Gateway Cup - NE

St Louis, Missouri, USA, September 3-6, 2004

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Stage 4 - September 6: University City Corners

McCartney & Soraci takes series finale

By John Musselman, www.stlbiking.com

University City was the location for the fourth criterium in as many days. Last years rainstorm was replaced with overcast skies that were welcomed by most of the racers. This last night represented the toughest challenge of the weekend because of the tight corners in this funky urban setting. The start/finish line was in the center of the neighborhood which locals call the loop. The area is completely filled with a mixed array of restaurants, nightspots and uncommon retail shops.

Right from the starting line racers make a sharp right then an even tighter left followed by two right turns before riding through a heavily shaded area filled with older bricked apartments whose residents are mostly with college students from nearby Washington University. This backstretch was where riders used strength to pull away from competitors. The earlier turns represented nothing but danger.

Just as the Men's race was beginning it nearly ended just as quickly. In the third turn of the first lap Zack Reed (Long John Silver) slid out from a dip in the road and other riders were forced to negotiate around the crash. Others weren't as fortunate and fell. Many racers were forced to use their free lap before they even got up to race speed.

This last race was a death march for most riders. As the more powerful riders keep attacking forward less conditioned racers were forced to pull out. Big Shark Bicycle, one of event sponsors, knew this would happen and conveniently set up a rest area complete with food and drink for their fallen friends. A banner was strung up that read "Quit Here! Drink Beer!". It was very popular by the end of the race.

Health Net/Maxxis riders Jason McCartney, John Lieswyn and Brian Jensen (HRRC/ MaClaren Racing) Brice Jones broke away early and expanded their lead whenever possible. But it was Brian Jensen that kept the pressure on the Health Net riders. Throughout the race other riders got pulled or dropped out. With over 100 racers beginning this event only 28 finished. With only a few laps before the free laps ended Lieswyn flated and rushed to the wheel pit to get another wheel. He enter back into his position and regained his momentum that had been lost while in the wheel pit.

In the final lap there was no letting up to ensure a win. With Lieswyn's help McCartney was able to take the win with some room to spare but a real battle continued between Jensen and Lieswyn. Jensen took second with a hard earned sprint leaving Lieswyn to finish third. Even though Lieswyn won the overall covering all four events he was quick to say that Jensen had pressed him as hard as any rider could and prompted the crowd to give Brian his due.

The women's race belonged to Kerry Soraci, whose name is well known in St. Louis. University City is her hometown when she's not living in Colorado. She's very comfortable in these surroundings. Karla Farrell, another St. Louis native completed the weekend with a second place in University City. Molly Vetter was third. It all sounds easy but it was brutal for these women as the burden of racing four days in a row showed in race favorites Andrea Hannos and Kori Kelly finishing ninth and tenth respectively. But when the total points were tallied for the weekend, Kori Kelly had enough to win the overall followed closely by Hannos, 2nd and Soraci finishing 3rd.

Plans for the 2005 Gateway Cup were already being sketched out during this year's event. Possible changes include adding a 5th race at an undisclosed location. As the number of riders continue to increase year after year it's only a matter of time before the Gateway Cup may have to alter its situation to become a NRC event. Competition for more racers is very stiff during the long Labor Day weekend. But racers from across the country continue to travel to this event. Why? Most say it's just more fun that than the other races. "It's got more flavor".

Results

Pro/1/2 Men 
 
1 Jason McCartney
2 Brian Jensen
3 John Lieswyn
4 Brice Jones
5 Brad Huff
6 Frank Pipp
7 Dan Schmatz
8 Lance Sutzen
9 Brian Wryick
10 Wes Hartman
11 Shadd Smith
12 Ryan Nenninger
13 Tom Adamec
14 Josh Carter
15 Matt Stevens
16 John Puffer
17 Jeff Hartman
 
Pro/1/2/3 Women 
 
1 Kerry Soraci
2 Carla Farrell
3 Molly Vetter
4 Mindi Martin
5 Megan Elliot
6 Laura Whittle
7 Liz Cazer
8 Pam Hinton
9 Andrea Hannos
10 Kori Kelly
 
Final overall classification
Men
  
1 John Lieswyn           111 pts
2 Dan Schmatz             99
3 Frank Pipp              97
4 Jason Mccartney         75
5 Brad Huff               75
6 Brian Jensen            65
7 Wes Hartman             56
8 Zach Reed               43
9 John Puffer             41
10 Bob Quinn              37
11 Garrett Peltonen       34
12 Bryce Jones            33
13 Paul Nilson            30
14 Aaron Smathers         30
15 Jeff Hartman           28
16 Bryan Smith            27
17 Mat Stephens           27
18 Joe Hill               26
19 Josh Carter            24
20 Reed Mumford           23
21 Tracy Smith            21
22 Peter Knoop            21
23 Ryan Nenninger         21
24 Rory Mcadams           18
25 Kurt Fletcher          17
26 Tomas Adamec           17
27 Lance Sutzen           16
28 Brian Wyrick           15
29 Drew Detels            15
30 Shad Smith             14
31 Robert Kron             5
32 Eric Warnsman           4
33 Brent Hanlin            3
34 Frank Deirking          2
35 Matt Ankney             2
36 Red Blk                 1
 
Women
 
1 Kori Kelly              51 pts
2 Andrea Hannos           42
3 Kerry Soraci            35
4 Mindi Martin            28
5 Carrie Cash             27
6 Heather Brice           22
7 Carla Farrell           20
8 Sarah Tillotlsun        19
9 Molly Veter             17
10 Anne Meyer             11
11 Trudy VanDerStraaten    7
12 Alison McNulty          7
13 Megan Elliot            7
14 Stacey Bertsch          6
15 Laura Whittle           5
16 Pam Hinton              4
17 Liz Cazer               4
18 Julie Tatar             2
19 Miranda Quigley         2