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US Crits – Downtown Walterboro Criterium Report, Full Results – Bell 29th

report by Daniel Carruthers/US Crits

May 1, 2009 – Team Tibco showed yet again that they demonstrate the best team-work, delivering current US criterium champion Brooke Miller to the final corner in second position and she jumped from there to hold all the way to the line. Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home) was second despite going down earlier in the race. She was followed by New Zealander, Joanne Kiesanowski in third.

How it unfolded:

Team Tibco came out with all guns blazing in a super-fast Downtown Walterboro Criterium. They had sent attack after attack in the early stages to wear down the other teams and push the advantage with their team numbers. Tibco regarded Colavita/Sutter Home as their biggest challenge because Colavita had a team presence plus Tina Pic. As one of the best sprinters in the country, she is the ace up their sleeve. It was apparent that the Colavita/Sutter Home team was not racing for the break as they were chasing down Tibco’s moves and then just sitting on. Team Type 1 was fairly aggressive, but none of their moves were successful. The long straightaway, being wide and smooth, made it difficult for breakaways to succeed.

Miller said, “Just after the half-way point, we decided to stop attacking and allow other teams to be the aggressors. This resulted in the pace slowing and other minor teams tried to get some riders off the front. But nothing was close.” With three laps to go, Ali Rosenthal (Team Tibco) attacked long and hard forcing a strong chase, and stringing out the field in single file. This move helped Tibco organize their lead-out for Brooke Miller which almost worked to perfection. But it was almost spoiled by Kelly Benjamin (Colavita/Sutter Home) who disrupted the train with Tina Pic in tow. That allowed Pic to slot Kiesanowski diving on the inside forcing Pic to go wide. This opened up a gap that Miller was able to slot through and she powered away for the convincing win.

“Downtown criteriums are always a ton of fun,” said Miller. “It was a bit scary out there though, to be honest, since on the back stretch, the sun was setting, and we were getting it straight into our eyes making it hard to see. The last two corners went from a big open road into a small narrow shoot, lined with barricades. It was a bit dangerous, and the potential for a big pile up was there, but thankfully everyone knew this and played it safe”

Stay tuned for further reports from the 2009 USA Speed Week Series. Next stop is Friday’s Spartanburg Regional Classic, where more exciting race action will unfold. For live-updates on all the races, you can follow USA CRITS announcer Chad Andrews’ twitter on TotalCyclist. The Downtown Walterboro Criterium is next up in the USA CRITS Speed Week Series Friday night. www.biketownspartanburg.org

Men’s Race

Frank Travieso (Champion Porsche) followed a late race counter-attack by Carlos Vargas (Team Hotel San Jose) after the peloton brought back escapees Andrew Pinfold (OUCH) and Bernie Sulzberger (Fly V Australia). When the pair realized that they had a sizeable gap, it appeared as though they made an unspoken agreement to work together to ensure their success to the line. Although they split the primes with each other, it came down to this inescapable fact: the rider with the strongest legs would win. Vargas let Travieso take the final two corners, but he was unable to come around the Cuban missile and had to settle for second. Travieso took the win comfortably by a couple of bike lengths.

A visibly delighted Travieso said that “When I win a bike race, it is one of the best feelings ever and more so when my fiancée, Ashley Forgay, is there on the stage watching me win.” Regarding his winning move, he added, “I saw Carlos go with 12 laps left, and he has been looking strong and consistent this series. I thought that would be the right move to be in, so I managed to jump on to his wheel, and we continued to put time on the chasers.”

Travieso spent a good portion of the race surfing around at the back of the field, moving up when it mattered and when everyone else was visibly getting tired. This can be a good strategy when you are a rider who is strong enough to withstand the “rubber-band” effect. This effect is created when riders so far behind that they have to sprint to maintain contact with the front runners.

Travieso, representing his Miami based team Champion Porsche, has been searching for the elusive win all series. He featured in many breakaways in all of the races, but none worked out for him. So, his win tonight is a fine reward for the aggressive positive style of racing he has displayed to date, during the 2009 USA Speed Week Series.

