San Rafael, CA - It wasn't quite the "one for the thumb" that Michael Sayers of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis wanted Sunday. At the revived San Rafael Criterium, now called the Carrera de San Rafael, Sayers finished second in this race for the fifth time in his career, this time behind Owen Laine (BMC Racing).

Sayers was part of a five-man break that included Laine, Ben Jacques-Maynes (KodakGallery/Sierra Nevada), his twin brother Andy (Cal Giant Strawberries) and Andy's teammate John Hunt, who succeeded in lapping the field about two-thirds of the way through the 90-minute race.

Once they caught the field, Sayers' lone teammate, Roman Kilun, helped guide Sayers to the front of the pack, which Cal Giant controlled for the last 12 laps in the hopes of setting up the train for Andy Jacques-Maynes.

However, a $1,000 prime on the second to last lap disrupted their efforts and prompted Sayers to go to the front with half a lap to go. He led the pack through the final two turns and entered the finishing straight still on the front. "The sprint was just a little too long," he said. "If the line was where it used to be (one block sooner) I'd have won it."

Instead, Laine got one of his biggest wins. Andy Jacques-Maynes did succeed in getting the better of his twin brother to finish third.

Notes

Karl Menzies, Scott Moninger and Garrett Peltonen will race in the final NRC event on the calendar, the Parker Mainstreet Omnium, September 15-17 in their home town of Boulder, CO.