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International Cycling Classic - Superweek - NE
USA, July 9-25, 2004
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Race 15 - July 22: Heritage Square Criterium
Fuentes finally finishes one off
Vargas shows signs of fatigue
by Mark Zalewski in Sheboygan
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The home-stretch of Superweek is not an easy one. Flat and fast criterium after criterium round out the series, and losing your concentration for even a second can have disastrous consequences. So was the case with Carlos Vargas, chasing Harm Jansen for the overall leader's jersey. After racing every day but one, the young Endeavor rider was tired, and many knew it. When he went down by himself in the straightaway early in today's race, Jansen was not surprised.
"It was something waiting to happen, and I hate to say it," Jansen admitted. "He's getting tired and he's not a great bike handler. He is taking unnecessary risks and not being attentive and he paid the price. That is why I wasn't sitting right on his wheel -- I was sitting a couple riders back the whole time, because I don't trust sitting right on his wheel."
Vargas' Endeavor teammate Frank Pipp explained that the young Colombian rider has been going almost non-stop for the entire series. "He's been wanting to race everyday, but I made him take a day off last Saturday. He just wants to go day after day. When he crashed I asked him how he was doing and he said he was hurting. I told him if you are really injured to pull out -- it's not worth it. He's solid in second, it will be tough to get the jersey back from Harm."
And with a comfortable lead over third place Emile Abraham, that might have been the smart choice to make.
"Carlos is pretty resilient -- he's pretty tough," Pipp said. "... he stuck it out there and he was off the front with a few guys near the end."
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After the initial shake-up in the race, a break finally formed out of the high-speed early laps -- with Jansen and Vargas not making the selection. Therefore, it was an opportunity for others to shine, and David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) did just that. The series sprint leader since day one, wearing his red sprint jersey, had yet to win a stage of Superweek. So while he was busy cleaning up the intermediate sprint points, the Californian kept a look-out for possible winning moves.
His eyesight was 20/20 tonight as he made a break that contained Michael Sayers (Health Net), Emile Abraham and Andrew Carter from Monex, Australians Richard England and Karl Menzies (Team MGZT), last year's sprint classification winner Frank Pipp (Endeavor), Dutchman Robbert Van Der Stelt (Van Hemert-Eurogifts) and the lone amateur Frank Dierking (Athletes by Design).
The break quickly gained forty seconds on the field, and held onto that for the rest of the evening, with everyone doing their fair share of the work. "There were no blokes, everyone shared the work all the way through, until five laps to go," Menzies said. "Then everyone was looking to the finish."
Finally, nearing the last two laps, someone made a jump -- and it was Menzies, with Fuentes on his wheel. But the Australian wasn't ready to hear the announcers give a gambler's prime for the second-to-last lap of the race when he came through. "With two and a half laps to go I attacked, and Fuentes came with me. I didn't know [the prime] was going to be there -- at two and a half I was going to attack, and then the prime came up. But I wanted to win, I didn't care about the prime."
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The big and strong Fuentes made short work of the prime sprint for $200. However, the duo had managed to open a gap of twenty seconds on the break, with no organization forming a chase. And with two riders in the break, it was up to Monex to do that chasing.
"I didn't feel that it was my responsibility to drive the break," said Health Net's Michael Sayers. "I mean there were two Aussies and two Monex guys. The two Monex guys are really fast -- and quite frankly I think they were more interested in seeing me lose than trying to win the race, which is their M.O. It's hard to race as a pro with guys who don't race like pros. So when the attack went, I went hard for a second, saw them both on me, and swung off to see if they would chase, and they didn't. So there goes first and second. It fell all on Monex, and they dropped the ball -- fumbled on the goal line."
With no other rider willing to sacrifice to do the work, it was up to Menzies and Fuentes to fight for the win, and Fuentes was not about to let this opportunity slip by.
"When I saw the Australian guy go, everyone looked at each other" Fuentes remarked. "So I went right after him -- hopefully nobody wanted to go with me and I was able to bridge up to him and take the sprint. I didn't think they were going to let us keep going, but when we had the gap and everyone was looking at each other and the Australian guy had a teammate so I knew he wasn't going to chase. I figured it was up to Monex since they had two guys."
