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Celebrity Classic Criterium - NE
Van Buren, Arkansas, September 24-25, 2005
The Moninger machine rolls on
Even with Hurricane Rita's aftermath of heavy rain and wind the Celebrity Classic featured a great race day in downtown Van Buren, Arkansas, and attracted a handful of pros from around the country. Called to the line for the 90-minute criterium on Saturday were 2005 National Racing Calendar winner Scott Moninger (Health-Net) together with some great sprinters like Dan Schmatz (Kodak-Gallery/Sierra Nevada) and Dave McCook (Jelly Belly), runner-up at the recent USPRO Criterium Championships in Downers Grove, IL. Right with the start of the Pro 1,2 race a cold front came in, temperatures dropped to 75 degrees and heavy rain came down, which made conditions extremely tricky on a very technical course. Not so for Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly), Michael Sayers (Health-Net), Glen Mitchell (Kodak-Gallery/Sierra Nevada), Brian Jensen (BikeSource) and Scott Moninger (Health-Net) who escaped from the field early and worked well together to maintain their lead.
In the pack, it was the hometown Mercy Cycling team chasing hard to get their newly crowned Elite Criterium National Champion Brad Huff to the front. Watching the race from the outside it was obvious that it was amateurs versus pros and today Alex Candelario made in 1-0 for the pros when he scored the win in a sprint against Michael Sayers and Glen Mitchell. Rounding up the podium was Brian Jensen in 4th and Scott Moninger in 5th place. With only 23 riders out of 50 finishing the crit, race promoter Hector Mendoza was right: "This course is very demanding on the riders. It's always single-file and you don't have time to recover. Only the strongest racer can win this race. That's why we picked that course. With the rain, it was even more difficult." Coming here to Arkansas after a great year with many wins Scott Moninger looked good throughout the race and was hoping for another win - this time for his Health-Net teammate Michael Sayers. "I did an uphill time trial yesterday (The Cavanal Hill Climb in Poteau, Oklahoma - Ed) and wasn't so fresh, so we tried to set it up for Sayers. It didn't work quite that well; Alex was too strong today. We'll see tomorrow."
In the Women's Open Race, former pro Andrea McAdams showed that you don't need a team to win bike races. Early on she got in a break with Heather Brice (Mercy Cycling) and Shannon Koch (Team La'Sport), newly crowned junior national road and time trial champion. The trio lapped the field and in the sprint it was a strong McAdams who powered to the line to take the win in front of Brice and Koch.
Leading up to this event, race promoter Hector Mendoza got many phone calls and emails from riders concerned about the weather for the Celebrity Classic. "Many riders thought this weekend is going to be full of rain because Hurricane Rita's aftermath", he said. But on Sunday the sun was out all day and downtown Van Buren, AR, saw another day of great racing in its streets. The Pro 1,2 race was going to be another challenge where amateurs could measure themselves with some of the nation's best pros. Right from the start the heat was on and an incredible strong Scott Moninger (Health-Net) showed why he's the 2005 National Racing Calendar winner for a reason. In less than 40 minutes of racing he lapped the entire field and it was going to be difficult to take the win from Health-Net. While Moninger caught on to the pack his teammate Michael Sayers escaped from the field together with Glenn Mitchell (Kodak-Gallery/Sierra Nevada) and Bill Stolte (BikeSource). Those three were racing for second place while the pack did some "damage control" and chased hard to prevent losing another lap. At the end it was Glen Mitchell taking the sprint from Michael Sayers for second place and a pretty happy Scott Moninger crossed the line in the field knowing he was one lap up.
In the Women's Open Race Andrea McAdams, racing unattached, repeated her win from Day 1. After winning yesterday out of a breakaway of three she soloed away midway through the race and nobody could follow her. Stacey Bertsch (Mercy Cycling) took the field sprint ahead of Samantha Schneider (Endeavour) for second. Andrea's husband, Rory McAdams, a Cat.1 racer from Tyler, TX, saw his wife winning both days: "Even though she's not on a pro team anymore, she still trains regularly and obviously it works out well," he said, smiling from ear to ear.
