3rd Univest Grand Prix - NEUSA, SeptemBer 16, 2000
Dewaele and Hobson win for the 'foreigners'By John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent Amidst an ocean of one-hour criteriums and big-money, big-city circuit races, the Univest Grand Prix is an anomaly: a little slice of European road racing in small-town eastern Pennsylvania. Now in its third year, the Univest Grand Prix is the brainchild of former U.S. pro champion and ESPN Tour de France commentator John Eustice; a proponent of developing young talent, Eustice has created the perfect vehicle for spurring that development. The formula is simple: take a cross-section of U.S. amateurs from around the country (albeit heavily weighted towards East Coast teams for geographical reasons), add several top Canadian squads, and put them out on the hilly, twisting roads of the greater Lehigh Valley with elite teams of European amateurs specifically brought in for this one day of racing. The results have been generally good: there are entIrl teams that base their seasons on this one day of racing, and the amateur racing scene in the East has never been healthier. BUT - and it's a big 'but'- a U.S. rider has yet to win the Univest Grand Prix. And that wouldn't change in 2000, as Belgian Bert Dewaele and Leigh Hobson of Canada emerged victorious in their respective events. The men kicked things off, heading north from the picturesque town of Souderton for 100 kilometers of narrow, twisting, rolling country roads- including the treacherous ascent known as l'Alpe de RosenBerger- before returning to Souderton for ten six-kilometer closing circuits. And, given the combination of the terrain and the nearly 250-man starting field, it wasn't long before the breakaway attempts began. By the 20-mile mark, a group of fourteen, including no less than a half-dozen European imports, had a minute on the main bunch. However, the break proved to be a little too cumBersome, so Dewaele and Stephane Auroux (France/Alderfer's Auction House) left their erstwhile companions to be swallowed up by the chasing peloton. By the time they reached the final 60 kilometers, the duo had amassed a lead of 2:30 over a rapidly-dwindling pack....and that's when things got interesting, as the Kissena squad of defending champion Alex Lavallee took up the chase. With a quartet of teammates including Junior World Cup leader Peter Mazur leading the way, the chasers chopped 30 seconds off of the Franco-Belgian duo's lead within a lap, and seemed destiNed to catch them before the finish, until Lavallee flatted at the absolute worst time. With his Kissena teammates not realizing his predicament until too late, and Lavallee having to chase furiously on his own to rejoin, all the energy went out of the chase until it was too late to catch the leaders. At the finish, it was Dewaele edging out Auroux, with the Belgians grabbing third, fourth, and sixth in the eight-man chase group, just 12 seconds back. While the men were waging war out the roads north of Souderton, the women had their own conflict brewing. Racing on a 2.6-kilometer in-town circuit that included two climbs per lap, the race was extremely aggressive despite the absence of the Elita squad of defending champion Annie Gariepy, as the Charles Schwab, Jane Cosmetics, and Procter & Gamble teams took turns launching attack after attack. Chief among those aggressors was Procter & Gamble's Mina Pizzini. After several failed attempts to escape the field, Pizzini gave it one last shot with just three laps to go: as the field brought an end to a solo move by Pizzini's teammate Kori Kelly, Pizzini counterattacked, drawing with her Sue Palmer-Komar (Jane Cosmetics) and Leigh Hobson (Charles Schwab). And the three stayed away till the finish, where Hobson narrowly outsprinted Pizzini, with Palmer-Komar in third; U.S. National Criterium Champion Laura Van Gilder (Charles Schwab) took fourth in a wild bunch finish.
