Merced, CA - The conditions for the McLane Pacific Foothills Road Race were reminiscent of what you might see at a northern European classic or semi-classic. So maybe it wasn't such a surprise that Hayden Roulston of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis - a rider who finished in the top 10 at Kurne-Brussels-Kurne last spring - won today's 120-mile race.

The win was a textbook example of how a strong team can take control of a race run under less than ideal conditions - in this case cold with high winds - and shatter the field.

Early on, a series of attacks finally led to the only successful break of the day, which included Health Net Presented by Maxxis teammates Roulston and Mike Sayers, Victor Rapinski (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United). However, Stevic wasn't contributing to the workload, so Roulston did what he had to do to unload the passenger. Sitting third wheel, with Stevic behind him, he let off the gas and let a gap open to Sayers and Rapinksi.

The Roulston and Stevic drifted back to the peloton, while Sayers and Rapinski gradually edged away from the bunch. "Sayers being in the break was instrumental to us getting the win today," said Karl Menzies of Health Net Presented by Maxxis, who finished fourth today, despite losing a bit of skin on one of his knees in an early wreck. "Him being up there gave the rest of us a free ride. He worked hard, and that's what set us up. Toyota, Jelly Belly and Kodakgallery had to do most of the chasing."

Behind the two break-away riders, Health Net Presented by Maxxis had decided to do some damage of their own. "We planned on hitting it hard in one particular stretch (on the backside of the circuit) where the crosswinds were the worst," Menzies said. "We rode in numbers and really drove the pace."

Stretching out across the road in an echelon to battle the crosswinds, the team hit the gas on the front and immediately shattered the field. "I think the first time doing it, we got rid of 30 guys and put the hurt on a lot of others," Menzies said.

With a lap and a half (36 miles) remaining, the front bunch was down to 30 guys, seven of whom were from Health Net Presented by Maxxis, but the diminished pack was closing in on the two riders in the break. With the gap down to just 40 seconds and the catch inevitable, the chasing pack hit the last stretch of crosswinds. Health Net Presented by Maxxis put all seven of its riders on the front and drilled it. When the dust had settled, the remnants of the front group numbered just 12, with Roulston, Menzies and Greg Henderson giving Health Net Presented by Maxxis the numbers.

Then the attacks began.

"We were going to save Hendy for the sprint," Menzies explained. "So Roulston attacked first, but was caught after a bit. Then I had a go at it, but I was caught pretty straight away. Roulston had another go and this time he stayed away. United was chasing but nobody could get up to him." In the end, Roulston won by a comfortable margin of nearly 15 seconds.

In the sprint for second, Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) beat out Mark McCormack (Colavita-Sutter Home). Menzies said he was a bit late reacting to the sprint and had to work his way through several other riders to get the fourth position. Ben Jaques-Maynes (Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada) finished out the top five.

Notes

Henderson and Roulston left almost immediately after the race to catch a flight to Australia, where they will represent New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games.

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