MINDEN -- While the course was familiar, Gardnerville cyclist Carol Breed found herself riding under different circumstances Saturday during the Carson Valley Classic criterium on Saturday.
She was all alone.
Breed broke away early from a field of six entries in the women's race and never looked back to win the circuit race on the Minden Park course.
The two-day Carson Valley Classic, being hosted by the Alta Alpina Cycling Club, concludes today with the Diamond Valley Road Race in Alpine County. Racing begins at 8 a.m. from Diamond Valley School.
For Breed, the victory was impressive considering it was her first race in four months and considering most of her training is done on a tandem bicycle with her training partner, Doug Grattan. The two won the tandem time trial at the 2002 U.S. Cycling Federation Masters National Championships.
"This was my first race since March," said Breed, who raced for GS Reno. "We've been doing a lot of 200-milers, so we're in really good long distance, slow shape, but that's pretty much it."
"It's just a good thing there wasn't a big field here today," she added with a laugh.
Breed, the Minden criterium runner-up two of the last three years, capitalized on the absence of 2002 champion Lisa Hunt; Debbie Allen, who had won three of the last five years; and Eryn Hanna of Reno, who has been to the Carson Valley Classic in the past and won at the prestigious Nevada City Classic last month.
"I felt good. I was able to get into a pace and keep it."
Jenni Tafoya of Redwood City, Calif., and the Bay Area Velo Club finished second behind Breed in the Women's 1/2/3 race. Cynthia Mommsen of Mill Valley, Calif., and The Olympic Club, (a long-time and friendly tandem racing rival of Breed's) finished third in the race. Jenny Frayer of the Reno Wheelmen finished first in the Women's 4 division.
In the featured senior men's 1 race, Dean LaBerge of Napa, Calif., and Paul Sumner of San Rafael, Calif., finished first and second in a dual between long-time and friendly rivals. Sumner won last year's race and LaBerge won three years ago.
"We used to be teammates, so it's not bad losing to him," Sumner said.
LaBerge was just as happy to see Rocknasium teammates Sumner and Daniel Hepley together out front on the last lap.
"We had a good break group," LaBerge said. "I was flying solo, but I looked up there and when I saw the two Rocknasium guys up there, I knew I was going to be OK."
LaBerge, 33, won the sprint to the finish and Sumner, 36, was second in his first race since breaking his collarbone in May.
"I shattered my collarbone, had surgery and was essentially off my bike for two months," Sumner said. "I started back a couple of weeks ago and this was my first race since coming back."
This was a quality field. Third was taken by Sterling Magnell of Occidental, Calif., who races for the Sierra Nevada Cycling Team and a member of the 2002 Espoir National Team. Fourth was Michael Hutcheson of Menlo Park, Calif., and Team Spine, a winner at the recent North American Masters Championships in Montreal and a qualifier for the 1988 Olympic Trials.
"It was a small group, but it seems like they always get a good field," said LaBerge, who is using two days of racing at the Carson Valley Classic as a tune-up for the upcoming national criterium championships in Downers Grove, Ill.
Bubba Melcher of Reno, former head football coach at Galena High School who now rides for the Southern California-based Tailwinds cycling club, finished fifth in the race. Melcher emerged from the second pack with three laps to go and moved from 10th at the start of the bell lap to cross the finish line fifth overall.
"Those last three laps hurt," Melcher said. "I was sitting way back and I had to decide whether I was going to try and bridge up (to the lead pack) or sit back and be pack fodder. Bridging up was the hard part; once I did that, I was in good shape."
Earlier in the day, Melcher won the Masters 35-plus 1/2 race.
"This was a really good training day for me," said Melcher, who will race at the masters national championships in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 4-9. "It was just a great day overall. My family got to come out and watch the races. And this is a great venue, a great place to hold a race."
In other results on Saturday, Patrick McAnulty of Aptos, Calif., defended his title in the Senior Men's 3 race, while Kevin King of Dublin, Calif., finished second and Troy Walters of Gardnerville took third. Steve Kaufman of Reno won the Senior Men's 4 race, while Mel Maalouf of Minden took third. Paul Tindal of South Lake Tahoe won the Senior Men's 5 race. Julien Dufresne of Fair Oaks, Calif., won the Masters 45-plus race, while David Emery of Gardnerville took fourth.
Joe Iannarell of Vacaville won the junior race. Zachary Walker of Carson City and Nick Ruana of Gardnerville, who both race for Alta Alpina, finished third and fifth respectively.
