Wendy's International Cycling Classic - NE

Ohio, USA, July 2-7, 2002

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Stage 1 - July 2: The Powell Cycling Classic, 30/45 miles

Freedman wins first stage and takes overall lead

By Daniel Larouche, Team RONA

Nicole Freedman (RONA) won the first of six races and took the lead in the overall rankings of the Wendy’s International Sports Festival. Freedman, the reigning US criterium champion, beat Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite) and Cathy Marsal (Saturn) in the final sprint of a 48 km criterium held in the streets of Powell, near Columbus, Ohio.

General Classification is established not according to time, but to accumulated points earned in mid-race sprints and final placings at each stage. Freedman has 46 points after the first race, as does Mayolo-Pic, but Freedman is the race leader because of her win.

All had not started well for Team RONA, however, as Melissa Holt, who was to be Freedman’s sprint lead-out, crashed in the very first lap. She climbed back on her bicycle with a 30" gap behind the peloton, but an official led her to believe that she was entitled to a free lap as provided for by the rules. Yet when the peloton came by, Holt was pulled out of the race because she had been lapped.

After that the peloton stayed together for most of the race, with Tina Mayolo-Pic winning the mid-race sprint in front of Nicole Freedman. With one lap to go, Cathy Marsal attacked and created a gap. Team RONA's Amy Jarvis, Gail Longenecker and Andrea Hannos went to the front and started to reel her in. When the gap was down to about 50 meters, Tina Mayolo-Pic and Nicole Freedman jumped out of the field and caught Marsal 10 meters from the finish line. Freedman got the better of her two rivals in the sprint.

Paul Martin wins for WV-Gomart

By Craig Slaughter, West Virginia-Gomart Cycling

This is the first day of a six day series of circuit races and criteriums in and around Columbus, OH. They are all National Ranking Calendar races so the fields include pros and some of the best amateurs in the country. Paul Martin wasn't intimidated, taking his sixth victory in two weeks.

Paul got in a break with Jay Sweet (Australian pro) and two others, one from the pro Jelly Belly team. Once they were out of sight on the two mile circuit it looked good, but the field eventually got organized and started to pull it back. The break came back to within 15 seconds but it was too late.

Paul, wary of the two excellent sprinters in the break, attacked them with a couple of kilometres to go and had the horsepower to hold them off.

Results

Pro/1/2/3 Women

1 Nicole Freedman (USA) Rona
2 Tina Mayolo-Pic (USA) Diet Rite
3 Catherine Marsal (Fra) Saturn
4 Sarah Uhl (USA) Dansko/Wheelworks
5 LeeAnne Menderson (USA) Team Cabot
6 Tania Duff-Miller (NZl) Freddie Fu
7 Emily Gloeckner (USA) Veritas
8 Brooke O'Connor (USA) NEBC/Cycle Loft
9 Graciela Martinez (Arg) Amoroso's/HH Racing
10 Sheba Farrin (USA) Lateral Stress Velo-Trek/VW
  
General classification after stage 1

1 Nicole Freedman (USA) Team RONA
2 Tina Mayolo-Pic (USA) Diet Rite

Pro/1/2 Men

1 Paul Martin (USA) West Virginia/GoMart
2 Jay Sweet (Aus) Saturn
3 Brian Forbes (USA) Jelly Belly
4 Gord Fraser (Can) Mercury
5 Jeff Hopkins (Aus) Jittery Joe's
6 Rahsaan Bahati (USA) Saturn
7 Brent Dawson (Aus) Jelly Belly
8 Grame Miller (NZl) Mercury
9 Joe Hill (USA) Big Shark Racing
10 Patrick O'Donnell (USA) West Virginia/GoMart