On a sunny day in the shadow of Mission San Rafael, the men’s professional road teams warmed up for Sunday’s San Francisco Grand Prix, but for the women, it was an important showdown in the Pro Cycling Tour at the San Rafael Cycling Classic. Overcoming full teams from Saturn and Diet Rite, Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus) pulled off a convincing win and moved into the overall lead of the PCT. In the men’s race, Mercury launched Gord Fraser past the Prime Alliance leadout train and delivered the Canadian to the win.

In the absence of Tour leader Petra Rossner (Saturn), Van Gilder was poised to take over the PCT lead with a win, but riding without teammates, she had to contend with big teams Saturn and Diet Rite. Luckily, while Saturn launched attack after attack, it was often Diet Rite chasing them down, allowing Van Gilder to pick and choose her moves.

Van Gilder had hoped to find her way into a breakaway to increase her odds, but after a couple of failed bids, she was forced to bide her time. "Toward the end I had to be a lot more patient," she said. "If I extended myself too much, I wouldn’t have much left for the sprint."

With the pack coming back together after late attacks by Kim Bruckner and Kim Davidge (both Saturn), Van Gilder was able to key off of the Saturn leadout. "[Bruckner] started the leadout for Suzanne [Sonye], which was good for me … I knew the pace was going to be fast.

Van Gilder made the final turn first

Photo: Bryan Jew

"Suzanne and I both came off of Kim’s wheel on the backstraight, and I just beat her to the final corner," said Van Gilder.

Out of the last turn, Van Gilder held off Diet Rite’s Joanne Kiesanowski and Freddie Fu’s Tania Duff-Miller for the latest win in a strong season, adding to recent wins at the Chris Thater Memorial and the Georgia Labor Day Omnium. Last week Van Gilder was selected to the U.S. team for road world’s, and because of her preparations for world’s, Van Gilder will miss the PCT finals in Miami, opting instead for a pro/I-II men’s race close to home.

Like Van Gilder, Fraser has been hot of late, including wins at the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix and the Georgia Labor Day Omnium. One race where he didn’t capitalize on his good form was the USPRO Criterium Championship, where he was taken out in a massive crash, leaving the win to his leadout man Henk Vogels. At San Rafael, the roles were back to normal, with Vogels carrying his teammate to the win.

With the race winding down, Saturn and Prime Alliance battled for the front, with Prime Alliance riders Chris Horner and Alex Candelario stepping up on the final lap to set up the leadout for Jonas Carney. After Candelario pulled to the top of the half-mile course’s one climb, between turns one and two, Horner took the front, but then Vogels moved Fraser into position past Carney. Candelario made it back to the front, but at that point, was leading out Fraser as much as Carney. Candelario hit the final turn first, with Fraser right on his wheel, and the Canadian sneaked around on the outside before sprinting away to the finish line. Candelario took second, with Carney third.

For Fraser and Mercury, the recent hot streak feels like "vintage Mercury," said Fraser, but with the team future in doubt, it was important for other reasons. "The year’s winding down and we’re all kind of looking for jobs," he said. "It’s time to show teams that I’m still one of the best sprinters and I’m still going strong."