June 1, 2004 – Navigators Insurance’s Viktor Rapinski took the top honors
yesterday in the 61st running of the “Kentucky Derby of Cycling”, the
Kugler-Anderson Tour
of Somerville, NJ. This 50-mile criterium is the oldest event in the U.S.
and is one of the most sought-after victories in North America. With cool
temperatures and heavy rain throughout the day, the riders took the start
at about 2:30p. An early breakaway of three riders escaped the peloton, but
without the presence of a Navigators rider, it was doomed to failure. The
Navigators squad has never won this event before, so the race plan was
simple; control the race for the sprinters. Trying to take advantage of
the miserable conditions, opportunistic riders tried to separate themselves
from the peloton throughout the day, to no avail. Although several other
squads put their sprint-trains on the front in the closing laps, it was the
Navigators squad that took control in the final four laps and never
relinquished the front. With an amazing display of power, Rapinski hit the
front going into the final turn, with about 400-meters to the line, and
pulled away from the field to finish about 8-bike lengths in front of the
next closest finisher, 5-time winner Jonas Carney (Jelly Belly). Juan Jose
Haedo (Colavita) was 3rd. Somewhat surprised by his win, Rapinski commented
after the race that he was just trying to open up his legs, since he had
stepped off of a flight from Australia only hours before, following his
participation in the World Track Cycling Championships.

In other racing action over the long, Memorial Day Holiday weekend, the CSC
Invitational – Clarendon Cup, held in Arlington, VA, was once again a
barnburner with all of the U.S. squads in attendance as well as several
European based squads. With five corners, one of them nearly 180-degrees,
history has shown that this race is difficult to finish, never-mind
win. Breakaways on this course rarely succeed, and this year was no
different. Many attempts were made, including solo efforts by Navigators’
Ciaran Power and David McKenzie, but the speed and horsepower from the
field was too much, ensuring a field sprint at the end of this 100-km
event. The Navigators Insurance men-in-blue took control with 5-laps
remaining for sprinters Marty Nothstein and Vassili Davidenko, the winner
in 2002. After a leg-breaking lead-out, Vassili was the first to jump
coming out of the final turn. In a drag race to the line, Vassili, Lars
Michaelson (CSC), and Gord Fraser (Healthnet) finished shoulder-to-shoulder
with a result that was too close for the officials to call. After
reviewing the film for several minutes, the victory went to Michaelson
followed by Fraser and Davidenko. The CSC squad has served notice that
they have come to the U.S. in good form for the upcoming Wachovia series.

On Saturday, Navigators’ riders David McKenzie and Jeff Louder took
one-two in
the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame benefit road race in Somerset County, while
Marty Nothstein placed third in the Bike Jam 2004 event in Baltimore, MD,
behind Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita) and Chad Hartley (Jittery Joes Coffee).

Next up is today’s Wachovia Invitational in Lancaster, PA and Thursday’s
Wachovia Classic in Trenton, NJ. The “Big Dance” will be in Philadelphia
on Sunday with the 20th running of the Wachovia USPRO Road Cycling
Championship.