ResultsMen - 160 km1. Bert Dewaele (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 3.56.46 2. Stephane Auroux (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 3. Kenneth Mercken (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 0.12 4. Christophe Stevens (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 5. Warren Clark (NZl) Watchung Wheelmen/High Gear/Navigators 6. Rik Claeys (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 7. Peep Mikli (Ned) Holland/Yum Yum Bake Shops 8. Nicolas Kociansky (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 9. Fabrice Paumier (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 10. Tim Johnson (USA) CCB/Volkswagen/Eastern Bank 11. Charles Dionne (Can) Volkswagen 0.21 12. Gustavo Carillo (USA) CRCA/Toga Bike Shop 13. Jacob Rosenbarger (USA) Knapps/Ready Pac Team Racing 14. Benoit Luminet (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 15. Jon Retseck (USA) Alderfer's Meats/PA All-Stars 16. Tom Cordes (Ned) Holland/Yum Yum Bake Shops 17. Amos Brumble (USA) CCB/Volkswagen/Eastern Bank 18. Mark Southard (USA) Alderfer's Meats/PA All-Stars 19. Dewey Dickey (USA) Excite/smartFUEL 20. Mark Light (USA) Team Snow Valley 0.33 21. Shawn Willard (USA) BiKyle/Flyers 22. Minor PiNeda (Gua) CRCA/Toga Bike Shop 23. Jerzy Wozniak (Pol) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery 24. Greg Wolf (USA) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery 25. Andy Elstein (USA) BiKyle/Flyers 26. Ainslie MacEachern (USA) Galaxy Sports Marketing 27. Donnie Mills (USA) Wheelworks/Cannondale 28. Peter Barlin (USA) CRCA/ReMax 29. Russell Langley (USA) NCVC/Spokes Etc. 30. Stephen Kincaid (USA) Team Bicycle Therapy 31. Matt Svatek (USA) Wheelworks/Cannondale 32. Jonathan Wirsing (USA) Team Snow Valley 33. David Irving (USA) Porterfield TIrl 34. Neal Stansbury (USA) Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's/Cycle Sport 35. Chris McDonald (USA) Excite/smartFUEL 36. Jonathan Erdelyi (USA) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery 37. Joseph Masser (USA) Knapps/Ready Pac Team Racing 38. Zach Browne (USA) NCVC/Spokes Etc. 39. Juan-Pablo Castro (USA) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery 40. Peter Mazur (Pol) Kissena Cycling Team 41. Shawn McCormack (USA) CCb/Volkswagen/Eastern Bank 42. Goswin Laplasse (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 43. Mathieu Fagnin (Can) CRCA/SBCG 44. Tim Larkin (USA) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 45. Mark Burns (USA) Watchung Wheelmen/High Gear/Navigators 46. Benjamin Sharp (USA) GoMart/West Virginia 47. David Melchior (USA) CRCA/SBCG 48. Sean Nealy (USA) Kissena Cycling Team 49. Antoine Varghese (Can) Kissena Cycling Team 50. Joey Coddignton (USA) Cane Creek/Subaru 51. Leigh Bryan (Aus) Austrain/BearTooth Racing 52. Ryan O'Connor (USA) GoMart/West Virginia 53. Ben Lindsay (Aus) Australia/BearTooth Racing 54. Daniel Van Elven (Ned) Holland/Yum Yum Bake Shops 55. Jason Baer (USA) CRCA/Breakaway Courier 56. Brian Stangel (USA) Hybridigital Racing 57. Rusty Beall (USA) Red Glare/U-23 Composite 58. Peter Brennan (USA) Galaxy Sports Marketing 59. James Mattis (USA) CRCA/ReMax 60. Tim Clarsen (Aus) CRCA/SBCG 61. Alex Lavallee (Can) Kissena Cycling Team 62. Andy Applegate (USA) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery 63. Kris Hedges (Ber) CRCA/Dash.com/Richard Sachs 64. Dean Meyer (USA) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 65. Gregory Sieniewicz (Can) Red Glare/U-23 Composite 66. Guillaume Lejeune (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 67. Jonathan Dechau (USA) Knapps/Ready Pac Team Racing 68. John Kelly (Irl) Kissena Cycling Team 69. Karl Zoetemelk (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 70. Martin St-Laurent (Can) Volkswagen 71. Patrick Heaney (USA) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 72. Chris Peck (USA) Wheelworks/Cannondale 73. John Loehner (USA) CRCA/Dash.com/Richard Sachs 74. John