June 7, 2007 (Reading, Pennsylvania) – Bernhard Eisel, Austrian mega star of the T-Mobile team, pulled off the one-two punch by winning two races in a row in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling. The second leg with over 175 riders ran today in Reading, PA under sunny skies and surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans on the 75-mile course. Eisel’s T-Mobile team has now planted themselves in the driver’s seat for the Commerce Bank Triple Crown overall prize after he jumped clear at the bitter end of the grueling Commerce Bank Reading Classic race. Teams raced the first round of the three race series last Sunday in Lancaster and will finish up on June 10th in Philadelphia at the Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championships.

With three days to dry out after the wet affair in Lancaster last weekend, racers were greeted with dry roads and favorable conditions. The tough Reading course tested the riders who climbed steep Mount Penn three times and surely played an important role in the final outcome of the event. The first seven of ten laps, however, did not take the riders over the climb. However, the rolling 6.7 “short lap” had plenty of twisting, rolling terrain to test the bunch. Three riders rolled away early and established a one minute gap. These riders included Jamier de Jesus Zapata (Caico) from Columbia, Kasper Klostergaard (CSC) from Denmark and Canadian Christian Meier (Symmetrics Cycling Team) and although they worked smoothly together their lead was kept in check by the T-Moble, Toyota United and Health Net p/b Maxxis teams.

As the racers rounded the turn for their first ascent of the Mount Penn climb on the eighth lap, the three escapees were about to be absorbed by the hard charging group but showing true resolve Zapata was just able to stay clear to the top of the climb and scoop up the fist of three rounds of points for the Berks Packing Top Dog Competition awarded to the best climber on the day. Scores of riders were shelled on the slopes of the mountain with the group dwindling to fewer than 70 riders as the riders crossed the line and headed out on their second to last lap.

The field was paired down each of the next two trips up Mount Penn, but no rider was able to establish a big enough advantage over the climb to make it stick. As the riders flew down the mountain that overlooks the historic city of Reading, teams with enough horsepower left up front began positioning their sprinters for the final push to the line. Recognizing the importance of leading into the final two high speed corners, Eisel decided to start his sprint well before the line. By the time he exited the final turn, he had his winning margin secured. As Eisel coasted across the line, waiving his arms in his own unique victory salute, the battle for second and third raged. The impressive Argentinean Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid) was able to get the better of the Russian veteran Oleg Grishkin (Navigators Insurance) as both earned well deserved trips to the podium.

Confirming Colombia’s place as the country that consistently produces the best climbers in the world, The Berks Packing Top Dog climbing competition was won by the Gregoria Ladino (Tecos de la University).

Eisel now leads in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown overall competition awarded to the most consistent rider over the three race series. Second place is currently held by Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Alejandro Borrajo is in third.

Women’s Pro Race

Earlier in the day the pro women completed 25 miles of a shorter 1.6 mile downtown Reading criterium circuit. The strong field of riders appeared determined to foil another sprint win by the powerful German Ina-Yoko Teutenberg and attacks started firing off the front from the start. Groups of one and two riders were allowed to gain 5 to 10 seconds but were routinely brought back by the organized chase from T-Mobile and Cheerwine. In the end nothing was allowed to stay away.

As the woman entered the last lap a field sprint was inevitable. Ina’s arch rival here in Pennsylvania is Pocono’s native Laura VanGilder (Cheerwine) and with her second place last weekend in Lancaster she seemed like the likely rider to knock Teutenberg off the top step of the podium. Around the final corner however the familiar pink T-Mobile uniform emerged for the final sprint to the line and with apparent ease, Ina-Yoko cruised in for the win once again. Van Gilder was relegated to third place after Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Verducci/Breakaway) surged past in the final meters.

Second Year for Men’s Elite Amateur Race

The first race of the day was the Elite Amateur Men’s event which was run on the same course as the Pro Women would race on later. The new format required each team to have at least one rider under 23 years of age in an effort to support the development of youth cycling. This year’s event boasted 15 teams.

All eyes were on Jamie Carney (Alliance p/b Bianchi) after he took the win in last Sunday’s Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic. Carney also won the Reading race last year with his powerful final sprint. After a blistering fast start the race settled into a pattern of attacks and counter attacks with no one was able to stay clear on the difficult winding course.

In the end, the field started the final lap together and the sprinter’s teams brought their leaders to the front. As the racers barreled up the finishing straight history repeated itself as Carney punched his way to the line a good four bike lengths ahead of second place finisher David Guttenplan (CRCA/Sakonnet Techno). Third place went to Jason Snow (Gotham Cyclists).

