“It felt great. I knew I could be there, it was just a matter of getting everything right.” the 20-year old rider said after the race.

Swedberg with teammates Jared Barrilleaux and Rand Miller took on a strong field on a course overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

“For the most part, Jared and Rand were just covering all the dangerous moves, they were pretty much up there the entire day. I was able to sit back and relax most of the entire time. There was one move that I followed, a couple of them but nothing got too far away.” Swedberg said. “I think the farthest break was about 25 seconds and that was a solo rider. UnitedHealthcare had quite a few guys and they ended up bringing that back.”

With five laps to go, the UnitedHealthcare train took over control of the field. “ They weren’t going very fast, it was very dangerous, I’d say kind of a moshpit. They eventually started to speed up.” said Swedberg who had Barrilleaux with him at that point.

With two laps to go, Swedberg moved up to find a good wheel to follow. “I moved up quite a bit to top 10 or maybe even top 8, I was behind the UnitedHealthcare train, Justin Williams and Brad Huff.”

Swedberg fought to get fifth wheel going into the last corners. “A bit of bumping behind Brad but nothing too crazy. Going around the last corner, it was an all out sprint and I just barely came around Hilton Clarke to get third.”

Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) took the win, with Justin Williams (CashCall Mortgage) second.

The race has had many crashes in the past on the relatively flat and very fast 6 turn L-shape course with 2 slight rises but there was no major incident this year. Though he did avoid that happen right next to him.

“It just didn’t seem like it was fast enough, it didn’t feel like it was a very hard race. Maybe the course just flows really well so nobody can really stick anything. It just felt that people were able to swarm the entire time, people were dive-bombing on the inside so you’re always hearing people come flying up on the inside, hitting the brakes.”

Swedberg concluded, “Towards the end, I tried to stay towards the outside of the corners because you could avoid all the accordion effect on the inside.”

Barrilleaux finished safely in 17th and Miller, 60th.

With his stage win in the time trial, Huffman was the highest-placed overall, claiming 14th in the UCI stage race and Wilson finished 17th overall. Huffman finished third in the best young rider competition.

“I think it was a really good week for us, especially considering Evan’s time trial win which is obviously spectacular.” Wilson said after the stage.

An early attack after the first intermediate sprint point led to a large breakaway group early on in the 103.5 miles with 9,131 feet of climbing and 8252 feet of descending. Eckmann made the move once again.

“It was starting out pretty confusing actually because all of a sudden there were 30 other guys riding with you.” Eckmann said. “I was like hanging in there and not working at all because I was the only guy and Competitive Cyclist had three and Kenda/5-hr Energy had three so there was definitely a greater interest from them to keep the breakaway alive.”

“It was definitely a new situation that I had to work with, and somehow power through.“ continued Eckmann who settled in as the gap went up to over five minutes.

Huffman, Wilson, Stephen Leece, James Mattis, Torey Philipp and Chris Stastny stayed in the pack controlled by the red jersey team’s UnitedHealthcare, as they went up and down the first two climbs of the day.

“I think that the team as a whole got a little bit more respect in the peloton. We were riding really close to the front for the first two hours of the race. “ Huffman replied when asked if the peloton was treating the team differently on the final day after the team’s showing in the past days.

“It was actually pretty good, the cat 2 was pretty easy. Everyone helped me and Evan into the cat 1, and then we were both pretty good up the cat 1. It went pretty hard but not super hard, there were maybe 10 or 15 guys at the top and then down the descent into the Sapillo climb, a lot of guys went off the front and then James came up and rode really hard mid-way down the descent and into the Sapillo climb. And then it pretty much exploded as soon as we hit that” Wilson explained.

Huffman found the stage a bit easier and slower than last year. “We went pretty mellow up the first cat 2, and then went hard from the bottom of the cat 1 but it wasn’t a real hard setting pace, it was a lot of attacking and then sitting up, attacking and sitting up.”

