1 21 ALVIS, Norm SATURN Colo Springs CO 6:20:44 6:20:44 2 117 DE PASQUALE, Mau AMORE & VITA Italy 6:21:39 @ 55 3 39 SHEEHAN, Clark MONTGOMERY-BELL Denver, CO " " 4 30 WALTON, Brian SATURN No. Delta, BC 6:21:46 @ 1:02 5 11 ARMSTRONG, Lance MOTOROLA Austin, TX " " 6 42 GAGGIOLI, Robert GUILTLESS GOURME LimiteS'Arno IT 6:22:13 @ 1:29 7 114 D'ASCENZO, Wladi AMORE & VITA Italy " " 8 38 REISS, Nate MONTGOMERY-BELL Boulder, CO " " 9 2 ELLIOTT, Malcolm CHEVROLET-LA SHE Sheffield, Engl " " 10 15 HINCAPIE, George MOTOROLA Charlotte, NC " " 11 112 ANDRIOTTO, Dario AMORE & VITA Italy " " 12 96 KIRIK, Vladimir SHAKLEE Rivine, Ukraine " " 13 132 HAUSER, Reto UNIVAG CONDOR BL " " 14 84 MILLER, Graeme SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY Auckland, NZ " " 15 163 KRZYZOSTANIAK, R - Glogow, Poland " " 16 136 JOLIDON, Jocelyn UNIVAG CONDOR BL Les Forges, Swi " " 17 101 COX, Tim ATHENS-BANDAG/DO Athens, GA " " 18 125 VERSTREPEN, Joha FLANDERS 2002/ED Herentals, Belg " " 19 27 McCARTHY, Mike SATURN New York, NY " " 20 116 PIERDOMENICO, Ge AMORE & VITA Italy " " 21 165 PATTENGILL, Derb - Reno, Nevada " " 22 135 JOLIDON, Jacques UNIVAG CONDOR BL Hofstetten, Swi " " 23 76 DYKES, Brian NAVIGATORS Lorton, VA " " 24 48 WIATR, Kris GUILTLESS GOURME PiotrkowTrybPOL " " 25 122 ROES, Peter FLANDERS 2002/ED Herentals, Belg " " 26 36 JEMISON, Marty MONTGOMERY-BELL " " 27 124 STEELS, Tom FLANDERS 2002/ED St Gilles-Waas " " 28 105 PIC, Chris ATHENS-BANDAG/DO Atlanta, GA " " 29 9 PIERCE, Jeff CHEVROLET-LA SHE Detroit, MI " " 30 137 NIEDERBERGER, He UNIVAG CONDOR BL Luzern, Switzer " " 31 6 KLASNA, Trent CHEVROLET-LA SHE Littleton, CO " " 32 56 POWELL, Donnie SAAB Philadelphia PA " " 33 35 HAMILTON, Tyler MONTGOMERY-BELL Marblehead, MA " " 34 32 CUBRIC, Radisa MONTGOMERY-BELL " " 35 80 SPANGENBERG, Ski NAVIGATORS Travlrs Rest SC " " 36 146 PHILLIPS, Jason - Gold Coast, Aus " " 37 5 HEMPSALL, Simeon CHEVROLET-LA SHE Sheffield, Engl " " 38 126 VERHEYEN, Geert FLANDERS 2002/ED Diest, Belgium " " 39 45 SPEAKS, Steve GUILTLESS GOURME Boulder, CO " " 40 4 CRAVEN, Thomas CHEVROLET-LA SHE WinstonSalem NC " " 41 121 PATRY, Marc FLANDERS 2002/ED Mechlelan, Belg " " 42 134 HIRS, Daniel UNIVAG CONDOR BL Biel, Switzerla " " 43 71 ALLEN, Hunter NAVIGATORS Bedford, VA " " 44 46 STARR, Oliver GUILTLESS GOURME Boulder, CO " " 45 82 BINGHAM, Skylere SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY Ogden, UT " " 46 131 CHASSOT, Richard UNIVAG CONDOR BL Fribourg, Switz " " 47 67 PRICE, Scott PLYMOUTH Tucson, AZ " " 48 86 RUTTER, Jeff SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY Allentown, PA " " 49 55 McCORMACK, Paul SAAB Dublin, Ireland " " 50 16 JULICH, Bobby MOTOROLA Santa Rosa, CA " " 51 51 BISHOP, Andy SAAB Middleton, OH " " 52 113 SETTEMBRINI, Fab AMORE & VITA Italy " " 53 34 GRAGUS, Eddy MONTGOMERY-BELL Boulder, CO " " 54 43 McCORMACK, Alan GUILTLESS GOURME Boulder, CO " " 55 74 CABLE, Phil NAVIGATORS Wilkes-Barre PA " " 56 98 STUBENRAUCH, Pet