Results

1. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile 2.48.54 (41.77 km/h)
2. Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Rite Aid
3. Oleg Grishkin (Rus) Navigators Insurance
4. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance
5. Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita-Sutter Home
6. Kayle Leo Grande (USA) Rock Racing
7. Rory Sutherland (USA) Health Net – Maxxis
8. John Freddy Parra (Col) Tecos De La Universidad
9. Martin Pedersen (Den) Team CSC
10. Caleb Manion (USA) Toyota-United
11. Benjamin Brooks (USA) Navigators Insurance
12. Neil Shirley (USA) Jittery Joe’s
13. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
14. Cesar Augusto Grajales (Col) Jittery Joe’s
15. Andrew Bajadali (USA) Jelly Belly
16. Chris Wherry (USA) Toyota-United
17. Edward King (USA) Priority Health P/B Bissel
18. Svein Tuft (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
19. Marco Pinotti, (Ita) T-Mobile
20. Dominique Rollin (Can) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
21. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
22. Mark Walters (Can) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
23. Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita-Sutter Home
24. Justin Spinelli (USA) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
25. Christopher Jones (USA) Nerac
26. Michael Grabinger (USA) Successfulliving.com
27. Alexander Gonzalez (Col) Caico
28. Danny Pate (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
29. David Vitoria (Swi) BMC Racing Team
30. Greg Henderson (NZl) T-Mobile
31. David O’Loughlin (Irl) Navigators Insurance
32. Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance 0.23
33. Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC Racing Team
34. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
35. Hector Hugo Rangel (Mex) Tecos De La Universidad 0.32
36. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health P/B Bissel
37. Gregorio Ladino (Col) Tecos De La Universidad
38. Frank Pipp (USA) Health Net – Maxxis 0.57
39. Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
40. Jesse Anthony (USA) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada 1.02
41. Daniel Holt (USA) Nerac
42. Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den) Team CSC
43. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance
44. Jake Rytlewski (USA) Rite Aid
45. Nicholas Waite (USA) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
46. Francois Parisien (Can) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
47. Herberth Gutierrez (Col) Tecos De La Universidad
48. Alejandro Ivan Cortes (Col) Caico
49. Emile Abraham (Tri) Priority Health P/B Bissel
50. Scott Nydam (USA) BMC Racing Team
51. William Frischkorn (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
52. Kirk O’Bee (USA) Health Net – Maxxis
53. Roger Hammond (GBr) T-Mobile
54. Curtis Gunn (USA) Successfulliving.com 1.32
55. David Mccann (Irl) Colavita-Sutter Home 1.48
56. Christian Valenzuela (Mex) Successfulliving.com 1.51
57. Cameron Evans (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
58. Matthew Rice (Aus) Jelly Belly
59. Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita-Sutter Home 2.15
60. Dominique Perras (Can) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
61. Javier De Jesus Zapata (Col) Caico 2.21
62. Jorge Martinez (Col) Caico 2.36
63. Trent Wilson (Aus) Jittery Joe’s
64. Michael Friedman (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle 3.11
65. Stefano Barberi (Bra) Toyota-United
66. Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita-Sutter Home 3.14
67. Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile 3.32
68. Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance
69. Aaron Olson (USA) T-Mobile
70. Matt Shriver (USA) Jittery Joe’s 4.07
71. Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota-United
72. Greg Reain (Can) Calyon – Litespeed 6.26
73. Christian Meier (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
74. Todd Yezefski (USA) Nerac
75. Christopher Frederick (USA) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Daniel Bowman (USA) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
DNF Martin Gilbert (Can) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
DNF Dave Mccook (USA) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
DNF Ryan Roth (Can) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
DNF Jonathan Sundt (USA) Kelly Benefit/Medifast
DNF Sebastian Alexandre (Arg) Rite Aid
DNF Eudaldo Asencio (PuR) Caico
DNF Ian Ayers (USA) Rite Aid
DNF Rahsaan Bahati (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Clayton Barrows (USA) Rite Aid
DNF Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Successfulliving.com
DNF Zachary Bell (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
DNF Ryan Belliveau (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Adam Bergman (USA) Colavita-Sutter Home
DNF Heath Blackgrove (NZl) Toyota-United
DNF Eric Boily (Can) Eva-Devinci
DNF Brooke Boocock (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Alex Candelario (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Mark Cavendish (GBr) T-Mobile
DNF Aidan Charles (USA) Nerac
DNF Phil Cortes (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Chuck Coyle (USA) Successfulliving.com
DNF Michael Creed (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
DNF Wendy Cruz (Dom) Caico
DNF Luca Damiani (Ita) Colavita-Sutter Home
DNF Ryan Dewald (USA) Rite Aid
DNF Michael Dietrich (USA) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
DNF Joel Dion-Poitras (Can) Eva-Devinci
DNF Alec Donahue (USA) Nerac
DNF Jason Donald (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
DNF Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe’s
DNF Richard England (Aus) Priority Health P/B Bissel
DNF Jacob Erker (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
DNF Ricardo Escuela (Arg) Successfulliving.com
DNF Fausto Marcelino Esparza (Mex) Tecos De La Universidad
DNF Yosvani Falcon (Cub) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Agustin Font (PuR) Caico
DNF Mariano Friedick (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Jos-Manuel Garcia (Mex) Toyota-United
DNF Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Team CSC
DNF Kyle Gritters (USA) Health Net – Maxxis
DNF Matthew Guse (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Team CSC
DNF Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Rock Racing
DNF Alex Hagman (USA) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Ken Hanson (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Chad Hartley (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Peter Hatton (Aus) Colavita-Sutter Home
DNF Todd Henriksen (USA) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Sergio Hernandez (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Graham Howard (USA) Priority Health P/B Bissel
DNF Alex Howes (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
DNF Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net – Maxxis
DNF Brice Jones (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Michael Jones (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Eric Keim (USA) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Omer Kem (USA) Priority Health P/B Bissel
DNF Stephen Kincaid (USA) Rite Aid
DNF Austin King (USA) Jittery Joe’s
DNF Peter Lopinto (USA) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
DNF Erik Lyman (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Ian Macgregor (USA) Slipstream P/B Chipotle
DNF Luis Fernando Macias Hernandez (Mex) Tecos De La Universidad
DNF Juan Pablo Magallanes (Mex) Tecos De La Universidad
DNF Sterling Magnell (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Alexi Martinez (USA) Successfulliving.com
DNF Bryce Mead (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF James Meadley (Aus) Jelly Belly
DNF Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net – Maxxis
DNF Shawn Milne (USA) Health Net – Maxxis
DNF Scott Moninger (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF John Murphy (USA) Health Net – Maxxis
DNF Adam Myerson (USA) Nerac
DNF Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Jittery Joe’s
DNF Rudolph Napolitano (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Keith Norris (USA) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Cody O’Rielly (USA) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
DNF Garrett Peltonen (USA) Priority Health P/B Bissel
DNF Jakob Piil (Den) T-Mobile
DNF Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
DNF Predrag Prokic (USA) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Ben Raby (USA) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
DNF Andrew Randell (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
DNF Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance
DNF Nick Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Jacob Rosenbarger (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Mathieu Roy (Can) Eva-Devinci
DNF Mike Sayers (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Nikola Smutny (Cze) Nerac
DNF Cody Stevenson (Aus) Jittery Joe’s
DNF Ivan Stevic (SCG) Toyota-United
DNF Adam Switters (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Joshua Taylor (USA) Rite Aid
DNF Dan Timmerman (USA) Kodak Gallery P/B Sierra Nevada
DNF Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Eva-Devinci
DNF Frank Travieso (Cub) Aeg-Toshiba-Jetnetwork
DNF Raphael Tremblay (Can) Eva-Devinci
DNF Jose Carlos Valdez (Mex) Tecos De La Universidad
DNF Charly Vives (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Maxime Vives (Can) Calyon – Litespeed
DNF Henk Vogels (Aus) Toyota-United
DNF Patrick Walsh (USA) Nerac
DNF Ryan Yee (USA) Successfulliving.com
DNF Scott Zwizanski (USA) Priority Health P/B Bissel