Meanwhile at the front, Eckmann lost touch with the break at the top of the category 1 climb, the third climb of the day.

“At the category 1 climb I felt pretty good at the bottom, I sort of ran out of energy over the top and I had to gap off the breakaway then.” said Eckmann who then rode with another break rider.

The riders battling for the general classification made their moves on the Sapillo climb, the fourth climb of the day.

“Up the Sapillo climb, it was really hard from there to the finish, everyone was just flat out I think.” said Wilson who was riding with Huffman.

“Rory (Sutherland) and (Chris) Baldwin were a little bit ahead of us and I was riding really hard and it was kind of a bummer, me and Evan, we were probably 10 seconds behind them at the top of the climb but we couldn’t quite close it and then we were just riding on our own until the finish. I think we caught some guys from the break and (Cesar) Grajales with maybe five kilometers to go and then we finished with that group.”

Lawson Craddock (Bontrager-Livestrong) won the stage while Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) claimed the overall victory.

“I’m definitely satisfied with what I did.” Eckmann said of the past five days of racing. “I was two times in a breakaway, I can’t really say anything with my and my team’s performance. Definitely we’re happy with what Evan did in the time-trial and how it all played out on the first day with Nate being up there in the top 20. I can only get stronger from here on, and maybe getting two riders next time in the top 10.”

Both Huffman and Wilson expressed a bit of frustration.

“I’m fairly happy. I was a little bit frustrated from today, mainly because I think that Evan and I were probably top 10 out of the field but I think that we actually lost more spots on GC just because such a big break got so far up the road. It’s kind of frustrating because we rode super good all week, and then weren’t quite as high as maybe we should have been but I guess that’s part of racing.” Wilson commented.

“I think it was kind of mix.” Huffman agreed. “Obviously I’m really that I won the stage but I thought that I was going to be able to finish up a little higher on GC but overall it’s still a pretty solid week. I’m happy with it.”

All the seven Berries finished the 26th annual SRAM Tour of the Gila. Mattis was 49th, youngest rider in the field  Philipp, 60th,  Leece, 70th and  Stastny, 97th.

Raced on a four-corner one-mile course, the pace was relatively for the first 25 of the 40-lap race.

“The first three-quarters were super mellow. I actually ended up towards the back because it was calmer there and people weren’t going crazy. “ Stastny explained. One rider was off the front solo, with the field led by the leader’s jersey holding the gap at around one minute while a few riders tried to bridge up.

With 15 laps to go the pace finally accelerated. “Bissell decided that they wanted the sprint so they went to the front and drove it back. That’s when I started moving up with Nate Wilson and Robin Eckmann. They were helping me a lot today.”

For the finale, the plan was to find a good wheel to follow. “In the last few laps, Robin moved me a bunch and then he was done. And then Nate came up to me with two to go and moved me up, got me on the wheel on Freddie Rodriguez (Exergy). I was up in the top 20. On the climb on the final lap, I lost Freddie’s wheel when he accelerated so I slotted into 20th wheel and it stayed the same all the way to the finish.”

Stastny has been feeling the altitude these past few days. “Unfortunately,, I haven’t been feeling so well all week.” he stated.”I’m feeling better. Today was the day I finally found myself normal so I was happy to do something.”

After four stages Evan Huffman is eighth on GC, at 2:23 down and Nate Wilson is in 13rh at 2:45.

Racing concludes on Sunday with the Gila Monster road race. The queen stage consists of a 103.5-mile point-to-point road race with 9,131 feet of climbing and 8252 feet of descending.

“I actually really wanted to win this stage coming into this race. I knew that I could do it but it was going to take a really good day for me.” Huffman said after the race.

“I felt amazing just from the start. I knew that I was on a really good time, I knew some of my checkpoints from my time last year and I was going a lot faster the whole course and that helped motivate me to go really hard at the end when I was hurting.” continued Huffman who shaved almost two minutes off his 2011 time.