Results
Day 1 - Saturday Mens Pro 1,2 1 Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly) 2 Michael Sayers (Healthnet/MAXXIS) 3 Glen Mitchell (Kodak) 4 Brian Jensen (HRRC) 5 Scott Moniger (Healthnet/MAXXIS) 6 Matt Ankney (Mercy Cycling Team) 7 Dave McCook (Jelly Belly) 8 Steve Tilford (HRRC) 9 Charles Huff (Mercy Cycling Team) 10 Dan Schmatz (Kodak) 11 Bill Stolte (HRRC) 12 Janne Hamablien (Tulsa Wheelmen) 13 Randy Parker (Herbalife) 14 Stefan Rothe (Mercy Cycling Team) 15 Chad Cagle (Mercy Cycling Team) 16 Mike Jones (Healthnet/MAXXIS) 17 Brice Jones (Jelly Belly) 18 Edgar Iberra (Matrix CC) 19 Rory McAdams (GS Tenzing) 20 Todd Metz (Revolution) 21 Max Miley (Matrix CC) 22 Matt Seagrave (Compliance Dept) 23 Russ Hamby (Kodak) 24 Nathan Rogut (Compliance Dept) 25 Andrew Malcom (River City) 26 Jarred Gilker (MSU) 27 Leo Frayre (Matrix CC) 28 Chris Hamilton (Matrix CC) 29 Doug Greek (Mercy Cycling Team) 30 Justin Jackson (Matrix CC) 31 Eddie Swedlund (Matrix CC) 32 Samual Montag (Matrix CC) 33 Ryan Heydenrych (Mesa Cycle) 34 Ben Upchurch (Johnson Mechanical) 35 Scott Barnes (Champion Cycling) 36 Russle Tolle (River City) 37 Greg Eberdt (CARVE) 38 Michael Lanyon (Mesa Racing) 39 Scott Veggeberg (Compliance Dept) 40 Steve Cate (Mercy Cycling Team) 41 Ryan Fiddler (Mercy Cycling Team) 42 Blake McMahon (Mercy Cycling Team) 43 Shaun Bonquita (Compliance Dept) 44 Josh Lewis (Tulsa Wheelmen) 45 Winfield Gibson (Tulsa Wheelmen) 46 Alex Welch (Mercy Cycling Team) 47 Troy Dunton (Compliance Dept) 48 Andres Artega (Matrix CC) Womens Open 1 Andre McAdams (Unattached) 2 Heather Brice (Mercy Cycling Team) 3 Shannon Koch (Team Lasport) 4 Melissa Cox (Mercy Cycling Team) 5 Samantha Schneider (Endeavour) 6 Anne Meyer (Mercy Cycling Team) 7 Stacey Bertsch (Mercy Cycling Team) 8 Mindi Martin (Mercy Cycling Team) 9 Miranda Quigley (ORBU) 10 Rebecca Gross (OKC Velo) Mens Category 3,4 1 Andrew Dahlheim (Matrix) 2 Tim Tobbe (Champion Cycling) 3 Anthony LaSorsa (OKC Velo) 4 Jason Sciaroni (Dogfish) 5 Derek Goerke (Velo Teck) 6 Bryan Fawley (Wheels In Motion) 7 Mike Stewart (Champion Cycling) 8 Joeseph Schmalz (Velo Teck) 9 Jason Pratt (OKC Velo) 10 Austin Ficx (Velo Teck) 11 Joey Mesa (B1 Rocks) 12 Jason Macom (Mercy Cycling Team) 13 Buster Brown (OKC) 14 Andreas Angulo (Tyson) 15 Scott Hill (Dent Wizard) 16 Keith Hargis (Matrix) 17 J Rod Barcenialla (Tyson) 18 Armando Sanchez (KSOI) 19 John LaSorsa (OKC Velo) 20 Bruce Dunn (Tyson) 21 Bob Newall (Johnson Mechanical) 22 Mathew Edmunds (Tyson) 23 Dan Bischoff (Dent Wizard) 24 James Mitchel (TPC) 25 Carl Sunquit (Mercy Cycling Team) 26 Charles Long (My Bike Store) 27 Shane Harden (Tyson) 28 Paxton Roberts (Tyson) 29 Loni Kennedy (Mesa Cycles) 30 Kurtis Albrecht (Velo Teck) 31 Nathan Leigh (Tulsawheelman) Womens Cat 3,4 1 Miranda Quigley (ORBU) 2 Michelle Jensen (Free State Racing) 3 