Columbia-Highroad Fields Powerful Squads for USA's Top Classic

Columbia-Highroad is fielding impressively strong squads for the Philadelphia International Championships and the Liberty Classic, America’s top one-day events for men’s and women’s racing.
Held over an identical circuit which has the challenging Manayunk Wall climb as its key feature,  Columbia-Highroad’s men’s squad includes two former winners of the Philadelphia Championships, Greg Henderson and Bernhard Eisel, while Ina-Yoko Teutenberg has taken the Liberty Classic twice.

“This is probably the most similar US event to European races,” comments Henderson, “both in terms of the distance and the way it is raced.  Also, there are generally a lot of European teams taking part.  It typically plays out in a similar fashion each year but having said that we will be covering every option available  to try and win on Sunday.”

Henderson’s win back in 2006 came after a crash early in the season and attempting to race with what was later diagnosed as a fractured femur head.  “I had six weeks off but tried to keep active, and after a ton of solid training at altitude I was absolutely flying.  I  won at Reading and then three days later won Philadelphia by making the final selection up the [Manayunk] Wall.”

“It’s a race where you have to keep your options open for as long as possible,” adds Columbia-Highroad’s Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, who won the Liberty Classic in 2007 and 2005. “It used to be a couple of laps longer which made it much more difficult, and really being a short race, there’s no guarantee that it’ll come down to a bunch sprint or even a small group sprint.  Then because it’s a long wide sprint finish, you have to be careful about not going too early, because it’s easy for your rivals to get past.  Personally, I’m doing ok.  I’ve had a bit of a break since the Tour de L’Aude, but my condition is still pretty good.  In any case, I’m one option in the team.  There are six of us there and we’re all there to win.”

“Positioning on the Manayunk climb” -the toughest on the circuit - “is absolutely crucial but it’s a race which can be won and lost at any point on the circuit, on any of the three times,” indicates Columbia-Highroad sports director Petra Rossner, whose personal total of seven victories is the all-time record for wins in the Liberty Classic.  “You have to have lots of different cards to play.  Last year [Columbia-Highroad rider] Kim  [Anderson] went in one break and that could have stayed away.  But instead it was a move by [teammate] Chantal Beltman that actually worked out. What’s curious is that the women’s race has never been won by an American rider.”

“The key is conserve, conserve, conserve,” adds Henderson.  “It’s a long, long, day and, more often than not, very hot.  It helps to try and be near the front to start the climb and sag  a few spots on the way up.  But you can’t do that the final three or four times because this is generally when all the action begins.”

After recently winning the last stage of the Tour of Catalunya, Henderson headed for Colorado to stay with friends before coming over to Philadelphia for the race.  “This race was my major focus when I was based in the States, and I still become pretty motivated to do well here in Philly as I know a lot of the racers and teams,” he says.  “I have good condition, but it’s a long day and lots of things can come into play.  What’s important is that we have a super strong team, so we can win with different guys and in a few different ways.”

Columbia-Highroad for Philadelphia International Championships:
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor); Gert Dockx (Bel);  Bernhard Eisel (Aut); Andrei Greipel (Ger); Greg Henderson (NZ); Marco Pinotti (Ita); Vicente Reynes (Spa).

Columbia-Highroad for Liberty Classic: Mara Abbott (USA); Kim Anderson (USA); Judith Arndt (Ger); Kate Bates (Aus); Ellen Van Dijk (Hol); Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Ger).

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