|
Wachovia
Invitational |
||||||||
|
Wachovia USPRO Championships - 1.2
USA, June 8, 2002
Main page Start list Latest live report
Complete live report
Produced by Kristy Scrymgeour with additional reporting by Tim Maloney
Start time: 9:00 EDT
Estimated finish time: 15:00 EDT
Welcome to the live coverage of The Wachovia USPRO Championships and the Wachovia Liberty Classic. Right now the men are on the line preparing to go out on the 250km race that consists of 3 short 1.6km opening laps around the start area, followed by ten 23km laps and three closing circuits of 4.8 kilometers each. The weather is overcast, but it is not raining. Yesterday it was pouring here and the roads were becoming flooded. There was talk of changing the course slightly because of the flooding, but that did not come into effect, the course remains the same. The Women will start ten minutes after the women and will do four laps of the 23km loop for a total of 90.6km.
8:59am
One minute until the start of the men's race and the atmosphere is buzzing. Already the crowds are lining the course and the commentator's are getting excited!
9:01am EST
The race is under way and already a webcor rider is attacking as the riders come back through the start finish line for the first starting lap.
9:07am EST
The riders come through the finish line for the final starting lap. It looks to be Nathan Russel from Colavita Bolla on the front. Another rider has attacked and the field is strung out already.
9:10am EST
The men are out on the main course now as the women line up on the start line. Attacks constant in the men's field. All being covered so far by Prime Alliance and Saturn.
9:14am EST
The women are now under way. There has been a small crash already with four riders down. One rider is Chris Harding-Kelly. Three of the riders are back up now and on their bikes. Harding Kelly is OK but this is the end of her race.As they head out of town, the T-Mobile team are setting the pace at the front.
9:20am EST
Mike Sayers from Health Net has punctured as the men head into Manayunc. His team have stopped to wait for him.
9:22am EST
The men are on their way up Manayunc Wall for the first time. The crowd there is huge already. The pace is not fast and the field is all staying together. Health Net are back with the field.
Cyclingnews spoke with Matt White (USPS) before the race. His tip for the race was to watch out for CSC. "CSC will be watching us and we will be watching them".
9:32am EST
There is a break in the men's field. Siro Camponogara (Navigators), Trent Klasna (Saturn), Tristan Hoffman (CSC) and Jonathan Vaughters (Prime Alliance).
The women are just cresting Manayunc Wall. There doesn't seem to be too much damage to the field.
Marco Gilli (Vini Caldirolo) is out in front on his own between the four break away riders and the bunch.
Jessica Phillips (Saturn) is off the front of the Women's field.
9:40am EST
The leading break of four in the men's field have already got 30" on the field as they come through the finish line at the end of the first lap. Tom Danielson is sitting in second wheel in the peloton protecting this teammate Trent Klasna's lead.
9:48am EST
The men's peloton are just cruising along now, piano piano. A small group of six riders are just off the front of the peloton attempting to bridge to the break away riders.
The Womens field are coming back through the finish line. There is a break of five riders with Kristin Armstrong and Dorothy Cowden (T-Mobile) , Katie Mactier and Jessica Phillips (Saturn), Margaret Hemsley (Nurnberger). They have 15 seconds on the field and the pace is fast.
9:56am EST
Trent Klasna is setting the pace of the four break away riders up the Manayunc Wall. The gap is now 1'45" to the field.
The break away rider, Klasna, Hoffman, Vaughters and Camponogara are all working well together as they ride back towards the finish line. The gap is now 2 minutes.
Eventually teams such as Saeco and Vini Caldirola who are working for Freddy Rodriguez will be wanting to bring this back. But right now there is no urgency with 200km still left to race.
10:08am EST
The women are heading up the Wall for the second time. The break has been caught. Riders are getting dropped off the back.
The men are coming back through the finish line with eight main laps to go. The gap is now 2'45". The four break away riders have coming up for a $1500 sprint, but they are not contesting it. Klasna takes it as he happens to be on the front at the time. Two riders are slightly off the front of the rest of the peloton. They are Nic Brown (Lemond Fitness captain craz z soap) and Wesley Seigler (West VA Pro Cycling). The leading four have three minutes on the field.
10:18am EST
The women's field are all together as they head towards the finish line at the end of their second lap. Petra Rossner (Nurnberger), who has won this race six times is sitting comfortable in the field.
10:24am EST
Women's peloton come back into the finish line. The pace is high and the riders are strung out in a straight line. A few small splits are forming because the pace is so high, but nothing major. T-Mobile very present on the front as the women now have 46km to go.
The four break away men now have 4 minutes on the field.
10:29am EST
Cyclingnews has just spoken to the director of the Saturn Women's team,Giana Roberge. She reports from the Saturn team car which is following the race that the race is very aggressive out there. T-Mobile and Saturn have been attacking constantly. Nurnberger are covering most break attempts and successfully brought back the first break of the day. There has just been another break of about 15 riders, but that too has been reeled in by the T-Mobile team.
