Ronde de Bethel, March 4, 2007

Pro-1-2-3
1.  Jacob Hacker, Unattached
2.  Chad Butts, Unattached
3.  Mike McGinley, Anthem-CCCC
4.  Matthew Baldwin, Target Training
5.  Brian Wirtz, Horst-Benidorm
6.  Stephen Badger, Sakonnet Technology
7.  Eric Brownell, Honeywell
8.  Ed Angeli, Horst-Benidorm
9.  Brad Tisdahl, Team Swanson Tools
10.  Kyle Wolfe, TargetTraining

3-4's
1.  Rob Marcinko, CT Coast Cycling
2.  Sal Abbruzzese, Cafeteros
3.  Ryan Haug, CT Coast Cycling
4.  John-Paul Kaminski, CT Coast Cycling
5.  Bryan Haas, Zephyr
6.  Ian Farrar, CRCA
7.  Matthey Emeott, Bethel Cycle
8.  Chris Crowell, Stage 1/Fusion Think
9.  Aki Sato, Carpe Diem Racing
10.  Max Lippolis, Target Training

M40+
1.  Eric Pearce, Bethel Cycle
2.  Joe Straub, CRCA
3.  Shawn Forsythe, CCB/Volkswagen
4.  Curtis Eastin, Target Training
5.  Nelson Macy, Bethel Cycle
6.  Chris Ryan, CRCA
7.  Morgan Stebbins, Target Training
8.  Greg Pelican, Bethel Cycle
9.  Matt Murphy, Westwood Velo
10. David Williams, CRCA

Juniors
1.  Robert Schmidt, Capital Bicycle Racing Club
2.  Greg Carpenter, DEVO/NSO
3.  Ryan Barlow, ACT
4.  Filip Capala, Capala Brothers Polska
5.  Kyle Foley, ACT

Women
1.  Robin Farina, Target Training
2.  Anna Milkowski, Target Training
3.  Leigh Vallentti, Target Training
4.  Tania Ayoub, CRCA/MSSC
5.  Jennifer Magur, Team Expresscopy.com
6.  Kathleen Billington, Target Training
7.  Valerie Hopkins, CT Coast Cycling
8.  Mandy Lozano, Target Training
9.  Elena Leznick, CRCA
10.  Bridget Petrillo, Anthem-CCCC

4's
1.  Joe Straub, DKNY/Signature Cycles
2.  Jordan Copeland, Danny's Cycles
3.  Jonathan Warchol, CT Coast Cycling
4.  George Meyer, DKNY/Signature Cycles
5.  Ron LaRose III, Anthem-CCCC
6.  Chad Dalles, Bethel Cycle
7.  Brian Kelley, Pawling Cycle and Sport
8.  Gabrielle Gentile, Cafeteros
9.  Glenn Babikian, Skylands Cycling
10.  Todd Gay, Bethel Cycle

5's A (first race)
1.  Eric Merrill, Keltic Construction/Zanes
2.  Eugene Doherty, Danny's Cycles
3.  Greg Ciocci, Keltic Construction/Zanes
4.  John Romano, Bethel Cycle
5.  Hank Osborn, Bethel Cycle
6.  Sergio Atocha, CRCA
7.  Eugene Cundelan, USI
8.  Chris Burke, Cycle Center
9.   Peter Eagleton, Unattached
10.  Jim Reid, Bethel Cycle

5's B (second race)

1.  Zachary Staszak, Pawling Cycle and Sport
2.  Thomas Butner, Verge
3.  Daniel McNeilly, DKNY/Signature Cycles
4.  Matthew Jackson, Unattached
5.  Patrick Clifford
6.  Mike Koroly, Team 118
7.  Lyle  Baron, USI
8.  Garry Howe, Danny's Cycles
9.  David Corr, Bethel Cycle
10.  Thomas Thornton, Unattached.

Race Reports.  These are compiled from various reports sent in and may in fact be total fiction.  If you would like to contribute to the race reports, please email me your experiences and observations in your race/s and your report will be anonymously included in the appropriate race reports.

Pro-1-2-3:
The P/1/2/3 race was fast from the start. Notable starters included past overall winners Brian Wirtz (Horst-Benidorm) and Mike McGinley (Anthem-CCCC); Fiordifrutta Elite team members Chris Peck, Curt Davis, and John Funk; Verge Test Pilots Kurt Scheerer and Sean Mannion; a slew of Stage 1/Fusion think racers; another slew of Target Training racers, and a lot of the top 3/4 racers in for a workout.  For 40 minutes the race elastic stretched with racers willing to attack, work, and ultimately stay together.

The long line told the story though and as legs got fatigued, it took an extra second or two to close that gap.  Finally, at around 40-odd minutes into the race, the field detonated into three pieces.  All the groups worked but it seemed the legs dictacted the group and the three groups remained status quo to the finish.

The front group had a lot of ace riders and they finished in a sprint.  Strongman Jacob Hacker (Unattached) took a close sprint over Chad Butts (Unattached).  McGinley took third, followed by Matthey Baldwin (Target Training), Wirtz, and Stephen Badger (Sakonnet Technology).

3-4's:

(blog entry)

This race started with a few strong teams flying their colors.  Last year's winners Anthem-CCCC could not be discounted; Target Training was the ever present threat; Bethel Cycle fielded a strong team; Stage 1/Fusion Think had a number of riders; and a brightly colored Jonathan Adler Racing squad lined up as well.  But the surprise of the day was brought by two other teams - the familiar Cafeteros team and the 2 year old CT Coast Cycling squad.

