Truckee, CA - Roman Kilun was the driving force at the front of a three-man break in the technical Stage 3 Tour de Nez criterium Thursday evening in Truckee, CA. So when the break succeeded in eluding the grasp of the chasing field, it was only fitting that Kilun was at the front coming across the line in front of a very vocal crowd approaching 5,000.

Kilun had plenty of time to post his victory over his two break-mates, Jon Baker (Vitamin Cottage) and Justin England (Toyota-United), and earn a win that moved him up to 10th overall. The win also earned Kilun the sprint leader's jersey.

"All the main GC riders were really aggressive this evening," Kilun said. "Once we got in the break, I saw Justin was struggling a bit, so I drove the pace. I was trying to keep the gap at 20 seconds, then let it come down as the chase picked up. The ideal would've been for me to get the win, but only maybe by a second."

Morning climb

The close finish would've kept Health Net Presented by Maxxis teammates Matt Cooke and Corey Collier in the 2nd and 3rd place overall positions they earned in Thursday morning's short but brutal uphill time trial at the Sierra at Tahoe resort.

The course, at under 3 km, climbed 192 meters, with grades averaging 14% for the trip up. But at just 130 pounds, Cooke was well suited for the climb, and took advantage, even though he admitted afterward he was a bit surprised at the result. And though he was packing an additional 10 or 15 pounds, Collier matched Cooke's time, with both riders coming in at around 16 seconds back of stage winner, Ian McKissick (BMC).

Kilun also put in a solid ride in the morning, finishing 20th, 43 seconds off the stage winner. Kilun also put in a strong ride in the Stage 1 criterium at the Grand Sierra Hotel Casino in Reno, NV the day before.