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Bissell's Steven Howard wins the first stage of the Tour de Nez.
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The Tour de Nez, a five-stage race that bills itself as "the Coolest Race in America," got underway Wednesday with a criterium at a Reno, Nevada, casino.
The Bissell team gave Michigan's Steven Howard a perfect lead out, setting him up for a bike-length win ahead of Riccardo Escuela (Successful Living) and Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics).
Unlike in previous years when the Tour de Nez was an omnium, based on individual points earned in each stage, this season’s race is a true stage race, where the overall winner is the rider with the lowest total time combined for the five stages.
The criterium was contested over a 1.04 mile loop around the parking lot of the Grand Sierra resort, with a slightly uphill finish.
At the start, the BMC team attacked, first with Jackson Stewart and then with Mike Sayers. They were never able to gain a significant gap, as Bissell contained any breakaways. Riding at the front, sometimes as many as five strong, Bissell looked to be sending a signal that it would control the week's racing.
The field remained largely together for the first hour of the 75-minute race, but as the time continued to tick down, multiple attacks went off the front. Steven Cozza of Slipstream-Chipotle went away with Aaron Olson of Bissell, but was pulled back by BMC, who were trying to set up the sprint for their designated rider Taylor Tolleson. Finally, in a surprise move with five laps to go in the race, local favorite Alex Candelario went off on his own in an attempt at a solo victory.
Candelario explained his attack to the media after the race. “I probably went a little bit too early, but we were just trying to mix it up and make it a fun race. Next thing I knew, I had a pretty big gap and decided to keep it going. Bissell had twice as many guys as everyone else, though, so they brought it back pretty easily.”
Candelario said he still has a lot of fight left in him, and will target the downtown Truckee criterium, a race he won last year, on Thursday. “I’m gonna win tomorrow. Yeah, I got it.”
After reeling in Candelario on the back stretch of the final lap, Bissell kept the pace high, discouraging any attacks.
As they approached the finish line, the field was spread out ten wide. Bissell began the lead out at about 300 meters for Howard, who took the win by more than a bike length.
Besides the stage win, Howard took the race’s first overall leader’s jersey, as well as the best sprinter title. The best young rider jersey went to Roman Van Uden of Team Rubicon-Orbea.
Racing continues Thursday with a 2.75 mile mountain time trial to the Village at Northstar resort in north Lake Tahoe, and then a timed 75-minute evening criterium in downtown Truckee. The morning time trial should provide for a major shift in the GC standings, while the evening criterium will provide another chance for the fast finishers to shine.