SHAKLEE " " 57 1 HEGG, Steve CHEVROLET-LA SHE Dana Point, CA " " 58 26 McCORMACK, Frank SATURN Leicester, MA " " 59 95 FRAGA, Esteban SHAKLEE Davis, CA " " 60 94 ENGLEMAN, Michae SHAKLEE Boulder, CO " " 61 29 VENTURA, Robbie SATURN Kenosha, WI " " 62 52 LONERGAN, Declan SAAB Waterford, Irel " " 63 22 BOWEN, Bart SATURN Albuquerque, NM " " 64 69 SEDGWICK, Dale PLYMOUTH Minneapolis, MN " " 65 100 EYK, Patrick SHAKLEE " " 66 81 ACCIAVATTI, Rob SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY Morgantown, WV " " 67 24 KIEFEL, Ron SATURN Boulder, CO " " 68 115 LODGE, Harry AMORE & VITA " " 69 103 KING, Paul ATHENS-BANDAG/DO Athens, GA " " 70 12 ANDREU, Frankie MOTOROLA Dearborn, MI " " 71 7 MIERZEJEWSKI, An CHEVROLET-LA SHE Colo Springs CO " " 72 18 SWART, Stephen MOTOROLA Auckland, NZ " " 73 68 SMITH, Brian PLYMOUTH Paisley, Englan " " 74 79 SEAMAN, John NAVIGATORS Kingston, PA " " 75 192 ROLL, Bob - Durango, CO " " 76 20 YATES, Sean MOTOROLA Sussex, England " " 77 19 LIVINGSTON, Kevi MOTOROLA St. Louis, Miss " " 78 3 COPELAND, Jim CHEVROLET-LA SHE Huntsville, AL 6:22:23 @ 1:39 79 75 CARTER, Michael NAVIGATORS Boulder, CO " " 80 133 DELPHIS, Jean-Pi UNIVAG CONDOR BL Vienne, France 6:22:41 @ 1:57 - 41 FRIEL, Dirk GUILTLESS GOURME Ft. Collins, CO - 47 WASHKEVICH, Chri GUILTLESS GOURME Chicago, IL - 142 HORNER, Chris - San Diego, CA - 173 WOZNIAK, Jerzy - Knoxville, TN - 85 OELKERS, Ryan SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY New Tripoli, PA - 141 ABRAHAMS, Paul - Santa Ana, CA - 180 DOLBY, Rob - Youngstown, OH - 160 GATEWOOD, Thomas - Davis, CA DSQ 54 McCORMACK, Mark SAAB Plymouth, MA
1 4 HUGHES, Clara SATURN Toronto, Ont. 2:26:26 2:26:26 2 3 GOLAY, Jeanne SATURN Glenwood Spr CO " " 3 35 NELSON, Jacqui SHAKLEE Wellington, NZL " " 4 23 SCHUSTER, Pam CHEVROLET-LA SHE Greely, CO " " 5 130 McNAMERA, Paula SKI MARKET C'WEA Ridgefield, CT " " 6 41 CHARAMEDA, Laura TIMEX-CANNONDALE Marshall, MI " " 7 161 OVERGAAG, Daniel DUTCH NATIONAL T Gravenzande HOL " " 8 43 PRYDE, Suzy TIMEX-CANNONDALE Auckland, NZL " " 9 1 DEMET, Dede SATURN Colo Springs CO " " 10 53 JACKSON, Linda VANWOOD WOMEN'S - " " 11 36 KURRECK, Karen USA NATIONAL TEA - " " 12 81 BREEZE, Bonnie TEAM COLUMBUS Columbus, OH " " 13 68 DeKRAAY, Christi WORLD T.E.A.M. Simpsonville,SC " " 14 11 BERGLUND, Marian TEAM BODY-WISE Encinitas, CA " " 15 15 KAILA, Maureen TEAM BODY-WISE Oakland, CA " " 16 5 YOUNG, Julie SATURN Auburn, CA " " 17 24 EMERY, Elizabeth CHEVROLET-LA SHE New York, NY 2:26:32 @ 6 18 102 GRIECO, Jessica SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY - 2:27:05 @ 39 19 33 DUNNE, Karen SHAKLEE Bloomington, IN " " 20 154 EVANS, Jennifer TEAM EDS - " " 21 44 RICHARDSON, Carm TIMEX-CANNONDALE Colo Springs CO " " 22 12 BLACKWELDER, Bro TEAM BODY-WISE Pocatello, IL " " 23 28 VAN GILDER, Laur NAVIGATORS Wilkes-Barre PA " " 24 119 FARELL, Julia PHILIPS RACING T Toronto, Ont. " " 25 69 REINHART, Nicole WORLD T.E.A.M. - " " 26 52 LANGTON, Kim