Stillwater, MN – Since the end of the opening stage time trial Wednesday morning, Rory Sutherland of the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis had been chasing race leader Tom Zirbel (Bissell), needing to close a gap of 0:13 to repeat as champion of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Finally, in the closing minutes of the final stage Sunday, Sutherland caught and passed Zirbel to erase the last seven seconds of his deficit, and take the overall title of the six-stage race by a slim, three-second margin. And there was no way he would’ve done it without a full team effort propelling him.

“We put everything into one late attack,” Sutherland said. “We’ve had race plans and been trying to execute them all week and we just weren’t quite there. Today, everything went right. The guys rode great, executed well and I had the legs at the end.”

Sunday’s two-pronged plan was quite simple, and took advantage of the strength on OUCH Presented by Maxxis, and tried to replicate the scenario that played out at the end of Wednesday night’s St. Paul Criterium.

“When things got really fast and crazy near the end on Wednesday night,” explained team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo, “gaps started to form and Zirbel was caught out of position. That allowed Rory to make the front group and pick up those six seconds. We wanted to try to create the same situation again today and open some gaps to see if we could catch Zirbel out.”

But first, Tamayo said, they wanted to make Zirbel’s Bissell teammates work. “We sent the one guy on our team who has the capacity to ride away from guys on this course out on the attack,” he said.

That was Floyd Landis, who initiated an attack with 14 laps to go, that forced Bissell to ride a hard tempo at the front until reeling him back in with seven trips remaining around the notorious Stillwater circuit, which featured the painfully steep Chilkoot Hill at its end. For his efforts, Landis earned the day’s Most Aggressive Rider jersey.

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Fayetteville, AR – Rory Sutherland of the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis came into the challenging final Stage criterium of the Joe Martin Stage Race with a nine-second lead over Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell). It was the same margin he held following Stage 2, thanks to the work of his teammates during a hectic Stage 3 on Saturday.

“The guys pulled it together and did their jobs again today,” Sutherland said. “The were on the front from the get-go. They’d let little groups go, but kept everything under control.”

For the second consecutive day, Bissell threw repeated attacks at Sutherland and his OUCH Pres ented by Maxxis teammates. “We did what we’ve done here the last two years,” said Sutherland, who finished 7th in the final stage. “The other teams threw down again like yesterday, but the guys weathered it.”

While Sutherland won last year’s opening prologue and then held on for the three road stages, this year he finished 2nd by one second to Jacques-Maynes in the prologue. But he showed his versatility by taking 2nd in the sprint finish in Stage 2 to earn a 10-second time bonus and a nine-second lead in the general classification, which he and his teammates held to the end.

“It’s a big win for the team and a big win for the organization,” he added.

The win, in fact, is the fifth consecutive overall victory of Joe Martin for the organization.

Fayetteville, AR – Rory Sutherland of the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis was unsure of his form going into this year’s edition of the Joe Martin Stage Race, a race he’s won the past two years.

“A three-peat is a big call,” he said before the race. “It would be nice, don’t get me wrong, and it seems like I’m getting better every tour, but like a diesel.”

His form may be a little better than he thinks, if his 2nd place finish yesterday afternoon in the 2.5-mile uphill prologue of Joe Martin is any indication. And it was a close second, in fact by just over a second, to Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell). Sutherland powered his Kuota up the course in a time of 9:42.03.

OUCH Presented by Maxxis had a strong showing overall in the prologue, placing five riders in the top 18, none more than 30 seconds behind Jacques-Maynes, and two more riders within 42 seconds.

“It gives us a lot of options,” team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo said. “We intend to make Bissell’s life difficult.”

With plenty of time bonuses out on the road and at stage finishes, Sutherland will have a number of opportunities to take over the race lead. He can start today, with a hilly 179km road race that offers a 15-second time bonus to the winner. Sutherland took 2nd on this stage – and a 10-second time bonus – last year to extend the lead he earned in the prologue.

Oakland, CA – Floyd Landis and two-time defending NRC points champion Rory Sutherland will lead the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis into the 2009 NRC opening Redlands Classic, beginning Thursday, March 26.

“The team has had great preparation for this race,” noted team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo. “The guys really came together and raced hard at California, and that showed with our results in Mexico.”

Last year’s Redlands Classic saw NRC champion Sutherland fly to a win in the opening prologue and take a hard-earned 3rd place in the final road stage en route to 4th overall. While Sutherland will still be a marked man, other teams will have to contest with the presence of Landis as well.

“Having serious cards like Landis and Sutherland to play will make things that much more difficult for other teams,” Tamayo said. “It takes the pressure off of Rory because everyone was watching him last year.”

So will the presence of the teams two Canadians, rising stage race star Cameron Evans and sprinter Andrew Pinfold. Both riders enter Redlands on good form after each took a stage win at the Vuelta Mexico earlier this month, and Pinfold rode his way onto the podium in two other stages. Their ability to win out of breaks, as demonstrated in Mexico, adds another element of danger to the team. Joining them on break patrol will be the ever-aggressive Bradley White.

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Oakland, CA - One lucky person and their grateful friend will win a ride with the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis on Saturday, January 24th, during the first weekend of the team’s upcoming training camp in Temecula, California.

The winner and their guest will join the full team and team sponsors for a two-hour VIP ride, during which they’ll have the opportunity to chat with team leaders Floyd Landis, Rory Sutherland and Tim Johnson, as well as the rest of the OUCH Presented by Maxxis squad. The winner will also receive an official Team OUCH race kit, as well as two Team OUCH t-shirts and an experience they’ll never forget.