Team manager Anthony Gallino was obviously excited about the result. “With the caliber of the field, it’s awesome that he won it. We knew that he’d be close, we knew that he had a shot at a podium for sure just by what his numbers have been and how his training is going. He was pretty confident going in that he was going to have a good ride. Obviously to win it is the icing on the cake.”

As usual the wind was blowing in Silver City, on the out and back with its 1,188 feet (362 m) of climbing. But Huffman was confident in himself and in his equipment.

“The equipment is great. I’m essentially riding the fastest equipment in the world, Specialized Shiv, Zipp wheels, SRAM red, it was just ideal. You can’t get any faster than that.” stated Huffman.

For the past five weeks, Huffman has been training at altitude and it paid off. “In the past, for Gila last year and Utah the year before, I just come up a week early and I think that made a big difference because I was able to have a rest week and then do a big block of training at altitude.”

For Gallino, the results re-enforce the team’s mission. “The whole purpose of the team is to get the athlete in position to maximize their potential and get performances like today. And hopefully move them on to the next step .”

Huffman jumped up to seventh in the general classification and second in the best young rider competition. Nate Wilson pulled out another top 20 finish to move up to 12th overall.

Racing continues on Saturday afternoon with the 40 laps Downtown Silver City Criterium.

“Yesterday I think my legs were just not there yet, a little bit hungover from traveling here and I think last weekend was a little bit hard for me, the racing back in Colorado. But, today I was feeling a lot better so I was really focusing on a good breakaway that I could stick in and survive.” Eckmann said.

However, the break did not survive the final climb as the sprinters’ teams ramped up for the bunch sprint where Nate Wilson finished 19th to keep his top 15 GC standings.

For Eckmann, the first move started early. “I was in the 10-man breakaway at the start of the stage and then that didn’t really work out because too many guys were pretty high up on the GC so I wasn’t really participating in the work, it got caught pretty easily. I went before the KOM again but got reeled in again.”

Another attack at the front and two riders escaped the field, joined quickly by two chasers. “That’s where I waited a little bit, I was still feeling a little bit tired from the first move and then all of a sudden, two minutes later I decided oh I will give it a try. So I bridged up to them and almost didn’t make it.”

Then, Eckmann got some help from a Mexican National team rider who was also bridging up to the move. The two managed to make juncture before the second KOM, and Eckmann took the front on the tricky descent.

“Down the descent, I was feeling pretty good so I actually had to wait for the most of the guys at the bottom again because they were going a little bit slow for me. I was hoping giving them a good line to ride but then I looked back and there was almost a 20 seconds gap, that was interesting.” Eckmann said. That descent is well-known for its tricky corners.

“Some of the corners are sketchy a little bit because they turn in on you, they start out wide and then all of a sudden they turn pretty quickly. That’s the only thing.” Eckmann continued, “But I think all the hairpin turns are in pretty good shape.”

The six riders worked together building up a gap of over three minutes and 30 seconds as they approached the final climb.

“The guys were attacking each other and it turned that my body wasn’t really up for it yet, I was hanging there. The first part is a little bit steeper, and then it levels out a little bit and then I was bridging up to them again. It wasn’t a lot but there was a gap. I was definitely struggling there a little bit. I bridged up to them.” said Eckmann who took a gel.

“Two minutes after I got that coffee gel in me I was thinking about attacking.” he laughs. “Then I thought about the sprint because I had pretty good legs for sprinting these days. I was hoping that the break would survive but it didn’t happen, we got caught with about 15 kilometers to go.”

Eckmann found his teammates in the field. “I had my teammates around me so I trying to give them a hand to move up in the peloton because I was still feeling fresh but not fresh enough to really finish it off in a strong sprint. So I made sure that everybody is safe and in the right position for the finish. Then I called it a day with about 1 kilometer to go.”

The stage was ultimately won by Eric Young (Bissell) in a bunch sprint. Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) remains the GC leader.

Racing continues on Friday with the Dan Potts Memorial Tyrone Individual Time Trial. Riders face two climbs in the out and back 16.15-mile course and 1,188 feet of climbing.