The initial stages of the race evolved at blistering speeds, speeds of 37 mph down the back long straightaway were regularly hit. The bunch, nearing the end of the straightaway, resembled a gigantic stingray when all the riders fanned out across the road soft-pedaling to recover and the long, single file out the back contained riders frantically trying to scramble back into the fold in an effort to recover before the next hit-out.

Later, Vargas revealed that he is using Speed Week to prepare for Superweek in July, (http://www.iccsuperweek.com/) where he is aiming to win the Number 1 spot. “I’ve been feeling better and better every day, although I’m not yet at 100 percent, thanks to my team-mates and all Team Hotel San Jose supporters. Referring to his winning move, he said, “I attacked after the bunch brought back several guys, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to attack. Frank was able to bridge up to me, and we worked together and shared the prime prizes. In the finale, Frank proved just too strong for me. Now we look to the rest of Speed Week to try and get another win for our teams.”

Due to consistent placings in the top 10 so far this series, Vargas has jumped into third spot overall, and he is within striking distance of taking the overall series lead if he continues to do well. It is possible, with his star-studded team rallying around him, that Team Hotel San Jose will come out on the attack for the remainder of the series in the attempt to secure Vargas the top spot!

Aldo Ilesic (Team Type 1) took the 3rd podium spot slightly ahead of the charging peloton. Ken Hanson (Team Type 1) took the bunch sprint for 4th ahead of Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies), and the OUCH speedsters in John Murphy and Karl Menzies.

Tom Soladay (Team Mountain Khakis) came in 11th today and commented that he was feeling tired from his aggressive racing of previous days. He added that he knew that a 3-peat would be highly unlikely because there were other fresher and hungry riders out there all vying to win.

A mid-race prime with points five deep was taken by Mark Hekman (Team Mountain Khakis) and, combined with his 8th placing at the end, was enough to catapult him into the series lead. Team Mountain Khakis also lead the teams’ classification with stellar performances from all of their team members.

For live updates on all the races, you can follow USA CRITS announcer Chad Andrews’ twitter on TotalCyclist. The Downtown Walterboro Criterium is next up in the USA CRITS Speed Week Series Friday night. www.biketownspartanburg.org