VANWOOD WOMEN'S Ancaster, Ont. " " 27 111 ALBERT, Heather NORTH SHORE Phoenix, AZ " " 28 55 MILLAR, Kathleen VANWOOD WOMEN'S London, Ontario " " 29 149 WILLINGMYRE, Dar OUT OF THE SADDL Sinking Sprg PA " " 30 145 TANNENBAUM, Audr SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY - " " 31 72 SARVARY, Kathy BRUEGGER'S BAGEL Glastonbury, CT " " 32 132 MORRELL, Kjirste ONONDAGA CYCLING Ventura, CA " " 33 37 QUIGLEY, Jane USA NATIONAL TEA Wilmington, DE " " 34 16 CLIGNET, Marion FRENCH NATIONAL France " " 35 64 MARCOUX, Katheri QUEBEC PROVINCIA St Eustache Que " " 36 31 OWEN, Stephanie SHAKLEE Ft Collins, CO " " 37 91 COOPER, Stace TEAM TREO Cirtus Hgts, CA " " 38 74 MACKIN, Karen BRUEGGER'S BAGEL Cohoes, NY " " 39 71 AIKEN, Inge BRUEGGER'S BAGEL Bethesda, MD " " 40 13 CASSON, Yvette TEAM BODY-WISE Fresno, CA " " 41 160 HEFLER, Susan - - " " 42 21 NICHOLSON, Chris CHEVROLET-LA SHE Claremont, CA " " 43 138 ROBERGE, Giana PARADOX SaratogaSpgs NY " " 44 67 CHATHAM, Catheri WORLD T.E.A.M. New York, NY " " 45 18 ODIN, Cecile FRENCH NATIONAL France " " 46 45 SAMPLONIUS, Anne TIMEX-CANNONDALE Brampton, Ont. " " 47 117 COLLAZO, Maria E PYRAMID-BICYCLE Philadelphia PA " " 48 46 STEPHENSON, Eve TIMEX-CANNONDALE Boulder, CO " " 49 14 TRETSCHOK, Tiffa TEAM BODY-WISE Tucson, AZ 2:30:07 @ 3:41 50 155 KRUSE, Linda TEAM EDS - 2:34:48 @ 8:22 51 152 DRUMM, Helene TEAM TREO - " " 52 136 PETTIT, Kimberly WAL-MART Tulsa, OK " " 53 61 GARIEPY, Annie QUEBEC PROVINCIA Bromont, Quebec " " 54 131 MILLER, Laura ONONDAGA CYCLING Cazenovia, NY " " 55 103 GYORY, Dana SCOTT-BiKYLE FLY Hampstead, MD " " 56 95 COHRAN, Mary Bet FIRST STATE VELO - " "
It's what every American cyclist dreams of, and minutes later Alvis was pulling the stars and stripes jersey over his head, celebrating his solo victory in the 156-mile CoreStates US Professional Road Race Championship. Alvis, a former Motorola domestique -- a worker for the team leaders, had trouble holding back his emotions after winning the most prestigous one-day race in the United States in six hours, 20 minutes and 44 seconds.
Alvis won in grand fashion, attacking with six miles remaining after he and three others chased down Motorola's Lance Armstrong following his unsuccessful bid for victory. Armstrong finished fifth, 1:02 behind Alvis. Armstrong launched his victory bid on the final climb up the famed Manayunk Wall, a 250-foot ascent in a half-mile lined with thousands of spectators where he rode to victory here two years ago.
Armstrong burst way from Saturn's Bart Bowen with magnificent power. In 20 seconds he had a 15-second advantage over Bowen, who attacked halfway up the climb. By the time most riders cleared the hill, Armstrong had nearly 30 seconds. But, he wasn't out of sight. And 17 miles remained. "Certainly I felt strong on the climb," Armstrong said. "I got a nice gap, but with that distance to go, that's hard. I had four guys behind me with no teammate to neutralize them. I was doomed."