“I maybe hit it a little bit too hard at the bottom because I was with Joe Dombrowski (Bontrager Livestrong) and I thought he was in trouble so I tried to drop him right away to go for the young rider’s jersey but I think I probably just rode a little too above myself because after the first few minutes, he was riding away.” Wilson said.

Dombrowski finished second on the stage and leads the under25 classification. Wilson kept on climbing at his own pace to the line

“I was passing people on the way up but I couldn’t quite lift it as much as I wanted in the last kilometer. I had two guys with me the whole time and then they just out sprinted me at the end. I think it was a decent effort with what I had. All the guys were super good so I wish I could have been a little bit better, but it was okay.”

The 94.1 miles stage started fairly uneventful when a two-man break went up the road early on and the field stayed calm even through  crosswind sections.

“It was fairly windy and I thought that one of the big teams was going to try to blow it apart, we were all doing a pretty good job being attentive but it never really happened. I think it was maybe a little bit too much of a headwind, so no one really wanted to try.” Wilson explained.

The Berries worked together to protect Wilson and Evan Huffman. “Everyone did a super good job. Robin (Eckmann) was bringing me some bottles when I really needed them, and Staz was doing a really good job keeping us in front running up to the climb. Honestly I probably didn’t do a quite enough good job staying with him, that probably would have helped. Over the mesa, Evan did an incredible ride to bring me across as many groups as he could. Everyone was riding really well.”

The break was finally caught and the jockeying started for the final 5.5-mile climb on a very narrow alpine road with rough road pitching up with grades of 19% at some points.

“It was pretty mellow honestly most of the day until we hit the few miles leading into the climb and everyone started fighting for position. We all hit the climb as a group and went for it.”

Wilson finished one minute and 27 seconds from stage winner Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare).

Racing continued on Thursday with the 79.1 miles Inner Loop Road Race, a stage that traditionally ends with a sprint finish. A stage finish well suited for Chris Stastny.

“Probably just try and stay safe tomorrow and help Staz for the stage.” Wilson said of the team plan. As for the white jersey, it’s a wait and see for the time trial on Friday, “ I think Evan is close enough and with the way he’s been time trialing, he has a legitimate shot at it, so we’ll see.”

“We’re super excited that we were invited to the UCI race SRAM Tour of the Gila, with SRAM being our components and wheel sponsor. It’s awesome to be a part of it and our kids are really excited.” said Team Manager, Anthony Gallino.

Recently ranked as a 2.2 stage race by the Union Cyclist International (UCI), the event was added to the 2012 UCI America Tour.

Gallino continued, “As soon as we got the calendar out, everybody was jazzed. As a UCI race, it’s been on everybody’s radar for sure.”

The goal for the development is the white under-25 best young rider jersey which will be hard fought with the best of USA’s espoir riders showing up to battle it out. “The race can be seen as a preview for Nationals, it really showcases the young talent.”

The California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized roster for the SRAM Tour of the Gila includes Robin Eckmann (19), Evan Huffman (22), Stephen Leece (20), James Mattis (39), Torey Philipp (19), Chris Stastny (21) and Nate Wilson (21). John Hunt will be directing the team.

“Evan and Stephen are both going real well, it’s their time to showcase themselves.” commented Gallino. Leece just finished fourth overall at the Sea Otter Classic men’s road stage race while Huffman joined Colorado-residents and teammates Eckmann and Wilson to train at altitudes for the past weeks.

The race starts with the 94.1 miles Silver City-Mogollon Road Race with its mountain-top finish on Wednesday. The second stage, the Fort Bayard Inner Loop Road Race, is a 80-mile (129km) loop with 5,781 feet of climbing and includes the dangerous 3-mile Sapillo Descent, a very technical drop of over 1000 feet with  numerous sharp corners, hairpins and two switchbacks.

