Local riders to cruise through Napa

Colavita-Sutter Home team wants to improve on 14th-place finish

By ERIN LAWLEY
Register Sports Writer

The Amgen Tour of California is making a new stop in the Golden State this year.

In Stage 2 on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the field of 18 teams — consisting of 96 riders from all over the world — will ride through the Napa Valley on its way to the state capital.

One of those teams is Colavita-Sutter Home, presented by Cooking Light. The 14-man team — only eight will race in the Tour of California — arrived in St. Helena last week for training camp and will stay through next week before heading to San Francisco to begin the Tour on Sunday, Feb. 18.

The team finished 14th last season, but general manager and coach Tom Schuler is confident his men will be quicker this time around.

“We want to improve on that,” Schuler said of 2006’s finish. “I think we have a better group than last year. Two of our top three guys are back and we have a much-improved balance of the team.”

Before the Tour, several of the Colavita-Sutter Home riders will race in Napa’s 32nd Annual Cherry Pie Criterium on Sunday. They will race in the Elite Pro 1 and 2 category beinging at 3 p.m.

It is an hour-long race with 100 riders.

The average age of the Colavita-Sutter Home racers is 27, which is about three years younger than many of the world’s teams. Schuler said that it is because their unit is considered a developing team, as many American squads are.

“We’re reaching the top individually,” Schuler added. “We don’t have the depth (as a team).”

The team’s training camp is the first time for several of the riders to meet their new teammates. Most members have been in their respective countries training for the past two months and haven’t had the opportunity to discuss goals and focus for the upcoming season.

Italy’s Davide Frattini, 29, was with Colavita-Sutter Home last year and is looking forward to another big American race.

“The races in Europe are supposed to be more organized; I found the Tour of California very professional,” Frattini said. “Very good impression.”

The “all-around” cyclist doesn’t have a specific specialty other than to support the strongest teammate of the race. Frattini is in his sixth year riding professionally and doesn’t give himself much time off. He admits to taking two weeks off at the season’s end, then jumping right back on a bike to begin training for the next season.

Most of his training is done in Europe, where he strives to perform like the world’s best. The European professional cycling circuit participates in more races than the American circuit and is much more competitive.

Schuler said it generally takes a month of tour riding to be in the best condition possible, and since it’s the first time the team’s together, he’s not sure where everyone is at performance-wise. The team only really gathers when they’re preparing for an upcoming race.

“I think we’ll do well,” Schuler said. “We have three sprinters, about the same as designated climbers and a number of support riders who could surprise. A lot of these men are on the cusp of a breakthrough. They could have a good season, a month or two months. We’re always looking for that in any athlete. You want to be ready to take advantage of that.”

Frattini added, “The team is pretty much complete. Sprinters, climbers, support guys. We’ll try to win all the stages. We did a good (job) preparing and training. I’m prepared for a big race.”

Between getting their pictures taken for their sponsors and media events, the American-based team has been riding close to 100 miles a day in preparation for the season’s first — and one of the biggest — tours.

“Last year (the Tour of) California was huge,” Colavita-Sutter Home cyclist Charles Dionne said. “There were a lot of people. It was very well-organized. It was huge; they went big. I didn’t expect that. I wish we could have big tours like that more in the United States. It’s a tough one, too. Last year it was fast. It’s hard to start out with a race like that.”

Dionne, 27, is the two-time winner of the San Francisco Grand Prix and though he has been racing professionally for over six years, it is his first season with Colavita-Sutter Home.

Before making his way to the Napa Valley, he spent a week each in Florida and Ventura to train. Before that he spent many hours in the basement of his Quebec City home, trying to stay away from the cold.

Teammate Tyler Wren also had to escape the cold of his hometown, Philadelphia, to train. The 25-year-old chose Hawaii. Wren is considered one of the team’s top two returners from last year’s Tour of California, along with Frattini.

Wren started his professional career with Colavita-Sutter Home fresh out of Princeton University.

“I hooked up with them when I was starting out,” Wren said. “They wanted local, young guys. I’ve grown with the team. It’s been a great fit every year. I’ve progressed as a rider as they’ve progressed as a team. This team, every year we’ve taken a step forward. Sponsors are very supportive. I have a long-term view of the team. The team has a lot of potential to be one of the best teams in America in the next few years.”

Wren’s strength on a bicycle is climbing, while Dionne is a sprinter. Wren is looking forward to the season-opener largely due to his experience in the inaugural race.

“It was bigger than I thought,” Wren said. “It was a first-class race. The race itself was at a very high level. We don’t really start racing until March and to start off with a race like that in February is hard. The timing allows the European guys to come over. The stature of riders who come here is great. Everything is a notch above (the Tour of) Georgia. Very popular and exciting.”

In only its second year, the Tour is bigger and more popular among the world’s elite professional cyclists than any other tour in North America.

The Tour spans eight days and 650 miles, starting in San Francisco and finishing in Long Beach. Day 1 will be 1.9-mile individual time trials with Stage 1 beginning Monday, Feb. 19 in Sausalito. Cyclists will ride nearly 100 miles to Santa Rosa and reach 1,200 feet. From Santa Rosa, racers will cover close to 120 miles on Tuesday on their way to Sacramento. During Stage 2, cyclists will be forced to climb one of the toughest hills reaching 1,800 feet.

Stage 3 starts in Stockton and ends in San Jose. Stage 4 is from Seaside to San Luis Obispo and Stage 5 is more time trials in Solvang. Saturday’s Stage 6 begins in Santa Barbara and ends in Santa Clarita, while the tour’s final stage is a circuit race in Long Beach.

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