Results

Men

1. Frank Travieso (Champion Porsche) 1:25:23
2. Carlos Vargas (Team Hotel San Jose) 0:01
3. Aldo Ilesic (Team Type 1) 0:08
4. Ken Hanson (Team Type 1) 0:09
5. Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies)
6. John Murphy (Ouch)
7. Karl Menzies (Ouch)
8. Mark Hekman (Mountain Khakis) 0:10
9. Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia)
10. Logan Loader (Mountain Khakis)
11. Thomas Soladay (Mountain Khakis)
12. Amaury Perez (Gs Mengoni Usa) 0:11
13. Rafael Meran (Gs Mengoni Usa)
14. Sean Sullivan (Team Hotel San Jose) 0:12
15. Adam Myerson (Mountain Khakis)
16. Kyle Wamsley (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light)
17. Joey Rosskopf (Jittery Joes U25)
18. Lisban Quintero (CRCA/ Foundation)
19. Thomas Brown (Jittery Joes U25)
20. Brendan Cornett (Richmond Pro)
21. Adrian Hegyvary (Hagens-Berman LLP Cycling)
22. Christian Helmig (Metro VW)
23. Chad Hartley (Team Geargrinder) 0:13
24. Grant Potter (Champion Porsche)
25. Seth Hansley (Champion Porsche)
26. Sean Weddell (Globalbike)
27. Jordan Heimer (Team Geargrinder)
28. Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light)
29. Zach Bell (Kelly Benefit Strategies)
30. Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) 0:14
31. Chris Schmidt (The Bike Rack Of Wash DC)
32. Tyler Hawes (Globalbike)
33. Craig Dodson (Richmond Pro)
34. Eric Murphy
35. Daniel Holt (Team Type 1) 0:15
36. Issac Howe (Mountain Khakis)
37. Yosvany Falcon (Champion Porsche)
38. Joe Collins (Locos)
39. Andrew Dahlheim (Metro VW)
40. Mat Stephens (Metro VW) 0:16
41. Barry Lee (Team Hotel San Jose)
42. Steven George (Fly V Australia) 0:18
43. Daniel Estevez (CRCA/ Foundation) 0:19
44. Lewis Almonte (CRCA/ Foundation)
45. Cooper Lange (Hagens-Berman LLP Cycling) 0:20
46. Ryan Mele (Richmond Pro)
47. Benjamin Baumgartner (Metro VW)
48. Charles Marzot (Mountain Khakis)
49. Rob White (Team Geargrinder)
50. Jonny Sundt (Kelly Benefit Strategies)
51. Evan Bybee (Metro VW) 0:21
52. Whit Clifford (Locos)
53. Scott Jackson (Richmond Pro)
54. Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit) 0:22
55. Lang Reynolds (Hagens Berman LLP Cycling Team)
56. Samuels Oniel (Myogenesis)
57. Boyd Johnson (Dlp) 0:23
58. Matt Seagrave (Richmond Pro)
59. Andrew Gonzales (Metro VW)
60. Joshua Carter (Abd Cycling Team) 0:24
61. Jesse Anthony (Team Type 1)
62. Nick Reistad (Jelly Belly)
63. Aaron Johnson (Hagens Berman LLP)
64. Ben Kersten (Fly V Australia) 0:25
65. Jeremy Grimm (Panther/Rgf Pb Felt Bicycles)
66. Andrew Pinfold (Ouch) 0:26
67. David Kemp (Fly V Australia) 0:27
68. Jeff Buckles (Richmond Pro)
69. Andrew Crater (Team Wheel & Sprocket) 0:37
70. Heath Blackgrove (Team Hotel San Jose)
71. Luca Damiani (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) 0:38
72. Curtis Gunn (Fly V Australia) 0:45

Pro Women

1. Brooke Miller (Team TIBCO) 56:11:00
2. Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light)
3. Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO)
4. Erica Allar (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) 0:01
5. Rebecca Larson (Jittery Joe’s )
6. Lauren Tamayo (Team TIBCO)
7. Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom)
8. Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1)
9. Tiffany Pezzulo (Dft p/b Treads) 0:02
10. Samantha Schneider (Team Type 1)
11. Anna Mcloon (Altarum Women’s Cycling Team)
12. Kristen Lasasso
13. Melissa Sanborn (Vanderkitten Racing)
14. Caren Mcnellis (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) 0:03
15. Kelly Benjamin (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light)
16. Elizabeth Morse Hill (Hub Racing)
17. Amy Mcguire (Hub Racing)
18. Laura Bowles (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:04
19. Veronica Martinez (Hub Racing)
20. Whitney Schultz (Metro VW)
21. Carrie Cash (Team Revolution)
22. Elizabeth Hatch (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:05
23. Nicole Johnson (Kenda Tire)
24. Jennifer Rasmusson (Cyclelife Powered By Specialized)
25. Sally Annis (Hub Racing)
26. Linsey Bradshaw-Sandoval (Dft p/b Treads) 0:07
27. Jennifer Reither (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:08
28. Tamyra Barnard (Team Kenda)
29. Verónica Leal (Team Type 1) 0:09
30. Sarah Caravella (Richmond Pro Cycling)
31. Kat Clark (Team Kenda) 0:11
32. Leslie Jennings (Cyclelife Powered By Specialized) 0:12
33. Virginia Perkins (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:13
34. Jennifer Wilson (Vanderkitten Racing)
35. Sara Zeigler (Cyclelife Powered By Specialized) 0:17
36. Meredith Miller (Team TIBCO) 0:18
37. Haley Beann (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:19
38. Emma Rickards (Team TIBCO) 0:20
39. Alison Rosenthal (Team TIBCO) 0:21
40. Dale Tye (Altarum Women’s Cycling Team)
41. Nicole Wangsgard (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) 0:30
42. Morgan Patton (Team Type 1) 0:39








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