Race Results

With some of the better regional riders on the line, the racing was animated but it stayed together for most of the race. At the end, a super aggressive Andy Ruiz (CCB/Volkswagen) escaped the field with McCutcheon, holding a small but steady lead. It looked like the field was going to bring them back but then Wirtz, showing why he's done so well here, jumped out of the field, using terrain and wind to his advantage. He quickly bridged and set about increasing the gap. Unkert followed suit and also bridged the gap in a very fast lap. With the lead group of four settled, Ruiz drove them towards the finish. He attacked at the bell but could not get the decisive gap with Wirtz chasing hard. The quartet had to decide the outcome in a sprint. Unkert came through to lead up the hill to take a close win. Ruiz, his edge dulled just a bit, could not come around Unkert and had to settle for second. Wirtz was there for third, with McCutcheon just behind in fourth.

The field had a decidedly aggressive field sprint with GS Mengoni rider Rosalverte Marte showing his NYC skills and navigating the field best to take fifth. Anthony Alessio (ReMax) took sixth, an improvement on his seventh last week and enough to get him a point for GC. Marc-Wayne Addison (Espoirs de Laval), making a trip from Canada worthwhile, took eighth, followed by Juan Castro (Ideal Tile-Brielle Cyclery). Daniel Greenfield (Quad Cycles/Arlington Bicycle Club) nabbed ninth spot and John Legere (Benidorm/Createx), a racer who was a Cat 5 the previous year (!), took a fantastic tenth.

Cat 3/4 Race Report -

With another full field and a waiting list, the 100 rider Cat 3/4 field lined up for another skirmish. Hugely present was Northeast Bicycles, taking a very aggresive role in the race. Also in the action was Bethel Cycle Sport and Westwood Velo, all of them sending riders off the front. With a number of big primes (two places each - $75, $50, and $75), the racing was fast and aggressive. But with the light wind on the backstretch it seemed that break attempts came back within a lap or two. There were too many fresh legs in the field for any escape to work. Seemingly resigned to their fate, the field stayed together, with all varieties of groups giving it a go. Nothing seemed to stick.

Then, with the lap cards counting down, Cat 4 phenom Alex Gulla (VisitBritain.com) launched a ferocious attack. He immediately gained a full straight (10 seconds) with three to go. After a flurry of individual attempts to close the gap, it was apparent that Gulla had been planning this attack the whole race. Northeast Bicycles refused to chase their friend and forced the other teams to show their hands. At two to go the gap was steady at about 12 seconds.

At this point Bethel Cycle got their lieutenant on point, Brian Wolf. After the field could only let the gap grow, he closed the gap singlehanded until it was a manageable few seconds on the backstretch on the last lap. Counters went immediately, stringing out the field and swamping poor Gulla meters from the line. Morgan Stebbins (Westwood Velo) launched a leg withering sprint and pulled clear to take an excellent win. Behind him, a few racers came together, causing confusion in the field. Avoiding this was Aki Sato (Carpe Diem Racing) finishing in second. The throw for third was tight, with barely a wheel covering the racers, with David Kim (Westwood Velo) taking a great third. Sean Marvel (Axis) took fourth, and Dominic Gillen (3 Sports) took fifth. Just behind was last week's winner Johan Koserius (Fiordi Frutta), taking a precious GC point. Mark Risigo (Stage One) nailed seventh, with Gulla hanging on for eighth. Peter Petrillo (CVC/Pig Iron Sports) finished ninth, and Todd Crisafulli (Solutions Cycling) rounded up the top ten. Historically this is the most competitive race for overall and this year seems to be headed in that direction.

M40+ Race Report -
The virtually undefeated Morgan Stebbins (Westwood Velo) toed the line with the dominant Bethel Cycle Sport team, led by ace and team captain Scott Bodin, Stephen Gray, and Greg Pelican. Andy Ruiz (CCB/Volkswagen), a serious threat in the Pro/1/2/3 race, lined up to throw a wrench into the works. Attacks launched from the gun but with the kind wind on the backstretch, fresh legs brought back what should have been winning break combinations. Ultimately it came down to a field sprint, with Pelican attacking just before the gun to lure rivals out into the wind. It worked, but not to their plan - Ruiz chased hard, towing Stebbins, Bodin, and Gray. Incredibly, Ruiz hung on for third, with Stebbins launching a perfect sprint. Bodin was close in second, and Gray finished just behind Ruiz. Race regular Chris Guglielmo (CTS) again put the Carmichael Training Systems name in front of everyone in fifth. Charles Mattison (Tokeneke Road Club) scooped up the last GC point, followed by Eugene Pringle (Tri-State Velo). Rick Malkames (USI) and teammate Thomas Chiudina finished eighth and ninth, and Rich Foley (Bethel Cycle Sport) took tenth.

Womens Race Report -


Junior Race Report -


Cat 4 Race Report -
In a great display of strength and perseverence, three racers took off on a long break to win the race. Ian Sinclair (Northeast Bicycles), Dan Davenport (CogWild Cycling Team), and Nathan Smith (NAV/Mercury Web Solutions) was just a pair of racers attacking an extremely aggressive race. But by brewing themselves an instant break (just add some lactic acid) they riled up the field even more, with teams launching chase after chase. Some would get agonizingly close and for a few laps it appeared over. But then the field collectively sat up and the break was gone for good.