Race ResultsRace Held March 09, 2003| Pro 1/2/3 | Cat 3/4 | Masters | Women | Juniors | Cat 4 | Cat 5 |
| Pro 1/2/3 | Cat 3/4 | Masters | Women | Juniors Cat 4 | Cat 5 | These race reports are personal and hearsay observations by the writer. If you would like to send in race information, please do. The reports will be updated at least weekly, if not more often. Pro 123 Race Report - Well, I can't write it much better than this: racelistings.com report Besides the well written report, the pace set by the UPMC team was astonishing. Holding 35 mph on the flats, the UPMC racers completely blew the field apart on the first lap. Four or five groups crossed the line on the second lap, dejected looks already evident among the faces in the field. The winter hadn't treated everyone equally, and some were finding out the hard way. Racers used to participating in the race (instead of hanging on for dear life) were spat out the back as if they were pedaling backwards. One of the instigators, Joe Papp (the author at the link above), helped power the break to a tremendous lead then simply pulled over after the start/finish line. "Tendonitis" was the word spread among spectators. "Boy, I wish I had his kind of tendonitis" was a typical response. Eventually, after lapping the field a couple times, the now three man break split up. Tardaguila Silva (UPMC) and Todd Herriott (77Wheelworks) left hardworking Andy Ruiz (CCB Volkswagen) behind. Ruiz commented that while he was working super hard, the other two (three when Papp was around) were simply riding tempo. Silva won from Herriott while Ruiz rolled in for third. Sasso Gimenez (UPMC) finished fourth. Brian Wirtz (Bethel Cycle Sport) took fifth, followed by Castro Montero (UPMC) in sixth. Cat 3/4 Race Report - The temperature peaked during this and the prior race. This enabled some of the hardy souls to don just knickers and still race effectively. One such rider was John McGovern (Bethel Cycle Sport) who ended up soloing away from a break to take the win. He and Nelson Macy (Cafeteros) helped power this large group away from an exhausted and depleted field. Other strongmen included eventual second place finisher David Kim (Sleepy Hollow) and Sean Marvel (CRCA) who finished third. Benidorm had a significant number of racers in the field and were very active. Their rider Craig Kennedy took third in the break's sprint to finish fourth for the day. Cat 4 standout Humberto Cavalhiero (NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles) capped off a fantastic debut to take fifth overall, this after his win in the Cat 4 race earlier in the day. Donald Snoop took the last point for WebEvent.com, a team that has been attending the race since its inception (under one name or another). M40+ Race Report - With the reigning M40 champion, Bethel Cycle's Morgan Stebbins (who won all but one of the M40 races for the last two years) present, the prospects for the others looked pretty dim. What made things worse (for non Bethel Cycle racers) was that he had a cadre of teammates with him. As the third ranked team in the country for Masters racing, one could only expect dominance of the field. That is what occured, but with a twist. Stebbins bridged up to a solo Scott Bodin early on and together they forged a 40 second lead. Nelson Macy (Cafeteros), perhaps unknowing of the rule that 40 second gaps can't normally be closed, attacked out of the field. After a moment's hesitation, Stephen Gray (Bethel Cycle Sport) leapt out of the field and latched onto Macy's wheel. Disregarding the rider on his wheel, Macy made a tremendous effort and bridged solo to the two Bethel teammates off the front. With the rest of the Bethel team protecting their three riders, the break pulled away. Kevin Haley (NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles) took off to repeat Macy's move, but he was doomed to solo along till the finish, taking fifth. The break lapped the field and actually attacked again, escaping once more. Gray dominated the sprint, with Stebbins and Bodin behind. Macy crossed in fourth. CRCA's Rick Spear won the field sprint for the final point place. Womens Race Report - Elite racer Alicia Genest (Richard Sachs) won a women's race that shredded its riders as the M40's did battle in the same field. Only second place finisher Penny Buchar (WebEvent.com) and third place Mary Ellen Calandrillo (NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles) stayed with the field. The rest of the women's field was scattered behind, with last year's champion Laura Summers (WebEvent.com) expressing surprise at the quick pace (she finished fourth). Gemma Rarrit (WebEvent.com) finished fifth, and Cheryl Smith (Bethel Cycle Sport) took a point for sixth. Junior Race Report - One of the victims of the M40 battle was the small junior field which got decimated in the fast action. Charles Marzot (Unattached) triumphed in the adverse conditions, with Steven Bruen (Ridgefield Bank) finishing second. Matthew Sheldon (Tokeneke Road Club) finished third and Kyle Foley (NECSA) took fourth. Cat 4 Race Report - The windy conditions made racing a tough proposition. After a few forays into the wind, a break with 3 racers with 5 laps to go looked promising. Two were NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles racers and one was a Cycle Center racer. However, they got caught and the field prepared for the sprint. With a couple laps to go, Cycle Center put a number of riders on the front including point man Rich Rude. They are a new team based out of Stamford, CT who offered significant help in sweeping the course the prior day. Even with a few hours of hard labor behind them, they were up bright and early and ready to race. Rude led out his team on the last lap with teammates Ian Ray and Steve Dineley tucked just behind. Unfortunately, another team, NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles, foiled their plan by catapulting Humberto Cavalhiero up the road for first. Steve Dineley, Cycle Center's strongest finisher today, finished second. Teammate Ian Ray followed closely in third. Cavalhiero's teammates, no slouches in the finish themselves, took fourth with Kevin Haley and fifth with Paul Levine. Brian Kelley (Unattached) rounded out the top six. Cat 5 Race Report - The first race of the first day of Bethel Spring Series racing opened cold and windy, albeit with some sun peaking through the clouds. Severe headwinds on the backstretch effectively shut down efforts of any sort. Cycle Center was prominent in the race, riding aggressively at the front. There seemed to be some confusion at the timed-to-lap switch as they put most of their riders at the front at 5 to go. However, they recovered in time for the finish. Michael Croft (Thread City) did a great sprint to take the win. Christopher Thomas (Cycle Center) took second. Dan Greenfield (Unattached) took third, followed by Noberto Olivera (Unattached). Steve Rescigno (Cyclocross) took fifth and Joshua Owen (Unattached) took sixth. If you have race reports, descriptions of crashes/near crashes/exciting incidents, team reports, please contact me. I will post everything that seems half truthful on the site.
About Carpe Diem | ||