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Cyclefest - NE
Florida, USA, October 1-3, 2004
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Stage 2 - October 2: Bill Bone Grand Prix
Carney goes two for two; McClintock out-sprints women
By Raphael Clemente
Saturday's Bill Bone Grand Prix saw sunshine, breezes, and beautiful scenery as the venue changed to the Flagler Drive waterfront of downtown West Palm Beach. By the afternoon the action was peaking, with the pro women putting on a show of force in the increasing winds coming off the water.
Early in the race, a five rider break emerged that contained race favorites Rebecca McClintock (Colavita), Kristin Linton (Cycle Science), Jessica Hulser (Team Basis), Megan Long (Bicycle Store), and Robin Kavan (BBC). Stuck between the break and the field was recently crowned Under-23 national champion Megan Esmonde (Orlando Road Club), who rode solo in no (wo)man's land for lap after lap trying to latch on to the leaders. With three laps to go, Linton flatted and was unable to get a wheel in time to rejoin the break, ending up a lap down and out of contention. Down the long straight-away to the finish, McClintock wound up the sprint early and impressively held off Long and Hulser for the win.
As the sun set the pro men lined up for 90 minutes of racing on the scenic but technical course. Due to damage from the hurricanes, some of the corners that would have normally been lit by streetlights were left in the dark. Despite race organizers best efforts, the best they could do was place generators and light towers at key locations around the course.
Tension was high as the field sprinted into the first turn and onto the bricks of the backside of the course. It was clear from the onset that this would be a battle between the weekend's two strongest teams - Jelly Belly and Colavita. As the race progressed, the course got darker and darker, challenging riders to trust the wheel ahead of them as they dove into off-camber turns at top speed. Amidst the excitement and mayhem of the field, Carney and Dominguez shadowed each other for most of the race while their respective teammates did what they could to prevent anyone from riding away.
Late in the race a well-timed attack led by Ofoto's Scott Zwizanski looked like it might succeed. Making his way to the front of a disorganized bunch, Alex Candelario took up the chase and with the Dan Schmatz of HelathNet, the two put on an amazing show of strength. The chase lined the entire bunch out for five laps and brought the break back with just one to go. From there on it was a battle for sprint supremacy between Carney and Dominguez, with Carney taking the lead out of the final turn and holding Dominguez off all the way to the line. Brice Jones rallied from several spots back out of the final turn to dash across in third place.
Results
Men Category 1-2 1 Jonas Carney (Jelly Belly) 2 Ivan Dominguez (Colavita) 3 Brice Jones (Unattached) 4 Harm Jensen (Bill Bone Bicyclery) 5 Dave McCook (McQuires Pro Cycling) 6 Sebastian Alexander (Colavita) 7 Radisa Cubric (OLP Racing) 8 Brad Huff (Mercy Cycling Team) 9 Yosvany Falcon (Aerospace Engineering Group) 10 Ivan Franco (JC Investors Racing Team) 11 Christopher Frederick (Aerospace Engineering Group) 12 Eneas Frequez (Unattached) 13 Gustavo Artacho (Colavita) 14 Derek Wilkerson (Hilenbrand Racing) 15 John Durango (JC Investors Racing Team) 16 Emile Abraham (Monex) 17 Mike Zingaro (Cycle Science) 18 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 19 Franky Van Haesbroucke (Unattached) 20 Luis Zayas (Top Pro) 21 Gustavo Carrillo (Aerospace Engineering Group) 22 Hoyt Halvorson (Lehmans Catffood) 23 Diego Garavito (Unattached) 24 Daniel Holt (Locos/Dixons) 25 Oscar Pendea (Stelvio Cycling) 26 Stefano Barberi (JC Investors Racing Team) 27 Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita) 28 Frank Travieso (Cycliss Warehouse) 29 Keith Szolusha (Red Edge) 30 Leandro Contreras (Lake Worth Bicycles) 31 Raphael Clemente (Cycle Science) 32 Rudy Robaina (Cycle Science) 33 Frank Breure (Unattached) 34 Scott Weiss (Subway) 35 Jonathan Erdely (Ofoto/Lombardi Sports) 36 Greg Wolf (Colavita) 37 Garrett Moore (Toshiba/Big Wheel) 38 Jason Snow (Team Fuji) 39 David Guttenplan (Locos/Dixons) Women Category 1-2-3 1 Rebecca McClintock (Colavita) 2 Jessica Hulser (Kele) (Team Basis) 3 Megan Long (The Bicycle Store) 4 Robin Kavan (Best of the Bay Cyclist) 5 Isabella Wieser (Lietzsport Cycling) 6 Megan Esmonde (Orlando Road Club Inc) 7 Elizabeth Morse (Ford Cycling Team/Orlando Velo) 8 Yuu Soubra (Toshiba/Big Wheel) 9 Kristy Scheffenecker (Colavita) 10 Valentina Tischenko-Aponte (Aerospace Engineering Group) 11 Alisha Little (Team Basis) 12 Lourdes Hernandez (Jet Network/Home Finance) 13 Annemarie Persyn (Unattached) 14 Nicole Bossie (Team Fuji) 15 Rebecca Clark (Orlando Road Club Inc) 16 Chrissy Ruiter (Team Basis) 17 Tamyra Barnard (Aerospace Engineering Group) 18 Kristin Linton (Cycle Science) 19 Rachael Hallum (Orlando Road Club Inc)
