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Tour de Nez: Chad Gerlach wins overall title; Truckee’s Katerina Nash takes third

Briggs Heaney
Special to the Sun
Courtesy photoJonathan Baker leads the peloton up a climb at Northstar during the final stage of the Tour de Nez on Saturday.
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NORTHSTAR-AT-TAHOE RESORT and#8212; The final stage of the Tour de Nez tore through the Village at Northstar Resort on Saturday, and the crowd on hand was treated to an action-packed day of racing across all categories.

Race leader and double-stage winner Chad Gerlach had his hands full in defending his Omnium title against a rabid California Giant Berry Farms squad intent on putting Steve Reaney into the overall lead. In the end, though, Gerlach got it done, edging Reaney for the overall title in front of an elated crowd.

The final stage was contested on the difficult 2-mile Village circuit course at Northstar that featured cobbled sections and tough climbs, as 62 of the top male riders in the nation took to the start line to contest the 90-minute timed event. Coming to the line out of an elite three man escape group, it was Jesse Moore who took top honors on the day, pulling away from Bissell’s Graham Howard and his teammate Justin England on the approach to the finish line.



Moore was the deserving winner on the day, as he went out on a solo escape just 10 minutes into the 90-minute timed event. Behind him, a charging Howard was able to link up to create the twosome, while the main field chased behind. Never able to get closer than 25 seconds, the main chase group were unable to bring the twosome back in time to contest the finish. Meanwhile, with only about five laps to go, England jumped away from the field managed to bridge up to the two escapees, giving California Giant two riders in the decisive three man group.

Down the stretch, it was England who turned himself inside out for his teammate, allowing Moore to finish things off for the Northern California amateur powerhouse. Having come close on days one and two with Reaney, Moore’s victory gave a hard-earned win to the California Giant Berry Farms team that had been knocking on the door all week.



In the overall Omnium classification, Gerlach had a nervous finale, as Graham Howard came within inches of taking the red leader’s jersey away from the Velo Vie/Form Fitness rider. But with a solid top-10 placing on the final stage, Gerlach solidified his overall win, the first since his much-publicized comeback after four years away from the sport.

The women’s race was equally exciting, as Tibco’s Amber Rais successfully defended her Omnium crown from a game Katerina Nash of the LUNA Chix team. Nash, who lives in Truckee, won in Reno on Stage 2 Friday, and the mountain bike-oriented rider managed a solid third place at Northstar behind a flying Amber Rais and Olivia Dillon. Rais was deemed the winner after her teammate Alison Starnes was relegated one lap down for mistakenly taking a free lap during the race.

Unfortunately for the first-year pro Starnes, there were no free laps awarded during the race, and a supposed victory was snatched away from the Tibco rider and passed to her teammate Rais. Gracious in defeat, Starnes admitted her mistake, confident that she would live to fight another day.

In the hand cycle event, Alejandro Albor rolled away victorious again, winning for the third time in as many days. He blazed the four-lap course alone and even added a fifth lap for good measure, showing that he is on form and ready for the upcoming cycling world championships in Italy.


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