Race Results

1/2/3 Race report:

John Idone (Remax) and his powerful Remax team showed up determined to decimate the field today. Although missing his trusted (and second overall) teammate Anthony Allessio (Remax), he brought other powerful teammates to make up for it, including an on-form Stephen Badger and the talented Chris Rozdilsky. With wet, miserable conditions as well as another scheduled race, a miniscule field started off on this final week. Only one contender to the overall showed up, Charles Whalen (Sleepy Hollow), supported by his brothers and teammates, Robert and John. However, they could not break free from a diligent Idone. His Remax team let other riders go though, until a group of six lead racers formed off the front. The only Remax member there, Badger, had not scored any points so far. Idone, securely in the overall lead with virtually all the points up the road, simply marked Charles Whalen.

Up front, the six break riders attacked each other but nothing stuck until Badger blasted off the front with three laps to go. Sean Mannion (CRCASC), a former Remax teammate and former overall winner, knew Badger's strength and tried desperately to bring him back. But after two laps of pressure, Mannion cracked, and Badger heard the bell with a tenuous 30 meter gap. A couple minutes later the rest of the racers streamed through, taking their bell just in front of the finishing break. Badger, extended to the max, struggled to the line, pursued all the way by a furiously sprinting Mike McGinley (CVC) and Morgan Stebbins (Bethel Cycle). At the line, McGinley just failed to catch an exhausted but ecstatic Badger by 2 feet. Stebbins finished about a wheel length behind in third spot. John Whalen (Sleepy Hollow) finished just behind in fourth. John Funk (Ridgefield Bank) took a well deserved fifth with Mannion hanging on in sixth. Idone showed the field his strength and took both the field sprint and the last point in seventh, capping off his superb overall victory.

Incredibly, with Badger's 10 point victory today, along with Charles Whalen failing to score points, Badger took third overall. Remax, confident in Idone's overall position, had in the last three weeks took risks to try and take more overall positions. First, with Allessio's superb finish the week prior, they wrapped up second overall. And by setting up Badger on the last day, they also took third overall. Their tactical astuteness, along with their superior strength and teamwork, allowed them to sweep the top three, the first time any team has done that. With all those points, they couldn't help but take the team trophy yet again.

Cat 3/4 Race Report:

Jorge Ortiz (Tarrytown CC) only had to place fourth to take the overall. But with the team competition also tight (only one point separated them from Moneygram), his team couldn't just set him up - they had to focus on earning points themselves. He arrived with a full squad of support, with trusted teammates Diego Ahetorhua, Oscar Osario, John Morales, and a couple others. Even with the cold, wet conditions, Ortiz beamed confidence and in fact arrived so early in the day he watched the first race of the day. Thomas Cromie (Unattached) showed up ready to defend his second overall, lacking the team support but no less confident in himself. Vincent Cintron (Moneygram), third overall, arrived in a flourish just before the start of the race, his teammates helping him prepare for the battle for the top three overall. His support included the reliable Salvatore Abbruzzesse, faithful Garret Crooks, and the surprise of his team, Hermaen Walker. However, ominously, the cold and wet conditions weren't to their liking.

The race started off on the first lap, with Daniel Schmalz (CRCASC) rolling through hard at the start, pulling through at over 30 mph for the lap. Two riders went with him, Expert class NORBA racer and recently upgraded Cat 4 Myron Baker (Unattached) and Aki Sato (Bethel Cycle). With very quick 20 second lead, they started working together. Immediately, Sato dropped off the pace. The field, strung out by the hard chasing Tarrytown CC team, shattered like a dropped vase, riders all over the race course.

Walker attacked hard, powerfully bridging to the two man break. Unable to contain himself, he attacked them shortly after and set off on his own. However, his native Jamaican weather had ill prepared him for the bone chilling rain, and, unbelievably, in a couple more laps, he pulled off, his legs numb with cold, his hands shivering. Tarrytown CC, seeing Walker up the road, chased so hard that Ortiz had only one teammate left when the front groups came together. With no recovery possible in the small group, it seemed that the race rewarded every racer that made an effort by dropping them.

However, Baker was still off and Bill Keith (Bethel Cycle) managed to escape to bridge to him. With the three overall contenders marking each other, the main group of 7 or 8, including Ortiz, Cromie, and Cintron, didn't chase. Wildcards in that group included the hardworking Jim Escobar (New Canaan Cyclery) and the super active Schmalz. Crooks and Abbruzzesse were there for Cintron, although Crooks pulled out shortly after a particularly hard pull.

Schmalz, pulling like he did the first lap, gapped off the others from that small front group, gaining about 20 meters. Escobar, remembering that same first lap attack, jumped quickly across to him, and the two of them powered over the start/finish hill to maintain their small gap. Ortiz, knowing that all the points were up the road, didn't chase, instead preferring Cromie and Cintron to make the pace. However, neither could offer much in the wet and miserable conditions. In addition, if one worked too hard, the other would take second overall, so they ended up eyeing each other warily. Abbruzzesse worked hard for Cintron but couldn't make a dent in the gap since he was the only one working.