Women

1. Ina-yoko Teutenberg (Ger) T-Mobile 1.02.57 (38.35 km/h)
2. Theresa Cliff-Ryan (USA) Verducci/Breakaway
3. Laura Van Gilder (USA) Cheerwine
4. Sarah Caravella (USA) Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings
5. Laura Yoisten (USA) Webcor Builders
6. Christina Dekraay (USA) HT Naturals/Bicycle
7. Brenda Lyons (USA) TEAm Lipton
8. Laura Bowles (USA) Advil ChapStick
9. Shannon Hutchinson-Krupat (USA) Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings
10. Rebecca Larson (USA) Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings
11. Erica Allar (USA) Juice Plus
12. Jennifer Bodine (USA) ABRT/Latitude
13. Heather Labance (USA) Advil ChapStick
14. Heidi Woolever (USA) ABRT/Latitude
15. Robin Farina (USA) Targetraining
16. Jenette Williams (USA) Hub Racing
17. Dale Tye (USA) Hub Racing
18. Rushlee Buchanan (Can) Jazz Apple
19. Catherine Powers (USA) Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings
20. Kimberly Geist (USA) TEAm Lipton
21. Kim Sawyer (USA) BMW-Bianchi
22. Ann Turner (USA) Land Rover
23. Kathryn Clark (USA) Harris Teeter Natura
24. Mara Miller (USA) Advil ChapStick
25. Leslie Jennnings (USA) ABRT/Latitude
26. Andrea Leubbe (USA) Juice Plus
27. Natalie Klemko (USA) Advil ChapStick
28. Sarah Bamberger (USA) Cheerwine
29. Kelly Benjamin (USA) Cheerwine 0.18
30. Kim Anderson (USA) T-Mobile 0.27
31. Sarah Uhl (USA) Cheerwine 0.39
32. Diane Castor (USA) C3/ADG/Joe’s Bike Shop 0.45
33. Nina Santiago (USA) Targetraining 0.47
34. Tricia Camila (USA) Verducci/Breakaway 1.18
35. Jacquelyn Crowell (USA) Cycle Science 2.16
36. Michele Bote (USA) Hub Racing 4.18
37. Becky Broeder (USA) Hub Racing