race itself was extremely fast and the guys responded well to a long trip. Dan Holloway finished up in 15th and was eager to get his legs under him for more sprint finishes in Malaysia.

Unfortunately disaster struck for Dan at the end of Stage 1 of Jelajah Malaysia. Dan crashed heavily and went to hospital with broken ribs. At the moment we believe he is doing fine and is there under observation. Hopefully Dan can recover quickly from the crash, return home and join the team again soon. The rest of the guys are doing well and looking for opportunities to create a selection for the overall GC. 

The 2nd half of the team began racing with the Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic (March 3-6) as preparation for the Tour de Taiwan. Alex Candelario, Dan Bowman, Mike Friedman, Julian Kyer, Tom Soladay and Mike Sherer arrived in Merced, CA. ready to go up against a 10-man Bissell squad that were finishing up their own training camp. Julian made the decisive split on stage 1 that would determine the overall GC. An unfortunate mechanical for Friedman forced him out of the move leaving Julian to battle 4 Bissell riders. However Julian did the best he could and answered as many attacks as possible. He stayed with the move, which allowed him to finish up the weekend in 5th overall. Bissell's numbers allowed them to maintain a stranglehold on the race despite our guys' best efforts, but in the end it was great training for them as they prepare for the Tour de Taiwan (March 19-28). Friedman was 7th in the criterium and Cando ended the weekend with 5th on the final stage and 9th overall.

I depart with the team for Taipei on March 16th, which will give the guys a full day on the 18th to shake out some jetlag and get their legs going for 10 days of racing. We have climbers and sprinters on this squad and expect to contest a number of stages as well as the overall. Stay tuned! Upon our return, the OCBC/Malaysia squad will merge with the Taiwan squad in an epic battle to conquer the historic Redlands Classic.

Jacob Erker
Performance Manager
Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth Pro Cycling Team