Rebecca Gross (OKC Velo) 4 Sheri Jordan (MSU/HHH) 5 Stephanie Schlaack (Compliance Depot) Day 2 - Sunday Mens Pro 1,2 1 Scott Moniger (Healthnet/MAXXIS) 2 Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 3 Michael Sayers (Healthnet/MAXXIS) 4 Bill Stolte (HRRC) 5 Dan Schmatz (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 6 Brian Jensen (HRRC) 7 Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly/PoolGel) 8 Chad Cagle (Mercy Cycling Team) 9 Charles Huff (Mercy Cycling Team) 10 Matt Seagrave (Compliance Depot) 11 Randy Parker (Herbalife) 12 Dave McCook (Jelly Belly/PoolGel) 13 Brice Jones (Jelly Belly/PoolGel) 14 Steve Tilford (HRRC) 15 Edgar Iberra (Matrix Cycle Club CC) 16 Max Miley (Matrix Cycle Club CC) 17 Ryan Fiddler (Mercy Cycling Team) 18 Rory McAdams (GS Tenzing) 19 Winfield Gibson (Tulsa Wheelmen) 20 Eddie Swedlund (Matrix Cycle Club CC) 21 Troy Dunton (Compliance Depot) 22 Justin Jackson (Matrix Cycle Club CC) 23 Matt Ankney (Mercy Cycling Team) 24 Shaun Bonquita (Compliance Depot) 25 Mike Jones (Healthnet/MAXXIS) 26 Stefan Rothe (Mercy Cycling Team) 27 Nathan Rogut (Compliance Depot) 28 Russ Hamby (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 29 Jarred Gilker (MSU) 30 Leo Frayre (Matrix Cycle Club CC) 31 Chris Hamilton (Matrix Cycle Club CC) 32 Tim Tobbe (Champion Cycling) 33 Doug Greek (Mercy Cycling Team) 34 Scott Barnes (Champion Cycling) 35 Michael Lanyon (Mesa Racing) 36 Scott Veggeberg (Compliance Depot) 37 Steve Cate (Mercy Cycling Team) 38 Blake McMahon (Mercy Cycling Team) 39 Alex Welch (Mercy Cycling Team) 40 Keith Franklin (Tulsa Wheelmen) 41 Josh Lewis (Tulsa Wheelmen) Women Open 1 Andre McAdams (Unattached) 2 Stacey Bertsch (Mercy Cycling Team) 3 Samantha Schneider (Endeavour) 4 Anne Meyer (Mercy Cycling Team) 5 Heather Brice (Mercy Cycling Team) 6 Shannon Koch (Team Lasport) 7 Melissa Cox (Mercy Cycling Team) 8 Michelle Jenson (Freestate Racing) 9 Miranda Quigley (ORBU) 10 Rebecca Gross (OKC Velo) Men Cat 3/4 1 Derek Goerke (GP Velotek) 2 Bryan Fawley (Wheels In Motion) 3 Jason Sciaroni (Dogfish) 4 Andrew Dahlheim (Matrix Cycle Club) 5 Mike Stewart (Champion Cycling) 6 Armando Sanchez (KCOI) 7 Carl Sundquist (Mercy Cycling Team) 8 Nathan Leigh (Tulsawheelman) 9 Scott Hill (Dent Wizard) 10 Joeseph Schmalz (GP Velotek) 11 J Rod Barcenialla (Tyson) 12 Austin Fic (GP Velotek) 13 Paxton Roberts (Tyson) 14 Andreas Angulo (Tyson) 15 Mathew Edmunds (Tyson) 16 Keith Hargas (Matrix Cycle Club) 17 Dan Bischoff (Dent Wizard) 18 Tim Tobbe (Champion Cycling) 19 Joey Mesa (B1 Rocks) 20 Charles Long (My Bike Store) 21 Shane Harden (Tyson) 22 Emery Dawson (OCC) 23 Brandon Caveer (OKC Velo) Women Cat 3/4 1 Rebecca Gross (OKC Velo) 2 Miranda Quigley (ORBU) 3 Stephanie Schlaack (Compliance Depot) 4 Michelle Jensen (Free State Racing) 5 Sheri Jordan (MSU/HHH) 6 Delona Williams (Tyson)