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Karl Menzies knew that he would have a hard time coming around Fuentes in the sprint, and decided to drive the last lap to insure his second place. [Fuentes] was too strong for me, I was just doing strong pulls in order to stay away for second."
And down the final stretch is was clearly Fuentes -- and it was clear that he was happy about it. "I've been trying to win a stage since I have been out here. I've had the sprinters jersey from day one, and I thought I was going to win the first night, but got pipped by Ventura. So I've been trying and been persistent, and it finally paid off."
With that, Fuentes pulled on two jerseys, one for retaining the overall sprinter's lead, and one for claiming the elusive Superweek stage win.
Harm Jansen leads Carlos Vargas by thirteen points entering the final three days of the series. But Jansen already has his goal in mind: "I want to get twenty points [between us] at Downers so I can party after Downers!"
Photography
Images by Mark Zalewski/showchoir.net
- David Fuentes' Time speed machine.
- Not a slow day for the Campagnolo Neutral Service boys. Here, Michael Sayers (Health Net/Maxxis) gets a new wheel with complimentary push.
- Yes, there are some things that even duct tape won't fix.
- Back into the field, Sayers finds his way to the front and into the main breakaway.
- Carlos Vargas (Endeavor) hurting after his early crash.
- A brave soul tries to bridge the gap alone, but to no avail.
- Dan Schmatz (Health Net/Maxxis) checks to see what Monex was going to do with two riders up the road.
- Harm Jansen (Helen's RPM) looking comfortable in the leader's yellow jersy.
- David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) leads the break and picks up a few more sprint points along the way.
- Jansen keeps a close eye on the grimacing Vargas.
- Andrew Crater (Monex) corners with Fuentes on the inside.
- Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) checks to see if anyone will follow his attack.
- A little climb between turns three and four was enough to get some out of their saddle.
- Fuentes takes the gambler's prime ahead of Menzies, but the pack isn't chasing them down with only one lap to go.
- Built for speed - Fuentes finally claims his stage at Superweek.
- Just keep putting more jerseys on - maybe that will slow him down?
- The podium of the Heritage Square Classic Criterium.
Results
1 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 2 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 3 Frank Pipp (Endeavour Cycling Team) 4 Emile Abraham (Team Monex) 5 Michael Sayers (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 6 Richard England (Team MGZT) 7 Robbert Van Der Stelt (Van Hemert-Eurogifts) 8 Frank Dierking (ABD Cycling Team) 9 Andrew Crater (Team Monex) 10 Garrett Peltonen (Endeavour Cycling Team) 11 Bart Heirewegh (Deschacht-Merckx) 12 Harm Jansen (Helens RPM) 13 Gregg Medinilla (Team Monex) 14 Juan Gaspari (Argentina National Team) 15 Brian Schaning (UW Health) 16 Carlos Vargas (Endeavour Cycling Team) 17 Jason Waddell (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 18 Jeremiah Wiscovitch (LaGrange) 19 Jason Snow (Team Fuji) 20 Gustavo Carillo (Aerospace Engineering) 21 Jimmy Hansen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 22 Jacob Nielsen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 23 (unknown rider) 24 Mat Stephens (Mercy cycling) 25 Mike