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US Air Force Cycling Classic - 1.2/NE
Virginia, USA, May 30-31, 2009
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Stage 2 - May 31: Crystal City Cup,
Milne captures Air Force Classic's hard-fought victory
By Kirsten Robbins in Arlington, Virginia
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Shawn Milne (Team Type 1) out-sprinted a late-race break away of five riders to claim victory at the US Air Force Cycling Classic's Crystal City Cup held on Sunday. Milne jumped from behind the other four and convincingly won the small sprint ahead of Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) and Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies).
"We've been knocking on the door with seconds and thirds all over the place," said Milne. "I am so relieved that we got this victory because it's like breaking through the ceiling and now we will know how to do it again. I couldn't recognise some of the riders so I stayed at the back of our small group. I've come so close this year and I felt like I just had to win."
Dionne initiated an attack from a larger, less organised breakaway of 15-riders on the last lap. The French-Canadian was soon joined by Milne, Zwizanski, Davide Frattini (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Jeremy Vennell (Bissell). The five worked well together over the 12-kilometre circuit's decisive climb up to the US Air Force monument and around the Pentagon back toward the finish line.
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"A win would have been better, but I was solo a bit starting the last lap and then riders started jumping across," Dionne said. "I haven't raced with the team since March, just racing back home, so I'm happy with this. I'm happy to be racing with the team and it feels good to walk out with a podium."
Zwizanski was the first to make a move through a narrow chicane before the last corner with one-kilometre to go. Dionne responded to the early attack eager to keep the bunch together for a sprint showdown. Zwizanski jumped again with 300-metres go but his cagey tactics were not enough to hold off the Milne and Dionne who past him with 100-metres to go.
"It was really a case of attrition going on and there were a couple of sections of wind that added to the difficulty," Zwizanski said. "I think it was just a matter of time before something actually stuck but I think we were all pretty tired by that point. Dionne attacked on the bell lap and I sensed that it was going to stick. There was not enough co-operation going on the in bigger group."
Breaks and points
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The men completed 14 laps of a challenging 12.5-kilometre loop around Crystal City, circling the Pentagon and showcasing the three peaks of the US Air Force monument.
The race started fast and it never slowed down, averaging nearly 45 km/hour. For the first two laps some riders sprinted for the King of the Mountain points available at the top of the climb, while a second group of riders vied for the sprint points available through the start finish line. In between there were a flurry of attacks to try to shake an early break away loose.
Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) and Andrew Randell (Planet Energy) attacked over the climb and gained an instant 45-second lead on a peloton in need of a break. David Bozak (DC Velo) and Brian Butts (Battley Harley Davidson) followed in a chase to catch up to the leading pair, but dangled between them and the peloton.
"I didn't expect the break to stay away until the end," Jacques-Maynes said. "I was hoping to get some KoM points and wanted to cooperate with Andrew as best we could. We rolled through really well and you could tell that the pack was going to let us hang out there. I wanted to represent my team for as much time as possible. I felt strong and I wanted to put that into good use today."
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A third chase group formed that included Jonathan Garcia (BMC) and Waylon Woolcock (Medscheme). The pair caught up to the first chase group, Bozak and Butts on lap six but at speeds much quicker. Both Bozak and Butts fell off pace and were reabsorbed into the peloton while Garcia and Woolcock pressed on to catch the leaders.
Up front Jacques-Maynes and Randell agreed to alternate through KoM and sprint hot spots so that each rider would gain points. Jacques-Maynes rolled through first at the top of each ascent and accumulated enough points to win the Best Climber's competition. Randell rolled through for the intermediate sprints to win the Best Sprinter's competition.
"We planned to swap the KoM and sprint points today," said Randell. "It was just a break and not like we planned it so it was great to be able to go for a jersey while we were out there. We reached our goals here this week: as long as we showed ourselves, that's the main thing. We might have expected more in the finish but that's how it goes."
Garcia and Woolcock successful joined the leaders on the ninth lap, with 100-kilometres to go. However their time margin started to fluctuate between 30- and 60-seconds as the peloton grew eager to reel in the leaders. The four riders were brought back with three laps to go.
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Team Type 1's Matt Wilson launched a solo flyer that may have only lasted for two kilometres, but allowed his team-mate Shawn Milne an opportunity to recover in the bunch. "There were so many times that I looked down and we were going 55-miles/hour - who can attack off that," said Milne. "I felt terrible all day and my original role was to be helpful to Ken Hanson or Aldo Ino Iiesic. I was told to cover moves instead so I went with an acceleration and that was it. My role here is to win or get caught."
The attacking continued as teams tried desperately to establish a new breakaway in the final laps. Frattini forced the speeds over the climb with two laps to go. He was immediately followed by Dionne and Zwizanski and an additional 13 riders bridged across until the field sat up and fanned wide across the pavement.