Armstrong got his lead up to 40 seconds while Alvis led the chase with Italian Maurizio De Pasquale. But Saturn's Brian Walton joined Alvis along with Montgomery-Bell's Clark Sheehan. Alvis and Walton are among strongest riders on the US circuit.
"I know Lance could drop me on the climb," Alvis said. "But I didn't think he could stay away on the flat. Him being out there all alone worked right into our hands."
Slowly the group pulled Armstrong in. Once the gap was under 20 seconds, Armstrong sat up. "I knew it was over," Armstrong said.
Alvis launched an immediate attack. Armstrong didn't respond. "I was pretty tired at that point," Armstrong said. "I could have chased Norm, but then I would have just given the other guys a free ride, and frankly, I would prefer that Norm win the jersey."
Alvis, Armstrong's teammate on Motorola last year, did just that, riding the final six miles alone with his head down coaxing every ounce of energy out of his body after more than six hours on the road. "I just refused to even think about anything until I crossed the line," said Alvis, who came back from Europe to race in the US for this kind of opportunity. "I just gave it everything I had."
Armstrong was disappointed he didn't win the title. "It's hard because we made the race," Armstrong said. "We did all the work, we did all the chasing and I felt we deserved to win the race. But that's bike racing. That's the nature of the sport."
After three parade laps on the smaller 3-mile circuit, the peloton headed to Manayunk for the first of 10 climbs up the famed Wall. There Eddy Gragus of the Montgomery-Bell team attacked and cleared the hill alone. Gragus continued on a solo breakaway, quickly gained one, two, then three minutes on the field, which had no intention on chasing just nine miles into a 156-mile race.
Eventually two chases moved out of the field, David Crowe of Athens Bandag/Domino's and Chris Elke of Village Peddler. They chased for 21 miles and caught Gragus 30 miles into the race. With their help, the gap quickly moved above five minutes in the next 16 miles. David Anthes of Plymouth attempted to bridge to the breakaway alone, but after 15 miles of chasing he was swallowed up by the field.
On the next lap, Motorola moved to the front and the peloton began hunting down Gragus & Company in earnest. Crowe and Elke faltered at 70 miles, but Gragus continued alone. Gragus stayed away until the seventh of 10 climbs up Manayunk, where Motorola pulled him in after 87 miles of freedom -- more than four hours away from the main group. Motorola continued setting the pace at the front of the pack.
On the eighth climb up Manayunk, Motorola put the hammer down. Four riders attacked, including Motorola's Bobby Julich and Armstrong, Saturn's Walton and Amore & Vita's Alessio DiBasco. They were quickly 20 seconds ahead of a group of about 20 chasers with the field right behind. "We really didn't attack there," Armstrong said. "Bobby just picked up the tempo on the hill and when we looked back there were just four of us."
Walton's only job was monitoring Armstrong. He didn't do any pulls, which helped defending US Pro champ Hegg and Montgomery-Bell's Marty Jemison to bridge the gap. "I was glad it came back together after that," Armstrong said.
Hegg had no intention of working with Armstrong, but he was happy to have defused that ticking bomb. "He's the strongest rider in the field without question," Hegg said. "I'm not going to work with him. But hey, the strongest rider doesn't always win. That's bike racing."
Just before the final climb up Manayunk, Motorola's Steve Bauer crashed on a turn. He wasn't there for the final assault. "I think that cost us the race," Motorola team manager Jim Ochowicz said.
But Ochowicz was quick to praise his former rider and his former first lieutenant, Tom Schuler, who's team rode the tactical race they needed to to defeat Armstrong. "We figured that Motorola would ride a race for Lance, and they did," Schuler said. "It wasn't that we just sat on them all day. When he had chances, we took them."
Schuler said a key was the Kmart Classic of West Virginia, where Saturn got the confidence they could ride with Motorola. Hegg finished 58th, but was pleased with his ride. And, he was comfortable with handing the jersey to Alvis. "It's funny, it's like the jersey is making its rounds to the people who really deserve it and will be good representatives in it," Hegg said. "Norm has paid his dues, no doubt about that, but he's also a great ambassador for the sport."
Alvis was quick to praise his teammates, who were equally thrilled to see their man win. "We wanted to win the race and we wanted to win the jersey," Walton said, adding he didn't think twice about shadowing Armstrong in the failed break. "We were a little nervous, but the guys back there were ready. We rode a perfect race tactically. I think Lance was pretty frustrated."