Entering is easy: go to http://www.teamouch.com/VIP and enter your email address to join the team’s news email list. If you are already subscribed to the email list, you are automatically entered. The deadline for entries is 9:00 PM (U.S. Pacific) on Friday, January 16, and one winner will be selected at random the day after.

Enter today for your shot at a ride with the top professional team in America!

Ritchey WCS cockpits also help secure second place,
overall team honors and 13 podium finishes

San Carlos, Calif.  - In his third overall stage race win within six weeks, Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis rider, Rory Sutherland rode a near perfect race to clinch the Nature Valley Grand Prix title while he and his teammates rode Ritchey WCS 4Axis stems, WCS carbon seat posts, WCS handlebars, the Hammerhead Carbon TT bar and the newest, carbon prototype drop style TT base bar.

Close behind were teammates John Murphy who finished second place and Kirk O’Bee who captured a number of podium finishes throughout the five day stage race.

Minnesota’s Nature Valley Grand Prix (June 11-15, 2008) route tests riders with its more than 200-mile, six stage course which includes technical criteriums, blazing time trials, grueling climbs and this year, strong winds and downpour. The very first stage was neutralized due to extreme weather conditions.

As a high level performance team, Health Net presented by Maxxis has been on Ritchey WCS cockpits for the past five years. Ritchey’s dependable and high-performance products allow Health Net presented by Maxxis to focus on racing and winning.

Ritchey WCS products have carried countless riders to Olympic, World Cup and World Championship victories. Utilizing the most innovative designs, materials and technologies, the WCS (World Championship Series) level product line has truly earned its strips.

Health Net presented by Maxxis will race next at the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix in Manhattan Beach, Calif., June 29, 2008.
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Oakland, CA - After consecutive overall stage race titles the past two weeks, Rory Sutherland of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis has opened a commanding lead in the most recent USA Cycling National Racing Calendar individual points standings.

With 976 points, Sutherland has a 569-point lead in the competition, with well more than twice the total of the next closest rider, Ted King (Bissell; 407 points). Sutherland opened the sizable lead by virtue of winning the Joe Martin Stage Race and the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in consecutive weeks this month.

On the strength of Sutherland’s results, Health Net Presented by Maxxis has also opened up a solid lead in the team standings, with 1,726 points, 512 points ahead of second-place Bissell (1,214).

“Our goal at the start of the year was not to win either of these competitions,” said team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo. “Our goal, as always, has been to win races. When you win races, the other benefits like NRC wins come along with that.”

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Canadian Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) outsprinted his breakaway companions to win the final stage, the Hood River Criterium, of the Mt Hood Cycling Classic. World B Champion Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) was second and Italian Alessandro Bazzana (Successful Living) came in third.

Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) wins the sprint ahead of Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) and Alessandro Bazzana (Successful Living)

“I was on [Chris] Wherry’s wheel and he sat up, I knew that he’s not going to deliver me to the line, I was just waiting for that, and I was able to get on, I think it was Bazzana’s or Stevic’s wheel, and I came around him at the end. I came around the corner in third wheel.” said Pinfold.

Australian Rory Sutherland protected by his Health Net-Maxxis teammates came in safely across the line to win the overall general classification, shadowed at the line by second place Darren Lill (BMC) and third place Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell).

“I think it was a learning experience for a lot of the guys, a lot of the boys hadn’t done that kind of stuff before. Look at the start list, look at the teams that are here, this is probably one of the. I’d say, one of the best field ever put together on the domestic scene, this and Redlands of course, so it was by no means an easy feat that’s for sure. The guys seemed to get better every day, and really rode above and beyond today, to be honest they don’t get paid enough to do that kind of stuff because they just killed themselves for somebody else and that’s a pretty amazing thing.” said Sutherland about his team.

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Barring disasters, Australian (Rory Sutherland) is set to win his second stage race in two weeks, as his team worked tirelessly to reel in a threatening breakaway in the Queen Stage of the Mt Hood Cycling Classic.

“It’s not over until it’s over. Luckily enough today, we’ll have created some good gaps in the GC again, and there’s only maybe 2 guys to really watch. We’ll go out there fighting tomorrow and try to bring it home for two tours in two weeks.” said Sutherland.

Escapees from the break, Australian Caleb Manion (Toyota-United) outsprinted James Mattis (Cal Giant) to win stage 4, and a charging Sutherland came in third, four seconds back. Mattis attacked the break on the final climb and Manion jumped on his wheel ahead of a charging riders from the field.

“It was a pretty hard climb, it’s my first time here so I didn’t know what to expect. I think James from Cal Giant, he attacked really early, maybe 4K to go, I thought it was actually a little bit to early but he got such a big gap straight away, I was like ‘I sort of better go now’. So I sort of jumped across to him, he was going really, really strong, that’s how it stayed, I did a few turns, he did a lot of work actually, he was really strong, then we come together with 200 to go and then it was a sprint to the line.” said Manion.

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The leader’s jersey changed hands once again after the first climbing stage, the Cooper Spur Circuit Race at the Mt Hood Cycling Classic. Darren Lill (BMC) timed his attack perfectly to outsprint Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis) and Chris Meier (Symmetrics) on the final climb to the finish line after 85 miles in the saddle, and he also had to dodge an official’s car at the same time. (Unfortunately so did I, so I missed the final photo at the finish).

“I saved everything for the final kilometer, and I knew that it was probably the steepest pitch of the whole climb, none of the climbs are really all that steep, the guys are obviously at their most tired, it just flattens out with 200 meters to go and I thought if I could just get over the crest with 200, 250 meters to go with a bit of a gap, I should be able to hold on for the win, I just put my head and prayed like mad, I thought my legs were going to fall off at the end but managed to hold on.” said a tried Lill after the stage.

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