10:36am EST
Karen Bockel (Rona Esker) has just attacked. Immediately covered by Katie Mactier of Saturn. With the womens race being so short it is usually very aggressive from the start. T-Mobile are trying to get a break away due to the fact that they really don't have a sprinter who can contend with the likes of Rossner, Ina Teutenberg (Saturn) and Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite). It is likely that quite a few teams would be hoping for a break away, knowing that if comes down to a sprint Rossner is almost impossible to beat.
10:41am EST
The break of four in the men's race now have over five minutes on the field. The two chasers, Brown and Siegler are about three minutes behind them and two minutes in front of the field.
In the women's field Dorothy Cowden has been taking the intermediate sprints at Manayunc Wall and Lemon Hill. Dede Barry and Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile), Katie Mactier and Jessica Phillips (Saturn) are also up there in the sprints.
In the men's race Trent Klasna has been taking all the sprint and KOM points, although the sprints are not really being contested in this break of four. They are all working well together although Hoffman seems to be the powerhouse of the break. His turns at the front are very strong.
10:56am EST
Manon Jutras (Saturn) has broken away from the women's field. She attacked just after the peloton went through the start finish line and now has a lead of 37". Jutras has been having an amazing season and has proved to be an excellent climber and domestique in the mountains. It looks like T-Mobile are chasing hard at the front right now. As the women come through the finish line again with only one lap to go the gap is 41" to the field. There does not seem to be a very organised chase yet.
11:08am EST
Jutras is looking very strong out in front. T- Mobile are doing everything they can to get across, but as of yet they have been unable to do so. Nurnberger don't seem to be getting a good chase together at this point.
In the men's field the four riders in the break are still comfortably out in front. The gap is coming down. It is now just over four minutes.
11:14am EST
Manon Jutras has just been caught by the T-Mobile team and Nurnberger have immediately gone to the front as the women's field head into Manayunc for the last climb with 14km remaining in the race.
Dedet Barry is really pushing the pace on the Wall. Saturn riders and Rossner with her Nurnberger teammates are just in behind her. Lyne Bessette has attacked towards the top of the hill and has an immediate gap on the field.
11:21am EST
Bessette is now away Barry who has bridged the gap, the field are not too far behind.
They have been caught and T- Mobile have launched another attack with Kim Anderson. She is caught and another attack by Kimberly Bruckner from T-Mobile. Saturn are covering it and Rossner is sittind in good position. Now another attack and the field is very strung out. The rider now int he lead. It is Lynn Gaggioli from Velo Bella.
11:28am EST
Gaggioli has quite a gap and looks strong. The field is totally split behind, there looks to be a group of about four chasing her. A group of five are now together at the front. Lyne Bessette, Kimberly Bruckner and Gaggioli, Judith Arndt and another T- Mobile rider.. Bessette has attacked and has a huge gap.
11:34am EST
Bessette is powering away with less than a kilometer to go. She has 10" on the chasing four and the bunch not far behind.
Bessette takes the win. Amazing ride from her as she held off a chasing field. Looks like Gaggioli taking second place from Arndt. This is the first time Rossner has not won this race since 1997. Teutenberg raises her hands in the field. Saturn wins this event again.
11:45am EST
Back to the men's race. The break of four (Klasna, Hoffman, Camponogara, Vaughters) are still in the lead. The gap is now 5'49" on the field. The two chasers (Brown and Seigler) are 3'45" behind the leaders.
12:00pm EST
As the riders come through the finish line with five main laps to go, the gap from the four leaders to the field is now over 6'. Brown and Seigler and 2'30 behind the leaders and Simone Masciarelli (Vini Caldirola) is in between them and the field alone.
12:12pm EST
The break has just reached the top of Manayunk for the sixth time. Klasna takes the points again for the KOM sprints. He now has 45 points. Vaughters sits in second with 25 points and Camponogara is third with 11. They are now 4' clear of Brown and Seigler and about 6' clear of the pack.
12:35pm EST
The gap is starting to come down now. The four leaders have four minutes on the field and Formaggi Pizolo are really trying to get the chase going. Alan Iacuone (Flanders Iteamnova) is attacking in the field. He has been having a great season and is feeling really good this week. Brown and Seigler are still out there just dangling in front of the field.
1:17pm EST
Peloton is now entering Manayunk again. CSC are chasing on the front. Formaggi are still up there too and the gap is now still at 2 minutes. Trent Klasna is leading the climb again. He has had a remarkable ride, particularly since he has come off an injury. He will be looking to pick up a few more points for the Subaru Mountain challenge aspect of this race. He takes the points again. He now has 65 points and Vaughters has 35. Camponogara is struggling on this climb and has been dropped. The break is down to three riders. Klasna, Vaughters and Hoffman.
Apparently Massimiliano Mori from Formaggi Pinzolo is feeling good out there and his team are working to bring back that break for him.
1:01pm EST
The opening time trial of the Dauphine Libere has just finished. For brief results (so far) of the prologue, click here.