Friday is the 15-mile (26km) Tyrone Individual Time Trial on an out and back course with a total of 1070′ of climbing. Saturday is the downtown Silver City criterium with fans cheering on the riders on the four-corner course.

The final stage on Sunday is a beast, the Gila Monster Road Race. The 105.7-mile course with 5 categorized climbs delivering a total 9,131′ of climbing and some dangerous descents with steep grade and blind corners.

The riders know that it’s a perfect to shine.

“You see what Andrew Talansky did a couple of years ago.” Gallino said of Talansky who won the white jersey as a Berry in 2010. “He had his breakout ride at Gila, that same year some ProTour teams were invited to it. It’s a great chance to showcase your talents. The kids are nervous but they’re also excited.”

The racing started with the 60-minute criterium early on Thursday morning. “It’s kind of a strange race with two u-turns.” Leece said of the 1km course held on the Laguna Seca Raceway. “Pretty much you have so stay up at the front and the team did alright with that. I don’t think we did quite as well as we would have liked to, we would have liked to have put Benny in a position to do well but we didn’t quite do that.”

The squad missed the decisive break which stayed away until the finish. In 17th place, Benny Swedberg was the highest placed for the team.

“The next day, I think made up for it in the road race.” continued Leece who took a flyer on the final lap of the 68-mile road race stage which culminates in a one-mile climb to the finish line.

“I attacked about a few kilometers from the feedzone.” he explained. Only the three riders locked in the general classification battle were able to catch him. “(Andy) Jacques-Maynes, (Matt) Cooke and (Morgan) Schmitt bridged up to me on the feedzone climb. The pack was not to far behind but there was no organization or impetus to bring it back in so we stayed away all the to the finish. The other guys beat me in the finish, I’m not too happy about that.”

Leece’s fourth place on the stage moved him up to fourth in the general classification. “I would have liked to have been on the podium, on that day and also on the overall, fourth position is very hard to take because it’s just outside of the podium but I was still happy with the result.”

Saturday afternoon brought the 7.8-mile time trial where Leece placed 10th at 38 seconds from the stage winner. “For me that was a good time trial, I think I paced myself pretty well, and took advantage from the course pretty well. I’ve raced this race a few years now and I know that course pretty well. Each year I think I do better and better on it. I think I could have done a bit better but I was happy with how I kept my GC position and how fast I went.” said Leece.

Philipp’s 20th place, at one minute and eight seconds down in the time trial moved him up to tenth in the general classification.

The fireworks exploded in the final stage, the two-hour circuit race held on a 2.2-mile loop on the Laguna Seca Raceway with a challenging 300-foot climb and the Corkscrew descent.

“We did a really good job as a team of covering breakaways and I was really happy about that.” said Leece. Sam Bassetti made his way into the first short-lived break. But then the race dynamics changed when following a flat, the yellow jersey Andy Jacques-Maynes was off the back of the field with his Kenda/5Hour Energy teammates. “Exergy was at the front, they were riding and preventing any breakaways from going up to road.”

The reset button was hit when the yellow jersey caught back to the dwindling field with six laps to go. The Berries were marking attacks and riders. “ I was covering Andy and Schmitt and Cooke, trying to get with anything that looked dangerous and promising. All the other guys were doing a good job in being in anything that went up the road.”

With two laps to go, Chris Stastny escaped with three others but the break was also brought back in the final lap. Yannick Eckmann was the highest rider in the squad finishing in 9th place with Bassetti right behind.

“We had good representation up the road throughout the race, and I felt good following all the dangerous moves when I needed to. Unfortunately we didn’t have anyone up the road at the end and with the hill, it’s very hard to organize so we didn’t get anyone far up there in the sprint but I held on to my position in the GC in fourth and I was happy with that result.”

Both Leece and Philipp held on to their general classification standings to finish top 10 overall won by Andy Jacques-Maynes.

The next big race for the squad will be the SRAM Tour of the Gila in two weeks. “I’m really excited for that, I’m on good form, I feel strong, that race will be another level for sure. I’m excited to test myself at it.” concluded Leece.