The front group also included Milne, Vennell, Andrew Pinfold (OUCH p/b Maxxis), Francois Paresien (Planet Energy), Matt Wilson (Team Type 1), Chad Beyer (BMC), Freddy Rodriguez (Rock Racing), Alessandro Bazzana (Fly V Australia), Yuriy Metlushenko and Chad Gerlach (Amore & Vita) and Will Hoffarth (Mountain Khakis). Also joining the break away for the second time was Jonathan Garcia who earned himself the event's most aggressive rider award.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by
Jonathan Devich/
- Riders line up for the third annual US Air Force Cycling Classic.
- The race started with a fly over by one of the Air Forces largest planes.
- The peloton passes by Arlington National Cemetery with the Pentagon in the background.
- Tim Johnson (OUCH-Maxxis) goes on the attack after catching back on following a mechanical.
- Davide Frattini (Colavita-Sutter Home) was riding aggressive again today causing a split in the bunch.
- Riders pass under one of the many over passes along the route.
- The bunch slows up a bit after all of the attacks.
- The route passed along one of DC's highways.
- Going past one of the entrances to the pentagon.
- Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) leads a break that got going half way through the day.
- Things get strung out as the bunch goes out by the river.
- Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) tries to get back on the group after taking a nasty fall.
- Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing) made it into the break.
- The peloton rides under the Crystal City skyline.
- Rory Sutherland (OUCH-Maxxis) on the descent from the Air Force Memorial.
- Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefits) gets tucked in on the short but fast descent.
- The break starts to get some time on the field.
- The main bunch heads back by the river and back into downtown.
- Shawn Milne (Team Type 1) takes the sprint.
- Shawn Milne (Team Type 1) happy with his win.
- Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) took home a check for winning the King of the Mountian competition.
Results
Pro men
1 Shawn Milne (Team Type 1) 4.12.34 2 Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) 3 Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 4 Davide Frattini (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) 5 Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) 0.02 6 Andrew Pinfold (OUCH/Maxxis) 0.15 7 Francois Parisien (Planet Energy) 8 Yuriy Metlushenko (Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo Vie) 9 Allesandro Bazzana (Fly V Australia) 10 Chad Beyer (BMC Racing) 11 Chad Gerlach (Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo Vie) 12 William Hoffarth (Team Mountain Khakis) 13 Jonathan Garcia (BMC Racing) 14 Freddie Rodriquez (Rock Racing) 0.29 15 Matt Wilson (Team Type 1) 0.48 16 Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 0.53 17 Karl Menzies (OUCH/Maxxis) 18 Keven Lacombe (Planet Energy) 19 Jonathan Page (Battley Harley Davidson) 20 Richard England (Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo Vie) 21 Kenneth Hanson (Team Type 1) 22 Jackson Stewart (BMC Racing) 23 Tom Soladay (Team Mountain Khakis) 24 Viktor Ulzen (Nordland Hamberg) 25 Arran Brown (Team Medscheme) 26 Philipp Maros (Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo Vie) 27 Martin Gilbert (Planet Energy) 0.57 28 Craig Dodson (Richmond Pro Cycling) 29 Charles Marzot (Team Mountain Khakis) 30 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Team Type 1) 31 Scottie Weiss (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) 32 Ryan Roth (Planet Energy) 0.59 33 Tim Johnson (OUCH/Maxxis) 34 Volodymyr Starchyk (Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo Vie) 35 Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) 1.03 36 Chuck Hutcheson (Battley Harley Davidson) 37 Keck Baker (Battley Harley Davidson) 38 Neil Shirley (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 39 Peter Morse (Jet Fuel) 40 Ryan DeWald (Battley Harley Davidson) 1.07 41 Scott Tietzel (DLP Racing) 42 Jonathan Mumford (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 43 Jamie Riggs (Jet Fuel) 44 Bradley White (OUCH/Maxxis) 45 Micheal Grabinger (Fly V Australia) 46 Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia) 47 Moises Aldap Chavez (Team Type 1) 48 David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 49 Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 50 Morgan Schmitt (Bissell Pro Cycling) 51 Bruno Langlois (Planet Energy) 52 Zachary Bell (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 53 Neil MacDonald (Team Medscheme) 54 Jacob Erker (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 55 Luis Romero Amaran (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) 56 Nicholas Sanderson (Rock Racing) 57 Anders Sibast (Danish National) 58 Tony Cruz (BMC