Oakland, CA - The Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis was busy contesting NRC races 3,000 miles apart over the weekend.

In the Southwest, Phil Zajicek of Health Net Presented by Maxxis wasn't sure what to expect when he returned to racing during the opening stage of the Tour of the Gila in and around Silver City, New Mexico last Wednesday. By the end of the final stage Sunday - the infamous Gila Monster - he stood at 4th overall after finishing a strong 4th on the final stage.

Zajicek was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in March, a debilitating gastrointestinal illness that made eating difficult and sapped his strength. But with the disease diagnosed and a round of treatment starting to take effect, Zajicek had been going through some strong training sessions. But the real test would come under race conditions.

And in a sense, Zajicek and teammate Roman Kilun could race Gila under ideal conditions: with only the two of them there, they had no responsibilities during the race, while the full teams like Toyota-United and the Mexican Tecos team would shoulder the work of controlling the race. That left Zajicek and Kilun free to race.

"We came in with no stress," Zajicek said. "We could race our bikes and have fun."

The first stage, the difficult Mogollan Road Race, was admittedly a bit hard, Zajicek said. "But I got stronger each day," he said. In fact, in Stage 2, he found his way to the podium with a second place in what was considered a sprinters' stage, taking advantage of strong crosswinds that blew apart the race toward the end. "Roman was really helpful in Stage 2," Zajicek added.

The following day, he put in a strong ride in the time trial, as did Kilun. Zajicek finished 7th, 1:03 behind stage winner Tom Zirbel (Bissell), while Kilun finished 9th.

"The TT went well," Zajicek said. "I felt really strong on the bike."

During Saturday's criterium, the two riders from Health Net Presented by Maxxis stayed out of trouble, and both posted top-10 finishes. That left Zajicek in 11th place, 1:40 behind Zirbel in the overall, with one tough climbing stage remaining.

Coming over the first of three major climbs in the final stage, Zirbel crashed and abandoned with a broken collar bone, giving the lead to Colombian Gregorio Ladino Vega (Tecos), who came in just two seconds back.

Zajicek was in a small elite group going up the final climb up to Pinos Altos. Nearing the top, Ladino and Burke Swindlehurst rode away from a small group including Zajicek, with Swindlehurst going on to win this stage for the fourth time in his career. Zajicek finished 0:53 behind the stage winner, jumping up to 4th overall. Kilun finished 17th on the stage, the same place he ended up on GC.

"I'm tired, but it's a good tired," Zajicek said after the final stage. "I'm looking forward to Mt. Hood. It should be good. I came here with a lot of unknowns, but I was one of the strongest guys at the race. I think now I have a reasonable chance at the overall at Hood. But we'll have an awesome team with a lot of cards to play."

Menzies, Gritters podium in fast weekend races.

In the Southeast, Karl Menzies of Health Net Presented by Maxxis finished second in the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Alabama Saturday, while Kyle Gritters took third in the Historic Roswell Criterium Sunday.

Menzies and teammate Matt Crane were part of a 10-man break that got off the front in the 70-lap Sunny King race and, with the right mix of teams represented, proceeded to lap the rest of the field.

With the field back together in the closing laps, the race came down to a bunch sprint, with Menzies coming second to fellow Australian Hilton Clarke (Toyota-United).

Gritters was also part of a break that lapped the field, this one with four riders including Ted King (Bissell), Caleb Manion (Toyota-United) and Cody Stevenson (Jittery Joe's). This one also came down to a field sprint, which proved chaotic.

"We really didn't want the break to lap the field because we knew Kyle was the fastest in the group," said Frank Pipp of Health Net Presented by Maxxis. "If it just came down to a four-up sprint, we liked Kyles chances. So when the break started closing in on the back of the field, we started attacking to try to lift the pace. But with all four major teams represented, we couldn't get any help."

With the field back together for the closing laps, Health Net Presented by Maxxis took control for the final lap, seeting up the train on the front. However, Gritters got bumped off the wheel of his lead-out man, Karl Menzies, in the run-up to the finish. As a result, he started his sprint from a bit too far back but was able to come out with a third place behind Manion and Stevenson.