Madison of the Americas - IM

Pennsylvania, USA, July 28, 2007

Results

Rain doesn't stop Madison of the Americas

Alejandro Action and Gustavo Artacho (Team Colavita – Sutter Home)
Photo ©: Todd Leister

This past Friday's Madison of the Americas featuring the Wilsey Tool Alaric Gayfer Junior Memorial Series was postponed until Saturday, July 28 due to heavy storms. Despite the bad weather on Friday, the riders were out in full force the following evening to showcase superb Madison racing action. At the close of the night, it was Team Colavita's Argentinean duo Alejandro Acton and Gustavo Artacho who took home the title of this year's Madison of the America's Champion.

The competition was stiff this weekend with riders such as defending champion Pete Fitzpatrick of Australia riding with Argentina's Sebastian Alexandre, and Rite Aid's Alejandro Borajo and Guido Palma. Throughout the three 50-lap Madisons the racing was tight and it was anyone's game until the final ride when Acton and Artacho pulled ahead for a show-stopping win.

In sprinting action, T-Town Express rider Ryan Nelman earned the win in the South Mountain Cycles Sprint Invitational. Fellow teammate Ben Barczewski seemed to be his biggest competition throughout the night, but Nelman rode hard and came out victorious, with Barczewski finishing second.

Liz Reap riding for the T-Town Express had an awesome night of racing, taking the win in both the 500m Chariot Race and the 1km Final. New Zealand's Jocelyn Rastrick was not far behind coming in second to Reap in each of those rides.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Todd Leister/www.leisterimages.com

Despite placards requesting that all spectators leave the stands during adverse conditions, these enthusiastic T-town fans get a soaking during the rain delay. Unfortunately, the weather won and the race was rescheduled for Saturday.
These junior cyclists receive high marks for efficiency.
Andy Kuklis and Paul Pearson (Team Bicycling) kick off the Madison of the Americas with the evening's first sling in front of a charging field.
Taylor Brown's (PA Lighting) pedal came off the spindle for the second week in a row. Jack Simes is on the job while Taylor waits to inform his partner and brother, Tucker that he'll have to go it alone for another lap. Afterwards, Jack was perplexed why the pedal, which should tighten while riding, defies common sense and unscrews.
Mike Beers (Rite Aid) starts a trend by attacking at the bell. His tactic proved successful as he was able to hold off his opponents for the entire lap.
Matt Diefenbach (Tri-State Velo) took a page out of Mike Beer's race manual and also went from the bell. The tactic saw Matt advance to the next round.
If it ain't broke don't fix it: Liz Reap goes with what's been working…
…and pulls away from the field on the final lap for the win.
Sebastian Alexander and Peter Fitzpatrick (Team Yakety Yak) stretch their arms to the maximum as Peter prepares to launch Sebastian.
Rodney Santiago and Chris Ruhl (Team CCG) make the best a weak grip.
Team Gotham show signs of fatigue while they lay their bikes over in an attempt to get as much power into the sling as possible.
It's good to see Jessen Kasper's (Oldense) return to the Lehigh Valley Velodrome after an unfortunate crash a few weeks back.
Ben Barczewski (T-Town Express) marks his return from the Pan-Am Games with a win in the qualifying round.
Ryan Nelman (T-Town Express) can barely manage a victory salute in a close victory against Nathan Seldon (New Zealand).
The heat and humidity combined with three 50 lap Madison's force Andy Kuklis (Team Bicycling) to swap his helmet for a cold-pack between races.
Liz Reap (T-Town Express) moves ahead as two New Zealand riders wait to pounce.
Racers blur past as a near full orange moon rises in the background.
Alejandro Action and Gustavo Artacho (Team Colavita – Sutter Home) displayed strong grips all night long.
Tucker and Taylor Brown (Team PA Lighting) prepare for the sling. Taylor's pedal stayed firmly attached this time.
Jackie Simes and David Wiswell display some unusual 'race faces' during the Madison.
Gustavo Artacho (Team Colavita – Sutter Home) ticks off the laps with precision as he and teammate Alejandro Acton stay ahead of the field during the third and final Madison of the night.
While a picture may be worth a thousand words, you could summarise this photograph of Barry Miller (Mike Fraysse Sports) with just one…popped.
The heat, humidity and three 50 lap Madison's had most riders showing the stress and hoping that the bell lap was near.
Alejandro Action and Gustavo Artacho (Team Colavita – Sutter Home) time their last sling perfectly as they cross the finish line together on the final lap for the win.
The riders and their holders prepare for the final sprint of the evening.
This time, Ryan Nelman (T-Town Express) has more than enough room to get the victory salute out.
Alejandro Action and Gustavo Artacho (Team Colavita – Sutter Home) take the top honors at the 2007 Madison of the Americas event hosted by the Lehigh Valley Velodrome.

Results

Elite Men - South Mountain Cycles Sprint Invitational

1 Ryan Nelman
2 Ben Barczewski
3 Kasper Jessen
4 Mike Beers
5 Matt Diefenbach
6 Nathan Seddon
7 Haseem Maclean
8 Simon VanVelthooven

Junior Men - Alaric Gayfer Memorial 2km

1 Tynan Farley
2 Gevan Samuel
3 Jeremy Shirock
4 Epes Harris
5 Jeffrey Alpert

Elite Women - Chariot Final

1 Liz Reap
2 Jocelyn Rastrick
3 Dana Feiss
4 Mindi Martin
5 Juliet Earle
6 Veronica Martinez
7 Shelbe Eck

Elite men - Madison final

1 Gustavo Artacho/Alejandro Acton
2 Alejandro Borrajo/Guido Palma
3 Pete Fitzpatrick/Sebastian Alexandre
4 Jackie Simes/Dave Wiswell
5 Tucker Brown/Taylor Brown
6 Brian Crosby/Bobby Miller
7 Chris Ruhl/Rodney Santiago
8 Jason Snow/Dan Larson

Elite Women - 1 km final

1 Liz Reap
2 Jocelyn Rastrick
3 Veronica Martinez
4 Dana Feiss
5 Mindi Martin
6 Juliet Earle
7 Shelbe Eck