Racing) 59 Lucas Sebasti Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) 60 Soren Petersen (Danish National) 61 David Vitoria Cano (Rock Racing) 62 Fabio Calabria (Team Type 1) 63 Alejando Borrajo (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) 64 Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling) 1.18 65 Kirk O'Bee (Bissell Pro Cycling) 66 Rory Sutherland (OUCH/Maxxis) 67 Mike Creed (Team Type 1) 1.27 68 Jackie Simes (Team Mountain Khakis) 1.44 69 Kenneth Johnson (Battley Harley Davidson) 1.49 70 Benj Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling) 2.10 71 Andrew Randell (Planet Energy) 3.03 72 Ian Holt (DC Velo) 3.17 73 Hanco Kachelhoffer (Team Medscheme) 3.19 74 Sean Barrie (Battley Harley Davidson) 5.34 75 Andrew Talansky (Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo Vie) 5.36 76 Benjamin King (Fly V Australia) 5.44 77 Brendan Cornett (Richmond Pro Cycling) DNS Torsten Wambold (Nordland Hamberg) DNS David Duncan (DLP Racing) DNF Luca Damiani (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) DNF Anibal Borrajo (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) DNF Tyler Wren (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) DNF Kyle Wamsley (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home) DNF Jonathan Chodroff (OUCH/Maxxis) DNF Mark Batty (Planet Energy) DNF Eric Boily (Planet Energy) DNF Aldo Ino Ilesic (Team Type 1) DNF Taylor Tolleson (BMC Racing) DNF James Driscoll (Rock Racing) DNF David Tanner (Rock Racing) DNF Cody O'Reilly (Bissell Pro Cycling) DNF Frank Pipp (Bissell Pro Cycling) DNF Daniel Defranceschi (Jet Fuel) DNF Kevin Hazzard (Jet Fuel) DNF Bryson Bowers (Jet Fuel) DNF Jeff Buckles (Richmond Pro Cycling) DNF Ryan Mele (Richmond Pro Cycling) DNF Matt Seagrave (Richmond Pro Cycling) DNF Scott Jackson (Richmond Pro Cycling) DNF Malcolm Lange (Team Medscheme) DNF Waylon Woolcock (Team Medscheme) DNF Nic White (Team Medscheme) DNF Chad Burdzilauskas (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Jaime Gandara (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Remi McManus (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Tyler Stanfield (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Be van der Genugten (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Matt Winstead (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Jonathan Parrish (Kenda Pro Cycling/Spinergy) DNF Philip Kaczmarowski (Nordland Hamberg) DNF Allen L Christensen (Nordland Hamberg) DNF Brian Butts (Battley Harley Davidson) DNF David Fuentes (Battley Harley Davidson) DNF Isaac Howe (Team Mountain Khakis) DNF Eric Barlevav (Team Mountain Khakis) DNF Andrew Baker (Team Mountain Khakis) DNF Spencer Beamer (Team Mountain Khakis) DNF John Ebsen (Danish National) DNF Ramsas Daman (Danish National) DNF Kasper Malmkjaer (Danish National) DNF Philip Martz (DLP Racing) DNF Tiago DePaulo Souza (DLP Racing) DNF Steven Gordon (DLP Racing) DNF Timothy Henry (DLP Racing) DNF Boyd Johnson (DLP Racing) DNF Jason Meidof (DC Velo) DNF Ryan McKinney (DC Velo) DNF Josh Frick (DC Velo) DNF Ken Young (DC Velo) DNF Evan Fader (DC Velo) DSQ Benjamin Zawcaki (Richmond Pro Cycling) King of the Mountains 1 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling) 40 pts 2 Andrew Randell (Planet Energy) 21 3 Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 13 4 Davide Frattini (Colavita Olive Oil/S) 8 5 Matt Wilson (Team Type 1) 8 6 Philipp Maros (Amore&Vita/Lifetime) 7 7 Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) 6 8 Arran Brown (Team Medscheme) 5 9 Allesandro Bazzana (Fly V Australia) 5 10 Moises Aldap Chavez (Team Type 1) 4 11 Jonathan Garcia (BMC Racing) 4 12 Anders Sibast (Danish National) 3 13 Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) 2 14 Chad Beyer (BMC Racing) 1 15 Hanco Kachelhoffer (Team Medscheme) 1 16 Richard England (Amore&Vita/Lifetime) 1 Sprints 1 Andrew Randell (Planet Energy) 36 pts 2 Chad Gerlach (Amore&Vita/Lifetime) 24 3 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling) 21 4 Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) 11 5 Shawn Milne (Team Type 1) 10 6 Chad Beyer (BMC Racing) 5 7 Jonathan Mumford (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 3 8 Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 3 9 Jonathan Garcia (BMC Racing) 3 10 Morgan Schmitt (Bissell Pro Cycling) 3 11 Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia) 3 12 Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit / Medifast) 2 13 Arran Brown (Team Medscheme) 1 14 Matt Wilson (Team Type 1) 1 15 Tim Johnson (OUCH/Maxxis) 1 Teams 1 Fly V Australia 12.39.04 2 Amore&Vita/Lifetime/Velo 0.01 3 BMC Racing 8 OUCH/Maxxis 0.45 9 Bissell Pro Cycling 0.50 10 Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter 0.52 11 Rock Racing 1.21 12 Battley Harley Davidson 1.37 13 Team Medscheme 3.55