Tillman 26 Brandon Gavic (Team Salsa Cycles) 27 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 28 Al Senft (NUVO/Bicycle Action Project) 29 Charles Huff (Mercy Cycling Team) 30 (unknown rider) 31 Drew Deters (Team Seasilver) 32 Matthew Brandt (Nova/IS Corp) Sprint Points - Men - Round 1 1 John Puffer (ABD Cycling Team) 2 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 3 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 4 Dan Schmatz (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 5 Jackson Stewart (Ofoto.com Lombardi Sport) 6 Richard England (Team MGZT) 7 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) Sprint Points - Men - Round 2 1 Frank Pipp (Endeavour Cycling Team) 2 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 3 John Puffer (ABD Cycling Team) 4 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 5 Thomas Hallock (Northwest Cycling Club) 6 Carlos Vargas (Endeavour Cycling Team) 7 Harm Jansen (Helens RPM) Sprint Points - Men - Round 3 1 John Puffer (ABD Cycling Team) 2 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 3 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 4 Garrett Peltonen (Endeavour Cycling Team) 5 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 6 Paul Richards (Team MGZT) 7 Michael Ebert (ABD Cycling Team) Sprint Points - Men - Round 4 1 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 2 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 3 Michael Sayers (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 4 Frank Pipp (Endeavour Cycling Team) 5 Emile Abraham (Team Monex) 6 Richard England (Team MGZT) 7 Andrew Crater (Team Monex) Sprint Points - Men - Round 5 1 Frank Pipp (Endeavour Cycling Team) 2 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 3 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 4 Richard England (Team MGZT) 5 Robbert Van Der Stelt (Van Hemert-Eurogifts) 6 Emile Abraham (Team Monex) 7 Andrew Crater (Team Monex) Overall standings 1 Harm Jansen (Helens RPM) 252 pts 2 Carlos Vargas (Endeavour Cycling Team) 239 3 Emile Abraham (Team Monex) 192 4 Jacob Nielsen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 161 5 Andrew Crater (Team Monex) 136 6 Richard England (Team MGZT) 113 7 Frank Dierking (ABD Cycling Team) 108 8 Dave McCook (McGuire Pro Cycling) 106 9 Davide Frattini (Team Monex) 106 10 Michael Sayers (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 96 11 Brian Jensen (HRRC) 90 12 Steve Tilford (BikeSource) 87 13 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 84 14 Danny In't Ven (Antwerpse VC) 80 15 Dan Schmatz (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 71 16 Walter Perez (Argentina National Team) 71 17 Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 67 18 Sterling Magnell (Sierra Nevada) 67 19 Brian Sheedy (Team Seasilver) 62 20 Jimmy Hansen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 60 21 Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver) 56 22 Peter Lopinto (Ofoto cycling team) 54 23 Garrett Peltonen (Endeavour Cycling Team) 52 24 Granam Howard (ABG) 47 25 Robbert Van Der Stelt (Van Hemert-Eurogifts) 47 26 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 44 27 Juan Gaspari (Argentina National Team) 44 28 Adam Curry (Revolution Cycling Team) 43 29 Frank Pipp (Endeavour Cycling Team) 39 30 Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly - Aramark) 37 31 Nicholas Reistad (Endeavour Cycling Team) 37 32 John Lieswyn (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 36 33 Jonas Carney (Jelly Belly) 35 34 Jackson Stewart (Ofoto.com Lombardi Sport) 35 35 Aaron Olson (Colavita Pro Cycling) 35 36 Rahsaan Bahati (Major Motion) 35 37 Frank Travieso (Cyclist Warehouse) 34 38 Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Pro Cycling) 34 39 Charles Huff (Mercy Cycling Team) 34 40 Mark Southard (Excel Sports Boulder) 33 41 Jeremiah Wiscovitch (LaGrange) 33 42 Yosuany Falcon (Aerospace Engineering) 31 43 Marvin Van Der Pluym (Van Hemert - EuroGifts) 30 44 Ben Raby (ABD Cycling Team) 27 45 Brian Schaning (UW Health) 26 46 Bill Stolte (HRRC) 25 47 Wes Hartman (Team Mack) 24 48 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 23 49 Josh Goodwin (Team Monex) 23 50 Nathan Miller (McGuire Pro Cycling) 23 51 Jon Tarkington (Vitamin Cottage) 21 52 Ricardo Hernandez (JC Investors Racing Team) 21 53 Greg Henderson (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 20 54 Robbie Ventura (US Postal Service) 20 55 Jai Crawford (Team MGZT) 20 56 Brad Edmunds (Team MGZT) 20 57 Jason Waddell (Sharper Image - Mathis Brothers) 20 58 Ryan Nenninger (ABD Cycling Team) 20 59 Aron Huerta (Village Peddler) 20 60 Nathan Mitchell (US National Team/TIAA-CREF / 5280 Magazi) 19 61 Alex Robles (Trek-VW) 19 62 Daniel Ramsey (Team Seasilver) 18 63 Mark Poznial (GearRacing.com) 18 64 Jeremy Sartain (Bianchi/Grand Performance) 17 65 Bart Heirewegh (Deschacht-Merckx) 17 66 Jamiel Danesh (McGuire Pro Cycling) 16 67 Eduardo Vicencio (Aidas/Zeta Gas) 16 68 Burno Nella (Nella Madison) 16 69 Kirk Albers (Jelly Belly/Carlsbad Clothing) 15 70 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Pro Cycling) 15 71 Juan Curuchet (National Team Argentina) 13 72 Max Clauson (GS Ciao) 13 73 Ryan Blickem (Aidas/Zeta Gas) 13 74 Chuck Coyle (Vitamin Cottage) 12 75 John Durango (JC Investors) 12 76 Thomas Hallock (Northwest Cycling Club) 12 77 Derek Wilkerson (Hillenbrand/Specialized) 11 78 Roman Kilun (McGuire Pro Cycling) 11 79 David Guttenplan (Locos/Georgia Cycle Sport) 11 80 Gavin Chilcott (Dewar's Racing Team) 10 81 Peter Knudsen (Team Seasilver) 10 82 Ron Scherer (Northwest Cycling Club) 10 83 Michael Busa (Long John Silvers) 10 84 Sam Horn (Intermountain) 10 85 John Semmelhack (ABD Cycling Team) 9 86 Michael Ebert (ABD Cycling Team) 9 87 Leonardo Martinez (Cyclists Warehouse) 9 88 Gregg Medinilla (Team Monex) 8 89 Rudy Robaina (Cycle Science) 8 90 Jay Ku 8 91 Buck Miller (Jetful Coffee cycling team) 8 92 Bryce Mead (Bianchi/Grand Performance) 8 93 Jacob Erker (Team Seasilver) 7 94 Andrew Manart (Tiaa Cref) 7 95 John Puffer (ABD Cycling Team) 7 96 Dean Laberge (G.S. LOMBARDI SPORTS) 7 97 Brandon Gavic (Team Salsa Cycles) 7 98 Andrew Touchstone (G.S. Lombardi Sports) 7 99 Reid Mumford (XXX Racing/AthletiCo) 7 100 Daniel Larson (Cycle Science) 6 101 Gustavo Carillo (Aerospace Engineering) 6 102 Christian McCarthy (Vitamin Cottage) 5 103 Zach Fiocca (Higher Gear) 5 104 Jeff Courter (GS Ciao) 5 105 Scott Walters (Long John Silvers) 4 106 Paul Ellis (Jelly Belly) 4 107 Andy Clark (Rio Grande Cycling) 4 108 Clayton Barrows (RMCEF (Rocky Mtn. Cycling Ed. Foundation)) 4 109 Alex Welch (Power Train) 3 110 Ryan Gamma 3 111 Jason Snow (Team Fuji) 2 112 Karl Bordine (Team Monex) 2 113 Jim Baldesare (ABD Cycling Team) 2 114 Tristan Schouten (UW Health) 2 115 Robert Quinn (XXX Racing/Athletico) 2 116 Stefano Barberi (JC Investors) 2 117 Chad Gibson (Outdoorlights.com) 