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Charles Dionne rejoices as he wins the T-Mobile International . Photo: © Casey Gibson

Charles Dionne seized the moment at the T-Mobile International, after his Webcor Builders teammmates had completely spent themselves to put him in position to win. Attacking on the last climb of the day, Dionne went on to solo to the most dramatic and possibly biggest victory of the year.

Earlier in the race, however things did not look so good. After Jason McCartney (Healthnet) attacked from the day's early move and appeared to be on his way to victory, Webcor's representatives in the disintegrating break, James Mattis and John Kelly, were called back to help bring Dionne and Chris Horner into position to win. Taking up the chase at the front of the race, Mattis, Kelly and Justin England drove the pace to help bring the shrinking peloton within sniffing distance of McCartney with 20 kilometers left to race.

After a quick conversation with Dionne, Chris Horner came to the front and put on an incredible display of strength and teamwork. Working with two remaining US Postal Service riders, Horner erased almost all of McCartney's three minute advantage in the next 15 kilometers as the race hit the day's final climb with 5 kilometers left to race. It was here, on the Taylor Street climb, that Dionne made his race-deciding attack. Dionne quickly passed the fading Jason McCartney on the climb and, over the top, Dionne had dropped the remains of the front group and gone clear. With the victory in sight, Dionne put his head down and barrelled to the finish to pull off a spectacular and dramatic victory.

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Justin England guts it out at Mount Washington. Photo: © Travis Drennen

Justin England delivered a gripping victory in utterly atrocious weather at the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in Franconia, NH. Home to some of the world's worst weather, including the highest winds ever recorded on earth, Mt. Washington can be one of the most inhospitable places on earth. On race day, the mountain lived up to its billing; summer had dissolved into grey skies, frigid temperatures, and a drenching rain.

England attacked hard from the start of the 7.6 mile climb because of his unfamiliarity with the intimidating climb. He quickly left the field behind, but as the weather deteriorated, the winds increased, and the road turned to gravelly mud, he eased up to share the work with local rider Phillip Wong (Fior di Frutta) who was lurking behind. As the duo entered the final kilometer, Justin attacked hard, opening up enough of a gap to hold off Wong over the final 23% wall to the finish.

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Chris Horner and Justin England drive the crucial break in the final stage . Photo: © Phil Marques

Justin England and Chris Horner set the tempo for the Webcor Builders during a wet and grueling Tour de 'Toona in central Pennsylvania. In a race that keeps team size to a minimum, it was this limitation that put paid to team's chances for overall victory.

Horner snatched the leader's jersey during a hectic third stage, placing second behind John Lieswyn (Healthnet) ahead of a disintegrating peloton. Despite losing one rider on account of mechanical troubles and a strict time cut, the remainder of the team picked up the slack in the following stages and delivered Chris and Justin to the final stage with a chance to win.

During the last day, with their remaining teammates exhausted from protecting the leader's jersey, and outnumbered by a strong Healthnet squad, Justin and Chris were forced to drive a four-man break over the final 90 km of the stage. Unfortunately, victory eluded them in the closing kilometers by virtue of a flurry of attacks from Scott Moninger and John Lieswyn (Healthnet) that saw the Healthnet riders go clear. Spent from their efforts, Justin and Chris had to be content to come home, nailing down 3rd and 5th overall.

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Charles Dionne strikes a winning pose on Stage Four. Photo: © Jason Elhardt

Charles Dionne took out the fourth stage and John Kelly rode his way into 5th place overall at the Cascade Classic en route to a solid performance in Bend, OR.

Dionne was aggressive from the outset of the race, featuring in two prominent breakaways in the first stage, as he hoped to gain the attention of the selection team for the Canadian Olympic team. It was on the demanding fourth stage circuit race, however, that he made everyone stand up and take notice. After his teammates worked hard to help bring back a day-long break, Chris Horner lead Charles up the final hill to the finish. With a few hundred meters to go, Charles punched hard and crossed the line solo for an emphatic victory.

Meanwhile, as Dionne was out gunning for stage wins, John Kelly rode a solid race to lock up 5th place overall. Infiltrating what would become the decisive move of the day, and ultimately the race, on stage two, Kelly hung onto a select group until the final climb where he succumbed to a blazing pace set by stage winner Mike Creed (USPS presentedby Berry Floor). John then rode a solid time trial to finish in 10th, conceding only 10 seconds to overall leader Mike Creed. Over the final three stages, Kelly's teammates worked hard to keep him safe and out of trouble, helping him secure one of the best performances of his career.

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Justin England crosses the line alone for victory in the final stage road race. Photo: © Nicholas Wright/Reno Gazette Journal

James Mattis and Justin England represented Webcor well at the Tour de Nez in Reno, Nevada, both winning a stage en route to a dominating weekend of racing.

In Saturday evening's twlight criterium, Mattis jumped into an early fifteen rider breakaway that included pre-race favorites Tony Cruz (USPS), Alex Candelario and Jonas Carney (Jelly Belly), David McCook (McGuire Cycling), Henk Vogels (Navigators) and Fred Rodriguez (Aqua & Sapone). After attacking the group relentlessly, James' final attack stuck, and he soloed away from the now eight-strong break with a lap-and-a-half to go. As his lead dangled precariously in front of the hard-charging group behind, James put his head down and drove to the finish to score a dramatic solo victory.

Taking a page from James' book, Justin England helped instigate a break with Tony Cruz (USPS) on day's biggest climb, the eleven mile Gold Hill climb. The duo then worked well together to build a formidable four-minute lead over the field during the latter half of the race. With about five miles to go, England made a strong move on the final climb into Reno that Cruz was unable to counter. Justin kept the pressure on, and held on for victory, beating Cruz by 15 seconds at the line.

Also of note, Justin finished a strong second place in the opening stage hillclimb on Friday. A scant five seconds over the 7.8 mile climb was all that separated England from the victor, Tim Larkin (Ofoto), and a second victory on the weekend.

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Chris Horner on the attack during the final stage of the Tour of Connecticut . Photo: © Casey Gibson

After laying low for the first four stages, Chris Horner took center stage at the 2004 Tour of Connecticut and scored a dramatic solo victory in the fifth and final stage. About a minute later, Charles Dionne won the bunch sprint for second place on the stage, a result that enabled him to vault into second place overall.

Escaping just 25 miles into the 100 mile stage with Dominque Perras (Ofoto), Horner put his head down, gaining a maximum advantage of 4 and-a-half minutes over the bunch. With HealthNet and Navigators chasing, Chris' lead dropped to just under 2 minutes at the 80 mile mark, when he began the first of 13 finishing circuits in downtown Danbury. Despite the furious chase from behind, Chris never let up, remaining unfazed when a freak afternoon thunderstorm blew in and soaked the course with a few laps to go.

Not to be outdone, Dionne rode solidly throughout the race, landing in the top-ten in each stage, including a close second-place finish in the Stage Three. His consistent riding scored him enough points to take second spot in the overall omnium.

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