The tables have turned for the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team. While they have been racing very well for the first part of the 2009 Tour of Hainan, things changed quickly, as they often do in this sport, and the team is now fighting to stay in the peloton.
During Stage Seven, a 183km stage with two Cat 3 climbs and one Cat 2, a big break got away near the start of the day. Only one Jelly Belly rider was in the group, Kiel Reijnen. He ended up getting 3rd in the first KOM and 2nd in the Cat 2 climb which put him in 5th in the KOM at the end of Stage Seven. He sprinted at the end and placed 9th for the day. Stage Seven did not go so well for Nick Reistad and Bernard van Ulden, as they lost 15 minutes and 25 minutes on the group, respectively.
“When you are in such a good position, as Bernard was, going into this stage,” van Haute explained, “you really need to be paying attention to the breaks, and he was not.”
“I’m not pleased with the ride they did today, and they were riding so well until this point.”
Stage Eight was 182km and included two Cat 3 climbs and one Cat 2 climb. The team was working for Kiel on this stage, to help him improve his KOM standing, which put him in 5th at the start. The work they did definitely paid off by putting him in 3rd at the end of the day. Sprinting toward the finish, the team didn’t place any higher than 50th for the day.
-Molly Saunders
2009 Stories
Team fights end of season bonk
