Glen Chadwick finishes 8th overall in Tour of the Gila

PureBlack Racing’s Glen Chadwick has finished eighth overall in General Classification in New Mexico’s five day SRAM Tour of the Gila, regarded as one of the toughest on USA Cycling’s racing calendar. In today’s final stage, the Gila Monster, Chadwick crossed the line eighth after riding solo off the front for much of the race to also secure second overall in the King of the Mountain point competition to add to his top ten General Classification finish for the tour.

“It was a brutally tough stage with riders being dropped from the peloton on the second climb of the day just 16 miles from the start. I am extremely proud of the way the whole team rode today and Glen was simply outstanding over the last half of the stage. He showed that all his experience makes him a real force to be reckoned with,” said Carl Williams, Sporting Director of PureBlack Racing.

PureBlack Racings aggressive racing style was evident throughout the race today with Tim Gudsell, Roman Van Uden, Mike Northey and Daniel Barry spending time in breaks covering moves before Chadwick made his decisive break to accumulate most of the King of the Mountain points for the day and position himself for a top finish. In the run to the finish line Chadwick was first joined by ultimate GC winner Francisco Mancebo and then a chasing group of eight riders. At the end of the hilltop finish he was eighth for the day and had jumped into eighth overall.

With a record fourteen Kiwis starting in the men’s Pro field for the SRAM Tour of the Gila, Glen Chadwick a comparative veteran of the field at 34, ended up being the top New Zealand rider for the event as well.

“At the start of the tour we set out two objectives which were to win a stage and finish with a top ten rider on overall General Classification (GC). We are thrilled to have ticked off one of the two objectives. While we didn't get up for a stage win our aggressive riding saw us achieve four top ten finishes over the course of the event which means we were definitely putting ourselves in contention,” said Carl Williams.

Within hours of the finish the team was en route across the US to their next event in Arkansas, the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayettville, which runs from 5-8 May. www.joemartinstagerace.com

For more information on the team and racing schedule see www.pureblackracing.com