Race Results2005 Ris van Bethel| 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. If you think there should be more said in a report, send in some comments. If you think a report is wrong, let me know. The reports will be updated at least weekly, if not more often. Pro 123 Race Report - A compact 60 odd racers lined up for a chilly P/1/2/3 race (snowflakes fell for a few minutes). Missing was last weeks animator Mike Norton (Nerac). Stepping up in his place were racers like teammates Brian Wirtz and Stephen Gray (Bethel Cycle Sport), Chris Pile (ReMax), Tim Unkert (Unattached), Mike McGinley and a host of teammates (CVC), and Matthew Jamieson (Cogwild Cycling). The joking started at the line when Jacob Hacker (Yale) had to ask the official to repeat how many primes there were (two two place primes) and how many minutes there were before laps (seventy). He turned and joked "I'm not good with numbers". The attacks started on the second lap and immediately the field was strung out. But with the unfavorable wind and a very tightly wound elastic around the field, breaks just could not get clear. Too many riders were willing to work and the field stayed large enough to offer shelter for those dropping back. In the past, a disintegrated field meant dropping back 40 spots would put you 10 meters off the back. Not this time. So racers could hang on, recover, and make another effort. Most notably, the racers who prefer breaks were on the attack - Unkert, Pile, Wirtz. But with the alert field no one could get away. In the end, it came down to a massive field sprint. Hacker had the last laugh as he showed the kind of class it takes to be a two-time national champion as he showed the field his rear derailleur. Kyle Wolfe (North Atlantic Velo) took a strong second. Last week's winner Jamieson took third, commenting "you hesitate just one bit and it's too late". His placing keeps him in the overall lead. McGinley finished a strong fourth, putting him in second overall, while Gray took fifth. Stage One Cycling put their man Brian Girard into the final points spot in sixth place. The award for the most conscientious rider goes to an unnamed rider who, during the race, droped an unnamed gel wrapper. After the promoter (who happened to be on his wheel) pointed out that the promoter has to pick up such litter after the race, the unnamed racer decided to do the right thing. On the cool down lap, he looked for and found his wrapper and PICKED IT UP!. Unless he reads this he doesn't know it but the promoter will award him a prize for this. The promoter appreciates the fact that he doesn't have to pick up quite as many wrappers each afternoon. BTW that promoter is me. Cat 3/4 Race Report - A large field lined up for the 3/4 race - 96 racers in all. Overall leader Morgan Stebbins (McLagan National Financial (MNF)/Fastar), having conserved his legs in the 40+ race (which means he simply won the sprint instead of breaking away) posed the biggest threat to the race. But last week's surprise, John Morales (Cafeteros), the current Connecticut Cat 3 Crit champion, wanted to improve on his second place of the first week. He knew he had the finishing speed necessary to cross the line first. Aki Sato (Carpe Diem Racing) also wanted to improve his place after leading out the sprint last week to no avail. Stebbins had a number of strong Fastar teammates backing him up including Portugese star Fernando Ferreira, a fit Rick Spears, and new recruits Ian Sinclair and John Baxendale. The field's work was cut out for them. Right away, Ferreira attacked, but the field, fresh and wary, never let him cut clear and brought him back. A textbook counter by Baxendale and two others went clear, gathering up a prime before returning to the fold after a hard pull by Gene Pringle (TriStar Velo). Ferrerira went again and again but just could not get clear. A lot of energy went into bringing him back each time though, enabling his team to sit in and wait for the right opportunity. With the lap cards about to appear, MNF/Fastar played their trump card. Ferreira, Sinclair, and Baxendale went clear, taking two others with them. It looked good until the last lap when Bethel Cycle Sport, looking for the field sprint, put two strong men on the front. They dragged the field back in less than half a lap, bringing it all together just in time for the sprint. MNF/Fastar tried to set up a leadout for Stebbins but North Atlantic Velo put three strong men at the front - Todd Cirsafulli, Ben Turits, and Willem Heyendeel. They brought the field around the last bend as racers frantically looked for position behind them and between them. Sato, having worked his way through the MNF/Fastar leadout, dove into the NAV train, but could not shake Stebbins and Morales off his wheel. He led out the sprint to be overwhelmed by the surprise finisher of the day, Tom Cromie (Sleepy Hollow Cycling Club), who quietly waited till it looked like it was time to go. Cromie blasted out of the field to take an undeniable win. Morales finished second again, his finishing speed a touch below what Cromie had. Stebbins edged out Sato for third, with Nick Bennette (Boston University) fifth and NAV racer Crisafulli in sixth. M40+ Race Report - The race, although animated by several riders, ended in a field sprint as the main protagonist, Morgan Stebbins (MNF/Fastar), spent the day in the field, content to let his team patrol the front. As it were, Stebbin's team set it up so he could finish off the race in his usual place at the front. Eugene Petrella (CCB/Volkswagen) took second and John Furminger (HVVC) finished third. Todd Cassan (Unattached) popped in for fourth while Turgut Balicki (Cranford) and Greg Pelican (Bethel Cycle Sport) rounded out the points in fifth and sixth place respectively. Womens Race Report - Another large field started with 20 women taking to the line. Almost all of them took place in the women's sprint (although they race with the M40 and Jr's, they sprint on their own). In a repeat of last week, multi National Champion Marie Anne Miller (Verizon Wireless) led out and won the sprint. Jen Magur (Team BioVail) took second as she just could not close the gap to Miller. Dale Malkames (USI) took a very strong third, with Nancy Ford (Spin Ho's) sprinting in for fourth. Robyn Passander (Capital Velo) took fifth and Emma Nelson took the final point for Bicycle Workshop. Junior Race Report - An aggressive race ended with the winner of the sprint disqualified for failing rollout. That said, the rest of the Juniors benefitted, with Pascual Caputi (Cafeteros) awarded a deserved win. Kyle Foley (Cuevas/ACT) took second, with Jonthan Belcher (Union Velo) third and Samuel Abelow (Cuevas/ACT) fourth. Cat 4 Race Report - In this race Northeast Bicycles seemed the most active, launching attack after attack. Unfortunately, with the field willing to let some gaps go before slamming them shut, the attacks fizzled and another team lined their riders for a one-two finish. Trailblazer-CCCC took the win and the second with their riders Jeffery Von Dauber and Peter Morgan. Matthew Pearson (Sleepy Hollow) did a fantastic sprint for third. Douglas Crane (Northeast Bicycles) salvaged some points for his team's efforts while Anthony Billard (Capital Velo Club) finished fifth. Ernest Muzzati (Nautilus Velo Club) took the last point up for grabs in sixth. Cat 5 Race Report - The first Cat 5 race was a doozy with Bethel Cycle Sport just dominating the action. Andrew Hackel and Ryan Haug finished one-two for Bethel Cycle Sport with Nat Rockett (Unattached) finishing third. Matthew Snow (Don's Cycle) put his team on the map again with fourth with newcomer Brett Carr (Tokeneke Road Club) fifth. Mike Festa (Unattached) took sixth. The second Cat 5 race was just as dominated but by another team - Northeast Bicycles. They managed to place three racers in the top six - Jay Daily in third, Victor Jerez in fifth, and Gus Pecunia in sixth. Unfortunately for them, David Scherp did a great sprint to win and Bethel Cycle Sport did a great leadout for sprinter Frank Dally to help him earn second. Noah Gallagher spoiled the Northeast party by taking fourth.
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