Weekend Racing Report - August 6, 2005

Michigan Criterium Championships - Ada, Michigan

The weekend of August 6-7 was a HUGE one for Michigan racers as the Michigan State Criterium Championships were scheduled for Saturday, August 6 in Ada, MI, a suburb of Grand Rapids. This was the 2nd year the state championships were to be held on the downtown Ada course. From past experience, racers could expect blistering fast races. This year was no exception.

Since this was the state championships the team was working to contest as many categories as possible. There were team members racing in the Junior Men’s, Masters 45+, Elite Men Category 3 and the Men ProI/II classifications. The IRON MAN award for the day went to Dominic Zaccone who placed 7th in the Masters 45+ category, then raced in support of the team in the Elite Men Category 3 class.

In the Junior Mens field the race was fast from the gun. Team members racing were Derek Timmerman, Jordan Stohl, Stephen Christy and John Zaccone. The team worked well together and put in some promising attacks, but the pack was riding just too fast for any breakaways to stick. In the end the sprint finish was won by the phenomenal Steven Howard who had just finished a fantastic 2 weeks at the SUPERWEEK event in Wisconsin where he almost qualified for the US World Championships team (read this). The best placed Sunrise Sports rider was Derek Timmerman in 7th.

BELOW: Steven Howard of the Advantage Benefits/Endeavor team wins the Junior Men 15-18 Michigan Criterium Championships

In the very competitive Men Masters 45+ race a break of 2 riders took off with 4 laps to go and held off the field. Dominic Zaccone placed 7th in this category.

In the Elite Men Category 3 race constant attacks were the rule of the day. First Jordan Stohl was away with a group of 5. When that was brought back John Rigdon initiated a break with 3 others that lasted a couple of laps. Next to go was Derek Timmerman and Alex Keomany who were out together for 2 laps with Derek winning a PRIME for a pair of Smith Sunglasses. With 10 minutes to go Jordan Stohl latched onto a promising break of 7, only to be brought back. As the pack resigned itself to a sprint finish, the pace ratched up to a constant 30+mph pace. The workers on the team pulled the pack through and kept everything single file.

IMPORTANT NOTE: the Ada course has a long backstretch with a 150 degree turn at the end which dumps you into a slightly downhill boulevard 500 meters from the finish line. It’s CRUCIAL to be in the top 10 through this last turn in order to have a chance at winning a sprint finish.

Sprinting up the final backstretch, Mark Caswell lead the pack through the final turn and started his leadout with Jason Rafeld, Jeff Elam, Jordan Stohl, and Alex Keomany placed 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. A tangle of handlebars with another rider coming through on the inside sent Jeff Elam to the ground at the apex of the corner, taking out the following 5 riders. Despite already towing the pack the last 300 meters, Mark Caswell hit it out to take Jason to the line. Unfortunately another rider squeezed onto Marks wheel and took with win with Jason placing 3rd.

It was a great lesson in bike racing. A perfect team lead out train, brought down by some errant riding in the last 500 meters of the race. Luckily no one was seriously injured.

In the ProI/II race the field was stacked with the best regional riders from throughout Michigan. Most notable were Brian Sheedy and Jake Rytlewski of the Advantage Benefits/Endeavor Pro Cycling Team. Brian won this race last year and was looking to repeat. As added motivation, Brian lives in nearby Grand Rapids and had a full contingent of family and friends in attendance.

As in the previous categories the race was incredibly fast. Several breaks were tried but nothing stayed away more than 1 lap. With 20 minutes to go Jake Rytlewski escaped with another pro cyclist from Wisconsin’s Athletes By Design (ABD) team. These two stayed out for 6 laps and were brought back with about 10 minutes to go. Once they were caught, Brian Sheedy put in a classic counter-attack to solo off the front. The pack was momentarily slowed as riders looked at each other, waiting for someone to take up the chase. Sheedy took advantage of the packs indecision and quickly roared to a 30 second advantage, holding this all the way to the line for a fantastic win.

A second rider soloed in for 2nd place. In the crazy fast field sprint Jeff Hamilton took 2nd in the field sprint and 4th overall. More importantly, the first 3 places were taken by riders who hold professional licenses. State Championship titles are only open t amateur riders. So, by placing 4th in the race, but by being the top amateur finisher, Sunrise Sports Cycling Team Member Jeff Hamilton, an 8th grade teacher from Kalamzoo, was awarded the title of Michigan State Criterium Champion!!! Way to go Jeff!

Full race results are available HERE: www.mbra.org

Read Jake Rytlewski's account of the race on his personal website HERE: www.thebreezejournal.blogspot.com

Andy Weir (right) mid-flight during the ProI/II race

Jake Rytlewski of AB/E on the attack!

Eventual race winner, Brian Sheedy-AB/E, soloing away from the ProI/II field

The field sprint, with Paolo Eugeni (white/black) just nipping Jeff Hamilton (orange on right) for 3rd