1 118 Brant Hendler (West Michigan Coast Riders) 1 119 Caine Opgrand (Parish Foundation cycling club) 1 120 Kyle Gritters (Team Monex) 1 121 Troy Critchlow 1 Sprint standings 1 David Fuentes (Morgan Stanley) 179 pts 2 John Puffer (ABD Cycling Team) 99 3 Victor Ayala (LaGrange) 97 4 Frank Pipp (Endeavour Cycling Team) 89 5 Karl Menzies (Team MGZT) 56 6 Andrew Crater (Team Monex) 46 7 Juan Curuchet (National Team Argentina) 36 8 Carlos Vargas (Endeavour Cycling Team) 32 9 Frank Dierking (ABD Cycling Team) 31 10 Peter Lopinto (Ofoto cycling team) 28 11 Nicholas Reistad (Endeavour Cycling Team) 27 12 Michael Sayers (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 26 13 Richard England (Team MGZT) 23 14 Dave McCook (McGuire Pro Cycling) 21 15 Harm Jansen (Helens RPM) 21 16 Walter Perez (Argentina National Team) 18 17 Paul Richards (Team MGZT) 18 18 Davide Frattini (Team Monex) 17 19 Dan Schmatz (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 17 20 Robbie Ventura (US Postal Service) 16 21 Troy Critchlow 15 22 Aaron Olson (Colavita Pro Cycling) 15 23 Adam Curry (Revolution Cycling Team) 15 24 Peter Knudsen (Team Seasilver) 15 25 Aric Hareland (Salsa Cycles) 13 26 Emile Abraham (Team Monex) 13 27 Wes Hartman (Team Mack) 11 28 Jamiel Danesh (McGuire Pro Cycling) 10 29 Chuck Coyle (Vitamin Cottage) 10 30 Frank Travieso (Cyclist Warehouse) 10 31 Granam Howard (ABG) 9 32 Jonas Carney (Jelly Belly) 9 33 Jeremiah Wiscovitch (LaGrange) 8 34 Mat Stephens (Mercy cycling) 8 35 Juan Gaspari (Argentina National Team) 8 36 Sterling Magnell (Sierra Nevada) 8 37 Brian Jensen (HRRC) 8 38 Jacob Nielsen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 8 39 Jon Tarkington (Vitamin Cottage) 7 40 Jackson Stewart (Ofoto.com Lombardi Sport) 7 41 Greg Henderson (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 7 42 Reid Mumford (XXX Racing/AthletiCo) 7 43 Christian McCarthy (Vitamin Cottage) 7 44 Daniel Ramsey (Team Seasilver) 6 45 Jose Estevez (Team DBL) 6 46 David Sachs (Alberto's Sport) 6 47 Ryan Hamity (RMCEF (Rocky Mtn. Cycling Ed. Foundation)) 6 48 Antony Galvan (Team DBL) 6 49 Gregg Medinilla (Team Monex) 6 50 Garrett Peltonen (Endeavour Cycling Team) 6 51 Roman Kilun (McGuire Pro Cycling) 5 52 Todd Weitzenberg (Rocknasium) 5 53 Reed Tanger (Evolution Cycling) 5 54 Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly - Aramark) 5 55 John Semmelhack (ABD Cycling Team) 4 56 Craig McCartney (Intermountain Color Cycling Team) 4 57 Sebastian Alexandre (Colavita Pro Cycling) 4 58 Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) 4 59 Robbert Van Der Stelt (Van Hemert-Eurogifts) 3 60 Thomas Hallock (Northwest Cycling Club) 3 61 Steve Tilford (BikeSource) 3 62 Buck Miller (Jetful Coffee cycling team) 3 63 Matt Bromen (LaGrange) 3 64 Nathan Miller (McGuire Pro Cycling) 3 65 Bill Stolte (HRRC) 3 66 Billy Jones (Endeavour Cycling Team) 3 67 Colin Beardsley (McGuire Pro Cycling) 2 68 Gavin Chilcott (Dewar's Racing Team) 2 69 Paul Ellis (Jelly Belly) 2 70 Karl Bordine (Team Monex) 2 71 John Cimbura (AST Cycling) 2 72 Jim Baldesare (ABD Cycling Team) 2 73 Ryan Nenninger (ABD Cycling Team) 2 74 Neil Shirley (Team Seasilver) 2 75 Michael Ebert (ABD Cycling Team) 1 76 John Lieswyn (Health Net presented by Maxxis) 1 77 Tim Granshew (Morgan Stanley 24 Hour Fitness/Specialized) 1 78 Jeff Courter (GS Ciao) 1 79 Brian Hammer (Hampshire Cycle Club) 1 80 Max Clauson (GS Ciao) 1 81 Stefano Barberi (JC Investors) 1
