Results and Reports for September Oct 13 - 14, 2001USAPromoters wishing to submit results should send them to cyclingnews Michelin Cycling ClassicGreenville, South Carolina, Saturday, October 13By E. Andra Whitworth* The ominous gray skies that loomed over Greenville, S.C., portended unpredictable racing on the first day of the 17th Annual Michelin Cycling Classic. Staged as part of the Greenville Fall Festival, bands rocked and local artisans displayed their crafts along the downtown outdoor mall, while at the far end of the festivities, a Michelin man covered in lipstick kisses rallied spectators who had come to watch the country's biggest names in cycling compete in one of the last major races of 2001. Greenville's top attraction was U.S. Postal's George Hincapie, Olympian and Tour de France veteran who was fresh off a first-place victory at the San Francisco Grand Prix on September 9. Racing in South Carolina with Hincapie was Christian Vandeveld, who admitted that he was enjoying his first visit to the Southern state despite his Midwest roots in Chicago. "It's my first time in the Carolinas and my first race after the Tour, and I'm having a good time," said Vandeveld. "I love racing in the hometown," said Hincapie. "I've raced most of the year in Europe, so it's nice to come home and race, in front of a good crowd and a nice festival." "I've extended my season a lot to race this race. It's a long year, but I like to come here when my schedule allows," he said. In the audience to cheer the U.S. Postal riders was team owner Cindy Sisson-Hensley of Tailwind Sports. "I think the riders need a break, but this event is fabulous and run by Rich Hincapie. It's only natural that George would be here, but with Christian and George being such good friends, and Christian being an American, it just made sense," said Sisson. Kevin Monahan of 7-Up/Colorado Cyclist; Jonas Carney and Chris Horner of Prime Alliance; and Olympic track gold medallist Marty Nothstein of Mercury-Viatel rounded a starting list of 107 riders for the 50-kilometer course. Despite the domestic powerhouses in attendance at Greenville, 7-Up had 3 riders up on the men's pro field. Brothers Juan and Oscar Pineda and Kevin Monahan dominated the top 10, grabbed at least six to eight $100-dollar primes, and positioned a man in each break of the race, with Juan in the final four-man break that outpaced the peloton for the final 15 laps and forced the field to try to bridge for the last eight laps. In the end, it was Juan in for first place, followed by Monahan at sixth and Oscar for eighth. The race began with Oscar Pineda taking an early and wide lead at 28 mph. Thirteen kilometers into the race, Chris Horner took the lead. Horner remained in the lead break until teammate Jonas Carney took over with 29 miles to go. "At this time of the year I don't have that good form to be out front, but I just tried to be out there for Jonas, and just do what I can," said Horner. "And I always have fun." The remainder of the race was marked by numerous attacks, with Hincapie riding up to fourth and fifth place at various points in the race and an aggressisve peloton eating up stragglers from the leading break, one at a time. At lap 27, 18 riders made a strong break. DeFeet, Prime Alliance and 7-Up/Colorado Cyclist dominated the break with two riders representing each team. The 18-man break continued their lead until lap 34, when the peloton chased them down. However, almost immediately after the field was reunited, Juan Pineda, Benjamin Sharpe of GoMart, Eddie Hilger of YMCA/Sun & Ski and Todd Herriott of Westwood New York took off in a dramatic breakaway that they upheld for the final 16 laps of the race. Though there was at least one injury-free wreck prior to the men's Pro 1/2 race, riders reported numerous crashes during the last laps of the pro race. "There were pile ups. The last five laps there must have been five crashes," said Carney. "There were guys falling everywhere. They were all behind me. Nobody wanted to do a lead out, so when there's no