September 3, 2003 – Navigators' Olympic Gold Medallist Marty Nothstein earned his 34th U.S. National Championship Jersey Friday evening in the Team Sprint event in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. The team, a composite for the day, named “Cody 1” included Marty, Christian Stahl, Andy Lakatosh, and Giddeon Massie. The squad posted the fastest qualifying time of the day with a 1:04.2 (56.112 Km/Hr) during the morning session anchored by Nothstein. In the finals, the 3-man squad (Marty was replaced by Lakatosh) took the victory by 2/10 of a second over the team of “Gotham Cyclists.”
World Children's Center Cycling Classic (Georgia):
The domestic road calendar was full for this holiday weekend (Labour Day) with multi-day events taking place in several regions of the U.S. Starting in the southeast region, a 3-day omnium named the World Children's Center Cycling Classic was held in the Atlanta area of Georgia. This series, consisting of a nighttime criterium and 2 road races, is a popular stop on the USAC National Racing Calendar. Saturday evening's 80-minute plus 5-laps affair was a wild and fast event from the starter's pistol. Navigators' Vassili Davidenko and Ivan Dominguez (Saturn) wasted no time in establishing a 2-up breakaway that eventually lapped the remainder of the field on the flat, 1-Km course. The pace remained high throughout the race, much to the delight of the large crowd. A late race attack by several riders appeared to have a good shot at the remaining podium place, but they were caught by the flying field coming into the final corner of the race. At the line, it was Vassili Davidenko taking the victory over Dominguez, with Jeff Hopkins (Jittery Joes) winning the sprint for 3rd.
Sunday's 100k road race was held on the rolling roads of Fort Benning (Georgia) with very hot and humid conditions. With the peloton suffering on the melting blacktop, a breakaway of 4 escaped the grip of the strong teams and gained an advantage. Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly) and Scottie Weiss (West Virginia) led the charge and were able to hold off a chase group of 10, which included Navigators' Kirk O'Bee. At the finish it was Brooks followed by Weiss, with O'Bee in 5th. Monday's final stage was a 100-Km. road race through the suburbs north of Atlanta, and is the crown jewel of the 3-event “omnium” (Points) series. With a breakaway of about 15 getting away in the first few miles of the race, the tone was set to be an aggressive one. Once a lead was established, an inventory of the break riders determined that all of the major teams were represented by their overall points leaders, with no sign of the current series leader Emile Abraham. As Navigators' Vassili Davidenko and Prime Alliance's Alex Candelario (currently 2nd and 3rd in the overall, respectively) raced hard to leave the pack behind. The remainder of the breakaway riders were highly motivated to drive the pace and fight for the lucrative prize list, as well as the overall series points, amongst themselves. For the finish, the course went downhill, making an already exciting event an even bigger crowd pleaser. All of the favorites took their shots, and in the 55-MPH sprint it was Mariano Friedick (Jelly Belly) ahead of Chris Horner (Saturn) and Candelario.
Unfortunately for Vassili and Alex Candelario, it was revealed after the race that they had in fact been beaten by Abraham for the overall G.C victory. He had apparently changed his race number prior to the start of the race, and in fact had been in the winning breakaway, unbeknownst to the other racers. The USCF officials dismissed any protests, and upheld the result, which stood at; Abraham, Candelario and Vassili Davidenko for 1-2-3 of the overall title of the series.
Green Mountain Stage Race (Vermont):
Moving up to the northeast region of the U.S. for the Green Mountain Stage Race, U.S. National Road Champion Mark McCormack (Saturn) has won three of the four stages. McCormack, the winner in 2002, won all three stages starting with the 7-mile uphill mass-start prologue on Friday evening. Navigators' Justin Spinelli and Ciaran Power finished the grind in 5th and 6th, respectively. Day two's 64-Mile circuit race saw a breakaway of five escape the peloton. Navigators' Mark Walters was joined by race leader McCormack, Cameron Hughes (LeMond Fitness), Tim Johnson (Saturn) and Alex Lavalee (Trek-VW). The five stayed away until the final climb of the day with McCormack taking the win. Another hilly, 64-mile road race was on tap for the riders in Sunday's stage-3. With many breakaway attempts trying to keep the pressure on McCormack, the field alternately broke up and reformed over the up-and-down terrain. As the race approached the final climb to Appalachian Gap, two breakaway groups and the main field came together, making it anybody's race. With the strongest riders hitting the front, it was a slugfest all the way to the top. Nearing the finish line, Navigators' Mark Walters had a gap on his rivals, but race leader McCormack made a final push up the 18% grade to nip Walters at the line, for the win. The 31-mile criterium in downtown Burlington (VT) was the scene of the 4th and final stage. Navigators' Mark Walters was the first to attack on the 6-corner, hilly circuit, and was soon joined by race leader Mark McCormack. The duo worked together to distance themselves from the rest of the field before turning their attention toward each other. At the end, it was McCormack making it 4-for-4 for the weekend, as he was able to outkick Mark Walters for the win. Navigators' Ciaran Power took the field sprint for the final step of the podium. The overall G.C. following 4-days of hilly Vermont racing finished up with McCormack on the top step, and Mark Walters in 2nd.
Cache Classic Stage Race (Utah)
Racing action is also on tap in the western region with the 4-day, 5-stage Cache Classic stage race in Logan, Utah. Friday's 1.25-mile uphill and technical prologue saw Navigators' Jeff Louder taking the top honors with teammate Chris Wherry finishing in 3rd. Saturday's stage was a circuit race that traversed several hilly sections and a very steep ascent to the KOM line on the 16-mile course which the riders completed 4 times. With the climbing favoring the strongest men, it was no surprise that the Navigators trio of climbing talent would make their way to the front. At the finish it was a podium sweep for the men-in-blue with Chris Wherry, Burke Swindlehurst and Jeff Louder taking 1-2-3 on the day, as well as the top positions in the overall GC classification. A 6-corner criterium in downtown Logan was the scene of the evening's racing activities. The Navigators squad was again on all three steps of the podium, this time with Swindlehurst on top, followed by Louder and Wherry. Stage-3 was another tough, hilly, 71-mile stage that included many small hills with 2 larger climbs that topped out at over 4,900'. After the previous day's dominating performance, the Navigators found themselves under constant attack, until a group of 5 escaped for good. Burke Swindlehurst was the lone representative of the team, but was able to finish the day in 4th position. Monday's final stage-4 ITT was held on a 12-mile hilly and technical course. The victory for the day went to Navigators' Jeff Louder over teammate Burke Swindlehurst, while Chris Wherry, racing on a stock road bike, finished up in 4th. The Overall G.C. was a Navigators podium with Burke, Jeff and Chris going 1-2-3, to cap a successful 4-days of racing.