Up front, the four front runners merged and immediately started working super well together. With short 10 second pulls, they cooperated unbelievably well, none shirking a turn, no one pulling below their strength even when they were at their limits. Escobar in particular seemed to be in trouble every time he pulled off, struggling to get back on the wheel. As he never missed a pull, the others never attacked him. In the last lap, Baker led the whole lap, willing to let the others duke it out. Schmalz jumped on the hill and opened a small but permanent gap to win. Behind him, a ferocious three way sprint ended with an exhausted Escobar rallying to edge Keith for second. Baker came in fourth, amazingly close considering his one lap leadout.

The race for the overall, now decided for Ortiz, attention turned to the Cromie-Cintron duel for second place. Cromie removed all doubt by winning the field sprint for fifth place on the day. Ortiz managed to pick up sixth, leaving Cintron in seventh. Ortiz's points meant that Tarrytown CC also took the team trophy, one they had worked hard to earn. Moneygram, in only a few races, managed to out-distance all the other teams to take second in the team category. Unfortunately, their warm-weather team got caught out in the last chilling race, ending their challenge for the overall and the team competition.

Master 40+ Race Report:

With Morgan Stebbins (Bethel Cycle) assured of the overall for the last two weeks, once again Bethel Cycle looked towards their other top-placed racers, Scott Boden and Greg Pelican. Sitting second and fourth overall, their goal was to take third spot from Rich Foley (Laurel). Sorely outnumbered and outgunned from the start, Foley could only watch as point after point rode off up the road. Brian Wolf (Bethel Cycle) powered away in a break. He lapped the field and earning a fine win, showing the strength he used so selflessly to lead out his teammates in the weeks prior.

Behind Wolf, his teammates Pelican and Boden started attacking Foley one after another, forcing Foley to defend his third overall position. Finally, with Tom Toal (Bethel Cycle) and Pelican in a two man attack, Foley cracked. Pelican and Toal, working selflessly for his team captain, worked smoothly together to stay away for more than half the race. In agreement at the finish, Toal let a happy Pelican take maximum points in second in the race. His seven points also enabled him to earn second overall. Boden took fourth in the race and with those points, third overall. Poor Foley, fighting gamely after being outnumbered for the whole Series, took a very hard earned fourth overall by finishing a game fifth in the race. Grinning wryly, he appeared satisfied with his underdog fight to the end. Ray Ruyack (Bethel Cycle), took a hard earned sixth, and Donald Chickering (WebEvent.com) saw his luck start to turn by taking the last point in seventh. Later in the day, he'd win again - when it rains, it pours, as the saying goes...

Women's Race Report:

Absolutely terrible conditions greeted the women racers at sign in, and by starting the race Penny Buchar (WebEvent.com) guaranteed herself the overall win. However, she wasn't content to simply start the race - she raced the entire race with the fast Masters and Juniors to win the race as well. Mary Ellen Calandrino (NJ Rock N Road) finished second in the terrible conditions. With the overall already decided, the women raced for honor and rode strongly.

Junior Race Report:

With the overall leader Matt Crane (Kissena) missing, Keith Jennings had a chance to take the overall lead by winning the last race. However, an on-form Michael Rabe (NECSA) broke away and finished well clear, preserving his third overall. Jennings, in second, had to be satisfied with second overall. I think Crane owes Rabe some strong support in some race in the future! Brian Hayes (Laurel) braved the conditions and stayed with Jennings for third in the race.

Cat 4/5 Race Report:

The morning brought with it the worst weather of the day. The wind was so strong that the securely anchored registration tent would literally lift off all of its feet. In those conditions, only a few brave souls ventured out. Due to the small turnout, the Cat 4 and Cat 5 races were combined, with separate scoring maintained for the two fields.

The Cat 5 overall race seemed over, with only one overall contender in the race, a fit Anthony Restuccia (Unattached). He only had to beat one or two other racers and he'd take the overall. As it was, he took third in the group, first of the 5's and behind two Cat 4's, demonstrating his worthiness of a Cat 4 license. With the day's win, he also took the overall classification and the jersey and trophy that accompanied it.

The Cat 4 race was a tough one for Bethel Cycle because their racers held first and second overall, with Tom Bronson and Ian Stevor in the two positions respectively. The field stayed together for the whole race. In the end, the two contenders decided their positions mano-a-mano. Bronson and Strevor ended up finishing second and first, tying each other on points. However, Strevor's win meant that he'd take the overall. Bronson, happy and disappointed at the same time, took second overall. The team, with a dominating performance in the Series, took the Cat 4 team trophy home.