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Valley of the Sun stage race kicks off Friday
Winter-weary racers will get a taste of springtime this weekend during the 17th annual John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun stage race.
The three-day event in and around Phoenix has traditionally been the first stage race for many domestic professional and elite regional teams, and the weather should be welcoming, with sunshine and temperatures in the upper 60s.
The Amgen Tour of California, which gets under way Saturday, has already drawn many of the domestic peloton's top riders to Northern California, which means that most domestic professional teams will not have full squads in Phoenix.
Nevertheless, this year's start list is loaded with talent, including riders from Lance Armstrong's Trek-Livestrong U23 squad, Bissell, OUCH-Maxxis, Kenda-Spinergy and Rock Racing.
On the women's side, a host of top regional amateur squads will be racing, including last year's road-race winner, SC Velo's Beatriz Rodriguez.
Racing begins Friday with a nearly flat, 13-mile out-and-back time trial held near the West Valley town of Buckeye. Saturday brings the Landis Cyclery Road Race. The 16-mile circuit features 470 feet of climbing per lap in the form of a fast, big-ring ascent that also serves as the finish to the 89-mile race. Last year, Tristan Uhl (Tx Tough-Hotel San Jose) took the sprint win in just over three and a half hours.
Racing concludes Sunday with the 0.8-mile, eight-corner Verrado Criterium. The finale is normally in downtown Phoenix, but with the NBA All-Star game sharing the same date as this year's event, the criterium has been moved to the West Valley town of Buckeye.
Last year's criterium saw Rock Racing score a one-two with Justin Williams taking the victory followed by teammate Sterling Magnell. Cari Higgins (America's Dairyland) took the sprint in the women's race.
Time bonuses in both the criterium and road race keeps the racing fast and tactical, and the GC winner is often decided by a matter of seconds. Last year's men's race saw the top nine GC riders each within a minute of overall winner Karl Bodine (5 Star WVO).
Check VeloNews.com for daily coverage from Phoenix.
