Under sunny California skies in the small Sierra foothills town of Raymond, Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health) and Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) donned the leaders' jerseys after winning the first stage of Bentley's Central Valley Classic, the second race on this year's NRC calendar.

Jacques-Maynes crossed solo in the men's 102.5-mile race, though Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics) was bearing down on him in the final kilometer.

"Wohlberg was closing fast,” Jacques-Maynes said. “This last 1K was the slowest 1K I've ever done. I was definitely hurting by that point. At the end of a 100-mile road race, coming in solo is a hard way to do it, and I definitely felt the searing pain in my legs from the effort."

Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis), David Vitoria (BMC) and Dominique Rollin (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) rounded out the top five.

The finish of the women's 69-mile race was even more dramatic, as Pic edged 2007’s winningest female racer, Brooke Miller (Team TIBCO), in a bunch sprint.

Miller thought she was going to take her seventh win of the season. "I felt like I was going to do it, and then all of a sudden, I saw Tina right on my wheel,” Miller said. “She's got such a phenomenal jump."

Kelly Benjamin (Cheerwine), Rebecca Larson (Aaron's) and Lauren Franges (Team Lipton) completed the top five.

While this year's road stage lacked the rain, hail and freezing temperatures of last year's Kearney Circuit Race, there was no absence of challenge. The new course included rolling hills, two uncategorized climbs and 2500 feet of climbing on each lap. In the first lap, this meant a lot of brief and unsuccessful attacks in the men's field. On the second lap breaks started to stick for longer periods.

"The race would break apart, get sewn back together, break apart again," said Jacques-Maynes. “Luckily I had the strength to be in the front, so I didn't have to play catch-up at any point in the race. I was able to sit around, just roll through, save my legs a bit for the end."

In the final lap, with about 10km to go, Sutherland took a flyer. It was too early, though, and he was reeled back in by a still cohesive peloton. Jacques-Maynes then countered on a small incline, not realizing he was so close to the finish.

"I didn't even know it was the last riser,” Jacques-Maynes said. “It's just a little kick, and I hit it and crested over, and I recognized it from this morning. This is basically all downhill to the finish, so I thought, 'I might be able to hold this.'"

When asked to compare this win to his success at the Amgen Tour of California just three weeks ago, Jacques-Maynes replied: "The win is what it's all about. A podium at the prologue at the Tour of California, you know, is something I can point to and think about. But to get up here, put your hands up, and take the leader's jersey is going to be a great feeling."

In the women's race, the first lap included some initial small breaks, as the teams used the early season race to check each other out. The course included two significant descents, and one of these afforded Miller the opportunity to make a break, and also set her NRC-leading Team TIBCO up for a series of attacks and counters.

"I attacked on the downhill, because being a large girl, what better place to attack?” Miller said. “I just tucked and rode away from everybody." After the peloton chased back on, she added, "we had our riders, as soon as we hit the hills, attack, counterattack, attack, counterattack."

The most significant break came in the last lap, when Chrissy Ruiter (Cheerwine), Mara Abbott (Webcor-Platinum), Felicia Gomez (Aaron's) and Stacy Marple (Team TIBCO) took off, joined by at least two others. But that move was caught with about a kilometer to go, surprising both the break and the field.

"It's really indicative of how much women's racing has changed,” said Catherine Powers (Aaron's). “In past years, breaks like that didn't come back. Now there are bigger teams and more evenly matched teams, so there's a lot more strategy and a lot more teams with enough women to actually use tactics. So it's awesome."

There are still two more stages in Bentley's Central Valley Classic, a time trial on Saturday and a criterium on Sunday.

Stage results
Men
1. Ben Jacques-Maynes, Priority Health, 164.96km in 3:58:35
2. Eric Wohlberg, Symmetrics Cycling
3. Rory Sutherland, Health Net
4. David Vitoria, BMC, at 0:04
5. Dominique Rollin, Kodak Gallery / Sierra Nevada, same time
6. Chris Baldwin, Toyota-United, s.t.
7. Cesar Grajales, Jittery Joe's, s.t.
8. Ricardo Escuela, SuccessfulLiving.com, at 0:42
9. Russell Downing, Health Net, same time
10. Ivan Stevic, Toyota-United, at 0:43

Women
1. Tina Pic, Colavita/Sutter Home, 111.04km in 3:10:02
2. Brooke Miller, Team TIBCO, same time
3. Kelly Benjamin, Cheerwine, s.t.
4. Rebecca Larson, Aaron's Pro Cycling Team, s.t.
5. Lauren Franges, Team Lipton, s.t.
6. Suzanne de Goede, T-Mobile, s.t.
7. Lara Kroepsch, Team Lipton, s.t.
8. Natalie Klemko, Advil Chapstick, s.t.
9. Brenda Lyons, Team Lipton, s.t.
10. Anna Webb, AE Sport Development, s.t.