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Bryan Park Training Race
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
The Return of the King
Richmond-born pro takes win in local race
By Stratton Delany
Erik Saunders of the Ofoto Professional Cycling Team rarely gets a chance to race in his hometown. As a professional cyclist, he spends his time traveling the country, competing in all of the big national calendar events. One of those events was Richmond’s Captech Classic, held in May on a challenging downtown course. Saunders placed third in that race - a result that disappointed him but would have been a high point in many pro cyclists seasons. This week, though, Saunders came home again to help promote next years Captech Classic. While he was here he figured he'd test the competition at the weekly race held every Summer Tuesday night in Bryan Park.
The Bryan Park Series is known for it’s relaxed but competitive atmosphere. After the race, Saunders noted, "It was a cool race. Everybody had a good time, and there were a lot of attacks. It’s good to ride in a race where everybody’s motivated to race." Coming from the region’s most successful cyclist, this is a good compliment of the local racers.
The top pay-out at Bryan Park is only $25, but the race was a good way for Saunders to keep his legs loose for Saturday’s NRC (National Race Calendar) criterium in Charlotte. To be a part of the NRC, a race must have at least $10,000 in prize money. Saunders definitely proved his motivation Tuesday night.
How it unfolded
This week’s race combined the usual A & B fields because of inclement weather. At the start of the race, everyone expected Saunders to control affairs. Some local riders had different ideas. Matt Dinsmore (Richmond Ciclismo) and Shawn Tunstall (SP Imports) attacked the 35 rider pack from the gun, building a 30 second gap by lap two. The duo worked well together and held that gap for the first four laps. Tunstall, either tired or feeling that the gap couldn't hold, dropped off the pace and was caught by the charging pack two laps later.
Dinsmore put in a heroic effort and held a ten to fifteen second gap for another five laps. When he was finally caught, a counter attack went in textbook fashion. This group contained John Schindler and Frank Blondino (Richmond Ciclismo), and Bill Evans (Bike Works). Just as they went, however, a bonus sprint was called, bringing the pack out of hibernation. The group was caught and Rick Barlow (Richmond Ciclismo) took home the prize of a free pair of sunglasses from Rowlett's Bicycles.
The next few laps saw a flurry of attacks, but nothing would stick without Saunders in it. With ten laps to go, the speed picked up as Mason Haymes (SP Imports) won the Legend’s Hair bonus sprint. By this time, many of the Category 4 & 5 riders were reaching the limits of their endurance, and many started coming off the back.
Also at this time the real race began. Saunders let the local boys fight amongst themselves for the first 22 laps, but with eight to go he let loose an attack that left most watching in awe. The first rider to react was Keck Baker (Richmond Ciclismo), who latched onto Saunders’ wheel while his teammates chased behind. Soon the tenacious Matt Dinsmore made his way up to the duo and started working to help distance the now group of three from the pack. The pace proved too much for Baker, who dropped back to the field behind.
The gap continued to increase as Dinsmore and Saunders worked together, eventually getting their lead up to 40 seconds. In the pack behind Richmond Ciclismo thwarted any attempts to spoil the party. Most of the work to bring back the breakaway was done by Jerry Gunn and Jimmy McMillan of 3Sports, but the gap kept increasing. By the final lap the gap was an impossible 45 seconds. Saunders easily cruised to victory, while Dinsmore took a hard-fought second. What was left of the pack came in almost a minute later. John Schindler used the lead-out of his teammate Jon Gaudio to win the field sprint and take the final spot on the podium. Fourth place was too close to call, and declared a tie between Gaudio and McMillan.
Results
1 Erik Saunders (Ofoto-Lombardi Sports) 2 Matt Dinsmore (Richmond Ciclismo) 3 John Schindler (Richmond Ciclismo) =4 Jon Gaudio (Richmond Ciclismo) =4 Jimmy McMillan (3Sports) 6 Shawn Tunstall (SP Imports)
