Merced, CA - Gord Fraser's winning streak at the McLane Pacific Downtown Criterium is over. But that's okay because the man who ended it at four in a row was his Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis teammate, Mike Jones.

Jones first shattered, then left behind the remnants of a nine-rider break in the final lap and took a three-second win over Jackson Stewart (KodakGallery-Sierra Nevada) and Mark McCormack (Colavita-Sutter Home).

The race was unusual for a number of reasons, including the fact that this was the first time anyone could remember a break succeeding in the fast, flat 50-lap/40-mile race, which typically ends in a bunch sprint. Not only that, the nine-man break went a way before the mid-point of the race, a long time to be out there and not get swept up.

Not long after the break formed, a wreck in the main field - which took down, among others, Health Net Presented by Maxxis sprinter Greg Henderson and Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly) - helped the front group extend its gap from 10 seconds out to 30 seconds. But since all the major teams were represented - Jones and Kyle Gritters (Health Net-Maxxis), McCormack and Gustavo Artacho (Colavita), Nick Reistadt and Caleb Manion (Jelly Belly), Sean Sullivan and Ivan Stevic (Toyota United) and Stewart - the main field seemed content to let them stay away, for a while at least.

"The break was a 50-50 proposition for us," said Health Net Presented by Maxxis directeur sportif Jeff Corbett. If it came to the line intact, Kyle had a good chance at the win. But we really didn't want to try that. We wanted to try to shatter the break and see where the pieces fell. And if we didn't like that, we'd bring it back for the sprint."

With 12 laps to go and the break holding a :38 lead, Toyota went to the front with Tony Cruz driving for several laps. The gap immediately fell to :29, but for several more laps it held around there. Then, with six to go, two things happened. Health Net Presented by Maxxis went to the front of the peloton to take control, and Mike Jones went on the attack in the break. Almost immediately, four riders - Manion, Stevic, Artacho and Gritters - were shed from the front group.

"With six to go, we went to the front to close it down if needed," said Jones' teammate Tim Johnson. "But then we just let Jones do his thing."

"When Jones attacked, the bunch split and we went to another 50-50 move, only smaller," Corbett said. "I knew the freshest guy in the remainder of the break would be the one to win, so I told Jones not to do too much work."

"I basically sat on Nick (Reistadt) for four and a half laps," Jones explained. "I knew he had more to gain by working because I had the guys lined up behind me to bring it back if they needed to."

"We were holding back the last lap," Corbett said, "because we wanted to give Jones the chance."

"When I went with one lap to go," Jones said, "I think Jackson, Mark and Nick all hesitated just a bit and I took advantage of it."

Coming out of the first turn on the final lap, it was Reistadt who reacted first, but he couldn't quite close down the gap, which had opened to several bike lengths. From there, it was a time trial to the finish.

"Even with half a lap left, we still felt that we could bring it back if we needed to," Corbett said. "It was a calculated gamble, but that's what it always is."

But when neither Stewart or McCormack could close down the gap either, the gamble paid off - with one of the biggest wins of Mike Jones' career.

"The last half lap was hard," Jones said. But after riding his heart out at the Amgen Tour of California and simply running into a string of bad luck, it was about time his hard work paid off.

After a tough week for the entire team at the Amgen Tour of California, Corbett spoke for everyone when he said, "It's just good to get the first win out of the way."

The team will go for its second win Sunday in race two of the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic, the Foothills Road Race.

Notes

Despite going hard to the tarmac at a speed approaching 30 mph, Henderson escaped with road rash on his leg and arm and some bruising. Still, after the race, he said "I feel a bit wrecked." However, he is expected to make the start of the road race Sunday.