On a day when all signs pointed to bunch sprint finishes, the finales of the elite men’s and women’s circuit races at day two of the Green Mountain Stage Race produced something else altogether.

Men did 72 miles and the women 52 on Saturday’s undulating 19.4-mile circuit in Moretown, Vermont. On paper, the course was hard, but not hard enough to break up the respective fields. All previous editions of the race had ended in furious field sprints, but the 2004 edition was an exception.

Joe Papp (ACT-UPMC) soloed off a group of four to win the men’s race, finishing off a 10km breakaway effort just ahead of the charging main field. On the women’s side, Amy Moore (Quark Cycling) won her second consecutive stage, taking a three-up sprint ahead of Johanna Buick (New Zealand) and Liza Raachetto (Aquafina).

Papp, 29, used superior numbers and tactics in the final break to his advantage. He and teammate Eneas Freyre worked with and then worked over fellow breakaway mates Andrew Randell (JetFuel) and Josh Dillon (Louis Garneau) in the undulating final kilometers of the stage.

Papp and Randell bridged up to Freyre and Dillon with 10km remaining, lending just enough horsepower to keep the break away. The quartet formed after the men’s race was neutralized to keep it from overtaking the women.

“Eneas and I had targeted today as our goal, because tomorrow’s going to be a little too much for us,” said Papp, referring to Sunday’s 103-mile Mad River Road Race. “With only two guys from the team here you have to be crafty. You have to pick and choose the moves you go with when you attack.”

Prologue winner Dominique Perras (Ofoto-Lombardi Sports) said he was pleased with keeping his chief rivals in the race, mainly Colavita Olive Oil’s Mar McCormack and Aaron Olson, from making an impact on the day’s podium.

Moore, like Papp, was outnumbered . . . but won anyway

Photo: Chris Milliman

If Papp and Freire had to be choosy about where they made their moves, Moore was even more at risk of getting overwhelmed by other teams. As the only Quark rider in her field – teammate Lyne Bessette was riding in the men’s race – Moore faced the daunting task of beating larger teams in a race with a pancake-flat finish. The Aquafina squad alone brought 10 riders into the race, nearly 20 percent of the field.

“The Aquafina girls were setting pretty good tempo, but on the last lap people were getting tired and we set a hard tempo up the last climb,” said Moore of the move that sprung the winning break. “The pack almost caught us, which made for good racing.”

Following her prologue win on Friday, Moore established a firm grip on the overall leader’s jersey, though tomorrow’s Mad River Road Race, with two major climbs, could shuffle the standing considerably. By virtue of his second place, and with the general classification based on points and not time, Randell took the leader’s jersey in the men’s race.

Green Mountain Stage Race
Stage 1
Men
1. Joseph Papp, America's Cycling Team–UPMC, 2:48:25
2. 2. Andrew Randell, Jet Fuel Coffee, same time
3. Eneas Freyre, Americas Cycling Team–UPMC at 0:03
4. Joshua Dillon, Louis Garneau Racing, s.t.
5. Charles Dionne, Webcor Builders, at 0:06
6. Peter Baker, Team Snow Valley, s.t.
7. Kevin Miller, Jet Fuel Coffee, s.t.
8. Mark Pozniak, Team Ontario, s.t.
9. Cristian Meier, Espoirs Laval-Societe Generale, s.t.
10. Chris Samuel, Pro Pedals, s.t.

Women
1. Amy Moore, Quark Cycling Team, 2:21:45
2. Liza Rachetto, Aquafina, same time
3. Johanna Buick, s.t.
4. Julie Bélanger, Provincial New Brunswick, at 0:30
5. Julie Hutsebaut, Terry Precision Cycling Team, same time
6. Zoe Owers, NHCC/Team New Hampshire, s.t.
7. Marianne Stover, Independent Fabrication-SMRT Inc., s.t.
8. Marie-pier Bedard, Espoirs Laval-Societe Generale, s.t.
9. Sarah Chubb Sauvayre, CRCA-Sanchez-Metro, s.t.
10. Rosanne Lent, Skirack.com-Provisions International, s.t.

Overall
Men
1. Andrew Randell, Jet Fuel Coffee, 45pts
2. Joseph Papp, America's Cycling Team-UPMC, 27
3. Todd Herriott, Colavita Olive Oil, 48
4. Eneas Freyre, Americas Cycling Team, 31
5. Dominique Perras, Ofoto-Lombardi Sport, 50
6. Mark McCormack, Colavita Olive Oil, 49
7. Aaron Olson, Colavita Olive Oil, 47
8. Dan Timmerman, Maxxis/Spokepost.com, 46
9. Robbie King, Louis Garneau Racing, 45
9. Brian Sheedy, Unattached, 45

Women
1. Amy Moore, Quark Cycling Team, 50pts
2. Liza Rachetto, Aquafina, 48
2. Johanna Buick, 43
4. Zoe Owers, NHCC-Team New Hampshire, 45
5. Katherine Lambden, CRCA/Aquafina, 49
6. Suz Weldon, Wines of Washington-King 5 TV, 46
7. Hiroko Shimada, Velo Bella, 44
8. Lea Davison, Balance Bar/Devo, 41
9. Jennifer Stephenson, Cervelo, 42
10. Julie Hutsebaut, Terry Precision Cycling Team, 32