one going in front, it kind of mushrooms up." Jesse Lawler and Max Finkbeiner, both of Zaxby's, crashed out and did not finish. DeFeet's Chris Harkey was also taken out in a crash. Harkey was driven to the finish line in the pace car, but his condition and the number of riders requiring medical atttention was not available Saturday night. Despite the end-of-the-race pile-ups, spirits ran high amongst riders in every category. But no one was as buoyant as the three riders from 7-Up. "I loved going to Michelin every year. A good friend of mine runs the race, Rich Hincapie, and Michelin is one of our sponsors, so 7-Up loves coming down here," said Monahan. "I was feeling pretty good. With two laps to go, I thought that I could win today," said Juan, in his second year with 7-Up/Colorado Cyclist. "This is the highlight of my year." In women's racing, it was a battle between Saturn and Autotrader.com for first and second, with Ina Teutenberg coming in first followed by Tina Mayolo. Mayolo's former teammate, Shannon Hutchinson, placed third, followed by 2001 Women's 30-39 World Road Champion Christina Underwood, racing for Team Charlotte. "I've been racing Greenville for about nine years. The prize money has increased and as it increased, it brought in women who were willing to travel and raised the caliber of the race," said Underwood. "It's still fun because the women in Greenville, Charlotte and Atlanta get to all race plus the international riders; so for us it's an exciting event because it's our chance to race with the big riders on our home turf." But the biggest stunt of the day may have belonged to master's racer David LeDuc racing for Team Charlotte. He placed fourth in the 30-kilometer Master's Over 35 category and turned around to win the Master's Over 45 race, lapping four riders and leading the field for 15 of the 30 laps. LeDuc, of indeterminate age (he claims to be 29) is the 2001 National and World Champion in his age group. "I was at a real advantage in the World's because nobody knew who I was. I came out of nowhere.But they know me now," he said. *E. Andra Whitworth is a writer in Athens, Georgia. Her work has been published by the University of Texas Press, the New York Times and the Athens Banner-Herald, where she is a cycling and outdoor features writer. PhotographyTina Cyr took these shots of the Michelin Classic and the following day's race.
Ken Keefner contributed these shots.
Results 50 kmMen's Pro 1/2 1 Juan Pineda (7-Up/Colorado Cyclist) 2 Benjamin Sharpe (GoMart) 3 Eddie Hilger (YMCA/Sun & Ski) 4 Todd Herriott (Westwood New York) 5 Ivan Dominguez (Cyclescience.com) 6 Kevin Monahan (7-Up/Colorado Cyclist) 7 Jonas Carney (Prime Alliance) 8 Oscar Pineda (7-Up/Colorado Cyclist) 9 Andy Crater Moto (Cycling Couriers) 10 Roberto Gaggioli (DeFeet/Lemond) 11 Jason Jones (Atlanta Cycling) 12 James Baldesare (GoMart) 13 Chad Gerlach Sierra (Nevada Brewing) 14 Keith Horowitz 15 Emile Abraham (Jamis-Access Healthcare) 16 Chris Horner (Prime Alliance) 17 Jay Moglia (NCVC-Metropolis) 18 David Irving (Porterfield Tire) 19 Joseph Papp 20 Randy Dreyer (BioWheels) 21 E. Browne (NCVC-Metropolis) 22 Marty Nothstein (Mercury-Viatel) 23 Ryan Barnett (RealityBikes.com) 24 Chris Foster (Greensboro Velo) 25 Pat McCallion (Fairway/Cyfac ) Women's 1/2/3 1 Ina Teutenberg (Saturn) 2 Tina Mayolo (Autotrader.com) 3 Shannon Hutchinson (Atlanta Velo) 4 Christian Underwood (Team Charlotte) 5 Rebecca Quinn (61 New St.) 6 Lynn Brotzman (DeFeet) 7 Ashely Kimmet 8 Tracy Sproule (Atlanta Velo) 9 Kerry Soraci-Schmatz (Gatorade) 10 Lauren Trull (James River Velo) 11 Lisa Ferris (Team Charlotte) 12 Giselle Trahan (Team Athena) 13 Chris Hall (Team Athena) 14 Louise Laganiere (Team Charlotte) 15 Jennifer Petosa (The Great Escape) 16 Jocelyn Belanger (Team Charlotte) 17 Beth Leasure (Gatorade) 18 Erin Winter (Zaxby's) 19 Robin Kavan (Best of the Bay Cyclists) 20 Adrienne Brown (James River Velo) 21 Julie Mallette (Team Athena) 22 Jody Kosinski (FFCC Genesis) 23 Dani Dembrak (Team Athena) 24 Laura Weislo 25 Rhonda Fong |