Haga, Powers win opening time trial at Redlands Bicycle Classic

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The 29th edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic kicked off with a brand new challenge for the pro men and women's peloton: a 12.5km time trial at the high altitude of Big Bear Lake, one that favored those already acclimated to the thin air - three of the top finishers live in the high mountains of Colorado.

Optum Pro Cycling's Chad Haga, who resides in Colorado Springs, was the quickest of the men in the test ahead of his teammate and friendly rival Tom Zirbel of Boulder. David Williams (5 Hour Energy/Kenda), who comes from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a surprise entry in third.

In the women's race, Alison Powers, who lives in the mountains high above Boulder, crushed her competitors on the undulating, technical course. The Now & Novartis rider topped her nearest competitor, Taylor Wiles (Specialized-lululemon) by 31 seconds with third-placed Rhae Shaw (Vanderkitten) a further 14 seconds back.

Haga, 24, is fresh off a second-place overall at the Volta ao Alentejo in Portugal, and showed a winter spent honing his time trial position has paid off with his victory at Big Bear Lake.

"Having a fast but comfortable position is key," Haga said. The set-up on his Orbea allowed him to tackle the fast, twisty course in his 55-tooth chain ring out into a headwind before turning back for the high-speed rush to the finish, but the big difference for him was the comfort at altitude.

"This is only a little higher than Colorado Springs. Tom and I came back from Portugal in time to come home and get re-acclimated to the altitude, and I think that helped a lot."

If Zirbel was disappointed in being beaten by his younger teammate, he hid it under his usual laid-back demeanor, joking that he'd have to get back at him in the next race. "It was a fun course, the way out was hard, I gassed it there, whereas normally I ride my way into a time trial. Playing conservative was not the way to go today.

"I'm pretty happy with it - the course was mostly flat to rolling, and any time I don't have to go uphill for an extended period it's good for me. I think the good racing we had in Portugal really helped us both with this result."

For Williams, taking third just ahead of the day's early fast finisher, Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie), was a bit of a surprise since it's his best time trial finish since taking third in the U23 national championships in 2010.

"The team's goal was for everyone to go out there and give it 100 percent today, and to have as many guys up there as we could. We have three in the top-10 so we're really happy with the outcome."

Williams, 24, was one of the riders who was retained from the former Competitive Cyclist team when the management company merged with that of Kenda/5 Hour Energy, and paid back the faith of team manager Frankie Andreu with today's result.

"Personally, I'm happy with the result because for the past two years I've been in sort of a growing period, but it's been good to have veterans on the team like Francisco Mancebo to help me with things like pacing."

Powers shows her time trial powers

Women's stage winner Alison Powers was especially pleased to win today's time trial with such a large margin after coming second in last year's overall classification by one wafer-thin second. When she heard the course had been altered from last year's shorter uphill test to the longer, rolling course at altitude, she knew it was her time to take the race by the reins.

"That uphill course was OK and all, but it doesn't really suit me, and it turns Redlands into a sort of a sprinter's race with all the time bonuses," Powers told Cyclingnews. "I was so excited about this course. It was hard with the wind, it kept you on its toes, and I like that. The more challenging, the better. I liked everything about today."

Coming from an altitude of 8,000 feet at her home in Colorado, Powers was actually coming down to a lower elevation to race today, and that made a difference.

"I knew what it would feel like - it's like riding at home, it hurts your lungs, it hurts your stomach, it burns in your throat, so I was ready for that."

Today's runner-up Tayler Wiles (Specialized-lululemon) posted another strong result after taking third to Mara Abbott and Amber Neben at last month's San Dimas Stage Race, and also preferred the longer, flatter test to that of the previous years.

"It was really fast - a little cross-headwind going out. I had to really push, and coming back it was so fast, I was just seeing stars and trying to take the turns as best as I could. I like this time trial better than the other one, knowing how to pace yourself was hard on that hill, but this was the perfect length for me."

Third place went to Rhae Shaw, the Canadian powerhouse who moved to the Northern California Vanderkitten team for the season. Although residing in Seattle at sea level admittedly wasn't to her benefit, Shaw was pleased to get on the podium and help gain some exposure for her team.

"I'm so excited about this team - they've been so great to me. The Wilier time trial bike, the Kask helmet - everything was dialed in. A happy Rhae is a fast Rhae."

Finding success here was particularly satisfying, Shaw said, because Redlands was her first National Calendar race only two years ago. "It's nice to come back and see how everything has changed [for me]."

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