Redlands, California – Team TIBCO/To the Top Dr. Vie Superfoods Erinne Willock our Canadian girl put in a strong ride to take 3rd in the opening prologue of the Redlands Classic today. She was one of four Team TIBCO riders to crack the top 20 in the 5 km uphill race against the clock, in temperatures that were approaching 90 degrees.
“I knew I had really good form coming in,” our Canadian climber said. “I’m very happy with the results.”
Willock rode her Specialized Amira to a time of 11:25, putting her 0:12 behind former World Time Trial Champion Amber Neben, and just 0:04 behind Neben’s HTC-Highroad teammate Evelyn Stevens, the current U.S. Time Trial Champion.
Carmen Small, who also showed good form at the San Dimas Stage Race last weekend, gave Team TIBCO its second rider in the top 10, with a 6th place ride at 0:35 behind Neben. Alison Powers and Meredith Miller finished in 12th and 17th place respectively, both a little more than 1:00 behind the stage winner.
“This is a really strong field, so to get these results is confirmation of the strength of our squad here,” said Team Directeur Sportif Lisa Hunt. “Tomorrow should be a good day for Erinne and Carmen. (Kristen) Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.) is just a couple seconds ahead of Carmen. We know she’s going to be aggressive and looking to move up. There should be a lot of pressure on HTC tomorrow.”
“I’m feeling really confident about tomorrow and the rest of the race,” Willock added. “We have a really strong team here. I think we have a good battle on our hands.”
The Redlands Classic continues Friday with the 115 km Beaumont Circuit Race.
Good luck girls….Go Go GO
Dr. Vie
Montreal, Canada