Hunt (USA) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 75. Marc Thevenin (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 76. Jeff Rutter (USA) BiKyle/Flyers 77. Tyler Butterfield (USA) CRCA/Dash.com/Richard Sachs 78. James Hodnett (Irl) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 1.02 79. Tim Reinhart (USA) Australia/BearTooth Racing RosenBerger's Dairies KOM 1. Stephane Auroux (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 135 pts 2. Bert Dewaele (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 125 3. Fulco Van Gullik (Ned) Holland/Yum Yum Bake Shops 105 4. Antoine Varghese (Can) Kissena Cycling Team 90 5. James Hodnett (Irl) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 78 6. Jon Retseck (USA) Alderfer's Meats/PA All-Stars 26 7. Kenneth Mercken (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 26 8. Alex Lavallee (Can) Kissena Cycling Team 26 9. Patrick Heaney (USA) Lombardi Sports/OFOTO.com 26 Leidy's Pork Products Sprints 1. Stephane Auroux (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 100 pts 2. Bert Dewaele (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 95 3. Kenneth Mercken (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 35 4. Fulco Van Gullik (Ned) Holland/Yum Yum Bake Shops 35 5. Alex Cloutier (Can) Volkswagen 35 6. Rik Claeys (Bel) Belgium/Colorado Altitude Training Systems 30 7. Jonathan Wirsing (USA) Team Snow Valley 30 8. Marc Thevenin (Fra) France/Alderfer's Auction House 30 9. Sean Nealy (USA) Kissena Cycling Team 26 10. Matthew Svatek (USA) Wheelworks/Cannondale 26 11. Antoine Varghese (Can) Kissena Cycling Team 26 12. Jan Hordijk (Ned) Holland/Yum Yum Bake Shops 26 13. Alex Lavallee (Can) Kissena Cycling Team 26 Women - 52 km1. Leigh Hobson (Can) Charles Schwab Cycling Team 1.31.59 2. Mina Pizzini (USA) Procter & Gamble/Women's Health 3. Sue Palmer-Komar (Can) Jane Cosmetics 4. Laura Van Gilder (USA) Charles Schwab Cycling Team 0.23 5. Caren Spore (USA) Jane Cosmetics 6. Sarah Uhl (USA) Trek/CYBC 7. Kori Kelly (USA) Procter & Gamble/Women's Health 8. Jenny Eyerman (USA) Jane Cosmetics 9. Tina Skelly (USA) Altoona Cycling Team 10. Marie Holjer (SWE) Charles Schwab Cycling Team 11. Jennifer Dial (USA) Proteus.com 12. Becky Conzelman (USA) Bayside Velo/Bike Doctor 13. Shannon Hutchison (USA) AutoTrader.com 14. Emily Wilson (USA) HDK/ARBC 15. Sheba Farrin (USA) NCVC/Spokes Etc. 16. Elizabeth Emery (USA) Charles Schwab Cycling Team 17. Cheryl Binney (USA) Procter & Gamble/Women's Health 18. Kristy Scheffenacker (USA) Avalon Racing 19. Kirsten Grasshoff (USA) unattached 20. Tiffany Pezzulo (USA) Proteus.com 21. Tara Parsons (USA) CRCA/RLX Polo Sport 22. Elizabeth Mayer-Sterling (USA) Altoona Cycling Team 23. Tanya Duff-Miller (NZl) HDK/ARBC 24. Diane Castor (USA) Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's/Cycle Sport 25. Lisa Hunt (USA) The Olympic Club 26. Michelle Holland (USA) HDK/ARBC 27. Rebecca McClintock (USA) Jane Cosmetics 28. Caroline Hacker (USA) Evolution Pro Bikes 29. Michelle Bote (USA) G.S. Lancaster 30. Julie Hutsebaut (Can) Jane Cosmetics 31. Elizabeth Tyrell (USA) Somerset Wheelmen 32. Kelly Yoder (USA) Team Freddie Fu 33. Odessa Osorio (USA) Trek/CYBC 34. Maria Elena Collazo (USA) Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's/Cycle Sport 35. Catherine Powers (USA) CRCA/RLX Polo Sport 36. Diane Flynn (USA) Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's/Cycle Sport 37. Ann Marie Miller (USA) CRCA/RLX Polo Sport 38. Mary Georgetti (USA) HDK/ARBC 39. Angela Vargas (USA) unattached 1.51 40. Lauren Franges (USA) Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's/Cycle Sport 2.22 41. Nonnie Howard (USA) Evolution Pro Bike 6.23 RosenBerger's QOM Results 1. Mina Pizzini (USA) Procter & Gamble/Women's Health 108 pts 2. Sue Palmer-Komar (Can) Jane Cosmetics 105 3. Leigh Hobson (Can) Charles Schwab Cycling Team 86 4. Shannon Hutchison (USA) AutoTrader.com 35 5. Caren Spore (USA) Jane Cosmetics 30 |