1:04pm EST
The break of four (Klasna, Hoffman, Vaughters and Camponogara) are gradually being reeled in. They have just passed the finish line with three more main laps to go before they enter into the smaller finishing laps. Formaggi Pinzolo have really been working hard to bring it back. CSC are looking better with every lap The gap is now just over 2 minutes.
US Postal Service have not really been playing a big part at all in the race so far. Our reporter Tim Maloney has just been talking to a couple of the team directors. No-one can really understand why Postal are not willing to join in the chase.
1:35pm EST 60km to go
The three leaders are now coming throught the start finish line with a lead of one minute on the field. They are really having a great day. The field is chasing but they are really quite inconsistent. Postal have started to ride, and they are chasing a bit, Vini Caldirola are chasing a bit. Andrea Tafi had to stop after the descent for a wheel change. CSC slowed it down on the front and he is now back in with the bunch. The speed in the peloton is now real fast. With 60km to go there is plenty of time to bring these front three back and right now there is none of the teams are seeing the need to panic.
1:43pm EST
The gap is now 1'20". The fact that the gap to the peloton is up and down shows that there are a lot of tactics being played out in the peloton. With still quite a way to go, most teams will be happy to leave the break out there at about a minute. The race could finish in many different ways. If it comes down to a sprint, riders such as Julian Dean, Fred Rodriguez and even Max Van Heeswijk will be the ones to watch.
1:51pm EST
The three leaders are now on the Manayunk Wall again. The break is now getting caught half way up the wall. Nathan O'Neill has immediately counter attacked and has a gap on the field but CSC are chasing hard.
1:55pm EST
O'Neill is caught now and the field is strung with CSC leading the way.
1:57pm EST
There has been an attack by Matt White (USPS) but it was caught straight away. CSC are also attacking, as are postal again.Jason McCartney (7UP-Maxis) is also active at the front. Nothing is eventuating from these attacks yet.
2:02pm EST
Bunch still together but attacks are constantly coming. Klasna had an awesome day out there and leads the Subaru Mountain Competition, but he will have to finish within 5% of the leaders time to keep this title.
A big attack now from Jakob Piil. CSC are working really hard now and their teammate Dean is looking great in the bunch. Saturn have O'Neill and Mark McCormack near the front keeping the pace high. Prime Alliance are keeping a good eye on Saturn.
2:10pm EST - 33km to go
Lars Michaelson just covered a break and is leading the peloton as they head out onto the course with 33km to go. Attacks continue by Saturn and other teams, but all still together.
2:20pm EST- 27km to go
82 riders remain in the field as the peloton ride through the town of Manayunk for the last time. Soon they will turn right for their last climb. Pace pretty slow right at this moment.
2:23pm EST
Igor Astarloa (Saeco) is attacking on the climb. He has quite a gap at the top.
He has been caught by Lieswyn and now the rest of the pack as they begin the descent. Freddy Rodriguez is right up there in the action as in Julian Dean, both favourites for the sprint at the end.
Matt White attacks but Saturn are right up there to cover him.
2:30pm EST
Michael Barry (USPS) counters another move by White, but is immediately caught by CSC. More counter attacks by CSC as the field remains very aggressive as they head towards the finish line to start the final three 4.8km finishing laps.
2:36pm EST
Jakob Piil (CSC) has attacked again and is joined by Health Net. Saturn chased and they are all together and the field is really strung out. They are just reaching the finishing circuits and the crowd are going crazy.
2:39pm EST 14km to go
There is a split in the field. Rapinski attacks, and White counters. Now an attack from Domonique Perras (Flanders Iteamnova) gets a good gap.
Barry attacks again but is caught by Formaggi as Danny Pate counters.He too is caught with Saeco sitting on the front. It is single file as they come back past the finish line.
2:47pm EST
Riders are out on Lemon hill with one and a half laps to go. Navigators are sitting on the front. Postal attack again and 7UP goes too. There are now five riders in the lead. Fred Rodriguez in in the group as well as John Lieswyn, Matt White, David Clinger and one rider from CSC (Van Bondt).
2:52pm EST - 4.8km to go
Mike Sayers attacks as the bell rings with one lap to go, but is reeled in. The bunch is all together as they approach Lemon Hill for the last time. Saeco are powering on the front.
2:55pm EST
A group of about 7 are out in front and the field has split. Field are not far behind though. All back together again with only about 2km to go.
The sprint has started. Very close finish. Unofficial winner is Stefano Zanini from Saeco , but we may have to wait for a photo finish.
Coming in second was Uros Murn (Formaggi Pinzolo), Julian Dean (CSC) in third and Mark McCormack (Saturn) in fourth. McCormack becomes the new US Pro Champion as he is the first US rider to finish.
Cyclingnews reporter Tim Maloney talked with Zanini after the race. "It was a really great race for me, this is the first victory for me in Saeco. I really want to thank my team and my family who have been so supportive."
Full results, report and photos will be posted here. Thanks for watching our live coverage!