The fireworks started when Sal Abbruzzese (Cafeteros) put his head down and managed to eke out a 35+ second advantage over the field. When the field realized he wasn't going to come back on his own, a few teams sent guys to the front to try and get him back.  It took a lot of match-burning to get Abbruzzese within shooting range, and as the clock wound down, CT Coast Cycling launched a strong counter with strongmen Rob Marcinko and Ryan Haug.

Marcinko, fresh off a top 10 in the Tour of Sun Valley in AZ, worked well with Haug and the flew across the gap to Abbruzzese.  Abbruzzese sat in for a bit to recover.  After some prodding from the CT Coast duo, he started to contribute, and the three set about building an insurmountable lead.  Haug dragged the trio around the last lap, and when Marcinko jumped, the race was over.  Abbruzzese took second behind Marcinko while Haug rolled in for third.

In the field, CT Coast had their backup plan in action, with a strong leadout for last year's Cat 4 dominator John-Paul Kaminski.  He led the field up the hill and over the line to take fourth, earning the team three of the top four spots.  Bryan Haas (Zephyr), a contender whenever he races here, took fifth, followed by CRCA's Ian Farrar, making a comeback after several years off the bike.

M40+:
The Masters race was filled with strong and smart riders as usual.  Willing to take risks (from an effort point of view) there were a number of attacks.  Active were the newly kit-ed Bethel Cycle team with new recruit Eric Pearce, a racer who earned a bronze at Nationals in 2006.  He was backed by a solid team of riders which included team captain Greg Pelican, Stephen Gray, Brian Wolf, and strong man Nelson Macy. Target Training, anchored with solid riders like Morgan Stebbins, Scott Bodin, and Curtis Eastin was always a threat at these races.  And along with an expanded Keltic Constructions/Zane's team, some long time New England strongmen like Shawn Forsythe (CCB/Volkswagen) and the ever present Tom Officer (Cycle Fitness) were also there.  It promised to be a fast and aggressive race.

And so it was.  Bethel's Pelican had a couple go's before Pearce rocketed up the road.  Ultimately a chase group including CRCA riders Joe Straub and Chris Ryan, Forsythe, Eastin, and Macy managed to bridge.  Pearce went again and was gone, taking a well earned win.

Behind him, Straub led in Forsythe for second and third, with Eastin and Macy following in that order.  Ryan rounded out the top 6 points positions.  As a  reminder of his sprinting strength, Stebbins took the field sprint in front of Pelican.  It was a demonstration of what might have been had it been a field sprint.

Women:
With the first ever fully scheduled Women's race, the response was fantastic.  Over 30 racers lined up with locally sponsored Target Training the talk of the line-up.  With powerhouse racers from all over the country joining the likes of Hiroko Shimada, Anna Milkowsi, and Kathleen Billington, the team promised to set the race on fire.  They launched attack after attack, and it seemed like everyone took turns during the race until it came down to the final laps.  At that point Target Training teammates Robin Farina and Milkowski shot away from the surprisingly intact field.  They rode up to the line together with Farina rolling a bit past Milkowski to win.  Back in the field, teammate Leigh Vallentti sprinted clear of the field to take third.  CRCA's Tanya Ayoub took fourth,  Jannifer Magur (Team Expresscopy.com)  come in fifth, and Target Training's Kathleen Billiington bookeneded the team's coup to take sixth.

Juniors:


4's:
The Cat 4 race was set on fire by a duo that took off virtually from the start.  Joe Straub  (CRCA) and Jordan Copeland (Danny's Cycles)  left the field behind and never looked back.  They worked smoothly together and stayed away the whole race.  It appeared they decided to work till the last lap as they were the picture perfect team time trial until then.  But the last lap changed everything.  Straub came flying across the line in front of a Copeland whose speed made it obvious he  realized it was second for him on that day.

The field sprint was not quite as clear cut.  A small crash about 75 meters before the line spiked the heart rates of both the racers and spectators, but the front of the field was clear of the crash.  Jonathan Warchol (CT Coast Cycling) took the field in a portend of things to come.  George Meyer (CRCA) took fourth, followed by Ron LaRose III  (Anthem-CCCC), and last year's Cat 5 overall winner Chad Dulles (Bethel Cycle).

5's (first race):
The day dawned cold but clear for the early racers.  Keltic Construcction/Zanes Cycles had only two riders in the field but that was all they needed.  After sitting at the front for half the race and shedding half the field,  Keltic racer Eric Merrill decided he wanted to train at his own pace.  He promptly left the field and non-chalantly rode away, smooth as can be, with no visible effort.  An enthusiastic Greg Ciocci, his teammate, went to go help but he quickly sat up and marked everything that moved in the field.  Merrill finished his solo training ride with the poise of a pro.  Ciocci, back in the field, had his hands full, but still finished third when Eugene Doherty (Danny's Cycles) pipped him at the line.  Bethel Cycle teammates John Romano and Hank Osborn were just behind, and CRCA's Sergio Atocha rounded out the top six.

5's (second race):
The second Cat 5 race was a little more traditional with the field staying together throughout the race.  It came down to a field sprint (a rarity on this race day) with Zachary Staszak (Pawling Cycle & Sport) taking the win.  Thomas Butner (Verge) showed that you could sweep for hours the day before and still get second in the race.  Daniel McNeilly (DKNY/Signature Cycles) crossed in third place, followed by Matthew Jackson (Unattached), Patrick Clifford, and Mike Koroly (Team 118).