Silver City, NM - Scott Moninger of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis has won the second stage of the Tour of the Gila, a 92-mile run from Silver City to Mogollon in New Mexico that featured over 5,600 feet of climbing.

Moninger, a two-time Gila champion, finished several seconds ahead of Stage 1 winner Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) on the final 5.5 mile climb to the finish. The win also earned Moninger a time bonus that moved him an additional five seconds closer to Baldwin at the top of the general classification. Baldwin came into the stage with a 40-second lead on Moninger.

"We're doing what we can with only three guys here," Moninger said. "We have to pick and choose where to show our hand. We don't want to try to get the leader's jersey too early because we really don't have the team to defend it."

Instead, Moninger and teammates Gord Fraser and Roman Kilun are riding tactically and opportunistically.

"We were hoping Toyota would take control of the race today and defend Baldwin's lead and that's what they did," Moninger said. "We didn't have to do too much work today."

But Toyota-United almost left it too late, as they caught Michael Lange (TIAA-CREF), who had been part of a long break, just 500 meters from the line on the final climb. But then, Moninger noted, with the finishing climb being so steep, that was still several minutes before the end.

The tour continues Friday with a 73-mile road race that features less climbing than today's second stage and often ends in a sprint finish.

1 Scott Moninger (USA) Health Net Presented by Maxxis
2 Chris Baldwin (USA) Toyota-United
3 Burke Swindlehurst (USA)  Navigators