OUCH Presented by Maxxis brings diverse squad to Elk Grove

Oakland, CA – The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis heads to the Chicago area for the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove with an eight-man roster tailored to the short, hard stage race.

“With a time trial, road race and criterium, we’re bringing guys who not only can do well in the overall, but also in individual stages,” said team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo.

The squad will be led by 2007 and 2008 NRC points champion Rory Sutherland and Chris Baldwin, both coming off 4th and 5th overall performances respectively at the Cascade Classic last week. Floyd Landis will bolster the stage race side of the roster. All three are strong riders against the clock.

OUCH Presented by Maxxis is also bringing four fast men for the road race and criterium in particular. After a win during Superweek and a 3rd place at the Chicago Criterium, Tasmanian Karl Menzies will return to Chicagoland from his home in Michigan. His two teammates for the Chicago Criterium, John Murphy and Bobby Lea, remained in the area and will add firepower to the team’s lead-out train for the Elk Grove road race and criterium.

Also joining the team post-Cascade will be Canadian strong man Andrew Pinfold, who delivered a 3rd place that Cascade criterium on Saturday. Pinfold comes into Elk Grove on excellent form, having also posted several wins during BC Superweek earlier this month.

Team captain Tim Johnson once again will be called upon to deliver his usual Herculean efforts on behalf of his teammates.

“We did pretty well at Chicago on Sunday,” noted Menzies. “It was a bit hard with just three of us, especially at the end when I think we could’ve used one more guy for the lead-out. But it’ll be great to have a full squad for Elk Grove. All those guys are coming into it with good form after Cascade. It should be a good weekend.”

The Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove opens Friday with the 4.5-mile MTI Construction Time Trial. Saturday throws the 150km Chicago Blackhawks Circuit Race through Elk Grove at the peloton. The race concludes Sunday with the 110km Gullo International Criterium, run on a roughly 1.6km course in Elk Grove.

The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis for the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove:

Chris Baldwin, USA
Tim Johnson, USA
Floyd Landis, USA
Bobby Lea, USA
Karl Menzies, TAS
John Murphy. USA
Andrew Pinfold, CAN
Rory Sutherland, AUS