Race ResultsRace Held March 23, 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 - Contrary to previous weeks, the racing got underway in a nice, relaxed manner. A few racers took some flyers for a lap or so, but no one really broke free of the field for the first half hour. Finally, Peter Baker (GS Thermopiave) took a flyer, looking smooth and fit. After letting him cook his legs for a few laps, the field launched a flurry of counterattacks, instigated by strongmen Andy Ruiz (CCB-Volkswagen), Tim Unkert (Capital Bike), Ray Diaz (Liberty Cycle). Covering his GC position was Brian Wirtz (Bethel Cycle Sport), with a multitude of teammates working for him. Greg Wolf (Colavita-Bolle), Todd Cassan (Rocinante), Mike McGinley (Hartford Hospital), and Charles Whalen (Sleepy Hollow) bridged quickly and the break was on its way. Two more riders launched out of the field - former Olympic alternate Steve Pyle (unattached) and Tom Cromie (unattached). Incredibly, after a difficult chase lasting a few laps, they latched on to the back of the break. With about 10 laps to go, Baker made another move - he seemed determined to get away. A couple laps hesitation,then Ruiz lauched a leg-withering counter at the top of the hill. Only Diaz and Unkert could go with him, and they gapped the rest of the now-chasing group. With 3 to go, and trailing the 4 man break by 10 seconds, Wolf launched out of the chasing 7 man group. However, he was brought back a lap later. At the same time, Unkert attacked his group but was brought back two laps later. Up front, the 4 break companions rode through the last lap, their lead too tenuous for any dicing around. Unkert looked to be in trouble and Baker was doing a lot of work. Ruiz looked strong and Diaz was completely unreadable. Baker launched hard for a brilliant and well-deserved victory. Ruiz took second, Diaz third, and an exhausted Unkert fourth. In the 7 man chase, Wirtz seemed to make a lot of solo efforts to bring back the 4 man break. In the end though, he hammered home a decisive sprint to take fifth and valuable GC points. Wolf followed in sixth, followed by Cassan, McGinley, Whalen, Pyle, and Cromie. Cat 3/4 Race Report - Another warm day meant another record week - with 100 registered racers (96 starters), it was the first time any non-Cat 5 field had closed out. John McGovern (Bethel Cycle Sport) rounded up a number of teammates for help in taking back the overall lead. His plan was as simple as they get: to attack a few laps into the race and stay away for the rest of it. Simple, but in reality a very hard plan to execute. One teammate, Andrew Lobsenz (Bethel Cycle Sport) launched a ferocious attack on the third lap, and when he got caught, McGovern launched in perfect textbook fashion. He never looked back. After the race, looking at the official's scoring sheets (which list every lap), McGovern's number showed up on every lap from the fourth lap till the finish. He was accompanied by Chris Mears (unattached) and a third rider but they never managed to get too far from the field. With literally 15 or 20 racers willing to chase, the field's pace stayed in the 27-29 mph range on the flats. Regardless of this, McGovern's group gained a precious 30 seconds. With legs starting to falter in the field and his team trying all they could to discourage the chase, the break's lead nudged into the 40 second range. McGovern and Mears discarded the third rider who quickly dropped back to the field. The leading duo actually accelerated and distanced the pack. In the end, McGovern, gesturing (without result) for Mears to join him, crossed the line first. A shattered Mears rolled across in second. The field, riled up for the finishing places, roared up the hill. One rider, swerving from the left curb to the right curb, shut down a tremendous rush coming up the left side. Although no one went down, there were a lot of brakes and skidding going on. In front of the shenanigans was Stephen Gray (Bethel Cycle Sport), well clear of the field. John Morales (Cafeteros) beat the rest to the line. Charles Mattison (Tokeneke Road Club) took fifth, followed by Honeywell rider James Escobar. Kevin Haley (NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles) rounded out the top six. M40+ Race Report - With a record 56 M40's lined up, they finally got their own finish lap. It was for naught though - a flurry of early attacks saw the inevitable Bethel Cycle break comprised of Morgan Stebbins and Stephen Gray. Without Nelson Macy to chase them down, they stayed away to finish one-two. The large field had a few incidents including a stackup on the hill. One hapless racer, after flatting early on, stopped when someone's skewer took 1/3 of the spokes out of his front wheel. After the field settled down though, the race carried on as normal. At the line, Michael Allaire (Kissena) took a well earned third place. Bethel Cycle teammates Scott Bodin and Brian Wolf followed, stamping their team's authority on the race. Oscar Osario (Cafeteros) took sixth in a brilliant finish that took the last available point. Womens Race Report - The promoters (with the officials) decided to separate the Women's finish from the M40's, due to the large M40 field. This led to an interesting sprint where Richard Sachs' Katrina Davis led out teammate Alicia Genest. Genest responded by taking the win. Laura Summers (WebEvent.com) found her racing legs and followed in second. Heather Peck (Independent Fabrications) took third, with Davis taking fourth. Penny Buchar took fifth. The high speed race (due to the M40's aggression) had shed a number of women, and a few chose to sit out this race in order to do the 1/2/3's. Junior Race Report - With the large M40 field, the Juniors were a little less active. That just meant that they got in the middle of things on many of the laps, not every one. Eventual winner Konrad Lebas (CCB) and NECSA teammates Jeff Buckles and Casey MacNiven mixed things up but no one could get away. Buckles took second, with MacNiven third. Colin Coates (Coyote Hill) was also active, and finished just behind in fourth. Matt Sheldon (Tokeneke Road Club) and Steven Bruen (Ridgefield Bank) rounded out the top six. Cat 4 Race Report - The NJ Rock N Road/Signature Cycles team, in their distinctive "I Hate Paul Levin Club" jerseys, took the race once again. However, some erratic riding in the field shut down the whole left side of the field, including that team's ace sprinter, Humberto Cavalhiero. His teammate Kevin Haley kept clear of the mess and won by a large margin. Anthony Restuccia, the overall winner of last year's Cat 5 series, took second, demonstrating his comfort in mixing it up with the 4's. Miguel Pagan (Ridgefield Bank) took third and Brian Kelly (Unattached) took fourth. Jon Furminger (WebEvent.com) edged Brian Gristick (Sklylands) for fifth. Cat 5 A Race Report - This Cat 5 field seemed relatively subdued , perhaps due to the strong wind on the backstretch. One rider that didn't seem affected by it was John Loughery, who led the field up the climb virtually every lap. At the sprint, he led again, this time to take the win. Benjamin Moore (Berlin Bikes) was the best of the rest, edging out Chris Thomas (Cycle Center) for second. Steve Rescigino (Bethel Cycle Sport) took fourth, followed by Jim Swigart (Unattached) and Zachary Verhey (Skylands). Cat 5 B Race Report - This particular field seemed animated in its racing with a lot of break attempts. In the end though, it came down to a wild field sprint. Some shuffling at the bottom of the hill meant that some racers ended up totally boxed in while others were free to jump at will. Joshua Owens (Unattached) took advantage of some room and took the sprint, followed by Mark Russi (Bethel Cycle Sport). Maximino Veiga (Big Ring Velo) took third, with Bruce Wells (USI) in fourth. Alister Clarke (Don's Cycle) took fifth, and David Lofthouse (CRCA) rounded out the points-earners. 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.
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