“The last few laps were definitely the fastest and most hectic. There was a lot of jockeying for position on the straightaway, not much in the corners, it was pretty safe which was nice. Benny and I were trying to stay up there, I was trying to set him up so that he would be in a good position to sprint for top 10 placings which would be a good result. He ended up going into the last corner in exactly that place, he was in the top 10 riding well.” said Stastny.

And then the crash and riders went down. “Benny was on the wrong side of the wheel. He didn’t go down and he had to stop. I was able to get around it and came in 14th.”

The race was ultimately won by Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare).

Going into the race, the team had a two-prong attack plan, get in the break and go for primes and save the sprinters for the sprint finish. Jared Barrilleaux bridged up to a solo rider a few laps into the 50-mile race held on a 1.3-mile elongated figure-eight course in downtown Charlotte, NC.

“The field wasn’t really going for it at that point and then Jared decided that he would try to make a dig for one of the primes because (Kyle) Wamsley (BISSELL) was only ten seconds up. He went across to him and the field didn’t react.” explained Stastny.

A third rider made his way into the break, and the trio was off hunting for the many primes in one of the richest purses in North American cycling. Behind, Stastny, Swedberg and Rand Miller stayed safe in the field with UnitedHealthcare setting the pace.

“The field didn’t really react until it was 40 seconds out and then UHC started to ride. After that, they went progressively harder until the halfway point, riders started to get dropped.” said Stastny. “Benny, Rand and I were sitting towards the top 30, just trying to stay out of trouble.”

The trio was caught by the field as the pace ramped up lap after lap to set up for the final sprint.

Overall, Stastny loved his experience racing for the first time in this event in front of enthusiastic crowd. “It was great atmosphere and a really nice course.” he concluded. “It was a safe course, it was definitely well run, the crowd was excited about it. I had a great time, it was cool.”

“We’re definitely excited for it. “ said veteran Jared Barrilleaux (27), the only Berry that has raced the event in the past. He will be joined by Rand Miller (27), Chris Stastny (21) and Benny Swedberg (20).

The plan of attack has to be modified with a smaller roster against the full teams vying for the $50,000 prize money not including the lap primes.

“We’re going to have a two-part team setup with a couple of riders being aggressive, going for the breakaways and hitting the primes and then, Benny and one other person for the final sprint.” explained Barrilleaux who added that the team would not do a formalized leadout train. “It’s going to be a long race, a couple of hours long, very hard and fast. Just lasting until the end will be an accomplishment and then hopefully, if Benny can make it to the end with one more teammate at least, then we’ll shake it for the sprint.”

“Based on what happened in the race in the past, there are a primes with a lot of the money that the big teams can’t go for all of them. There are going to be a lot of opportunities for people who are pretty aggressive to get some money in the primes throughout the race.” said Miller who continued with a laugh. “I’m clearly going to be the guy that’s just flailing as hard as I can to try and get some primes early on.”

After eight years of racing in the summer heat, the event was moved to Spring in 2012. Barrilleaux is curious to find out if the schedule change will impact the racing. “The temperature will be a little bit more calm, it’s going to be in the 70s as the sun sets. That definitely will have an effect on how the outcome can be as far as attrition goes, not having the heat is good for us cooler California folks but we’ll see if it still ends up to be as fast as usual.”

The 50-mile race is held on a 1.3-mile elongated figure-eight course in front of a boisterous crowds, upwards of more than 35,000 spectators under city lights.

“I enjoy the atmosphere and the fact that it makes you heightened your senses. More than anything I think it’s just important to be there and be super pumped up.” said Miller of racing at night.

Barrilleaux concluded, “The crowd gets really into the twilight criteriums. We’re going to try to make it into a breakaway, and try to part of the aggression for primes, and see if we can hold out for the final sprint as well.”

Racing starts at 7:30 m ET on Saturday. April 14, 2012.