First Union Invitational - 1.3

Lancaster, USA, May 30, 2000

1999 results Results Preview Past Winners

Resurgent Saturn Team beats the best in Lancaster

By Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent

In a hard fought battle on an unseasonably cool and windy afternoon in Lancaster, PA, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, Trent Klasna took a narrow sprint win over his break companions as Team Saturn continued their mid-season comeback.

The fast, rolling 12km course in Lancaster combines hilly country roads with fast urban kermesse racing over 13 total laps. From the gun, the action was hot, as the first lap saw a quartet of Chris Horner (Mercury), Chris Wherry (Saturn), Matt Gilmore (MemeoryCard) and Eddy Gragus (Jelly Belly) get away. They quickly gained almost a minute, then dropped behind under the impulsion of the USPS and Saeco chase.

As the gap dropped, a counter attack of three riders (Fred Rodriguez-Mapei, Cesary Zamana-Mat, Jan Bratkowski-Mercury) bridged up and made it seven up front. Soon, other riders like World Champion Oscar Friere (Mapei-Quick Step), USPRO champ Marty Jemison (USPS) and Doug Ziewacz (7Up-Colorado Cyclist) bridged up,. However, the chase behind of USPS, MemoryCard and Saeco again doomed the break to failure.

Although the break did gain a maximum lead of 1'10" at one point, at the halfway mark with 6 laps to go in the feed zone in Rock Ford Park, the group was all together again and it was a new bike race.

After various unsuccesful attacks, Alessandro Guerra (Saeco-Valli & Valli) toook off on a brilliant solo move. Guerra went with 3 laps to go and moved out to a lead of 35", but no one was willing to go across to the flying Italian. Eventually strong work from Mapei, USPS and Mercury brought Guerra back, and on a countermove by Trent Klasna, the race winning break was formed. Klasna had been in front all afternoon and when he went, Memorycard strongman Michael Sandstød and Fred Rodriguez bridged up.

This trio quickly put distance on the peloton and although their gap never exceeded 30", with a tough pursuit behind from USPS and Mercury, they lasted until the end, where the peloton almost caught them from behind in the last 100 meters. Klasna took a flyer for the win, while Sandstød just squeaked by Rodriguez for runner-up.

Results

1 Trent Klasna (USA) Saturn Cycling Team                    3.21.04 (43.78 km/h)
2 Michael Sandstod (Den) Memory Card-Jack & Jones
3 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Mapei-Quick Step
4 Jan Bratowski (Ger) Mercury Cycling Team
5 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli
6 Arvis Piziks (Lat) Memory Card-Jack & Jones
7 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal Service
8 Oscar Freire (Ita) Mapei Quick Step
9 Timoty Jones (Zim) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin
10 Eddy Gragus (USA) Jelly Belly
11 Nicolay Bo Larsen (Den) Memory Card-Jack & Jones
12 Harm Jansen (Ned) Saturn
13 Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mat-Ceresit CCC
14 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Alexia Alluminio
15 Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators Cycling Team
16 John Lieswyn (USA) Team Shaklee
17 Frank Mccormack (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
18 Mark Walters (Can) Navigators Cycling Team
19 Ryan Guay (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
20 Andrew Randell (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
21 Mark McCormack (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
22 Oscar Pineda (Dom) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
23 Doug Ziewacz (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
24 Scottie Weiss (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
25 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step
26 Sylvain Beauchamp (Can) Team Shaklee
27 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Saeco-Valli & Valli
28 Leif Hoste (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step
29 Mike Creed (USA) Saeco-Valli&Valli
30 Ronnie Schmeer (USA) Nutra Fig-Noni
31 Julian Dean (NZl) US Postal Service
32 Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
33 Will Frischkorn (USA) Mercury Cycling Team
34 Antonio Cruz (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
35 Jamie Drew (Aus) Mercury Cycling Team
36 Scott Moninger (USA) Mercury Cycling Team                   0.33
37 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Mercury Cycling Team                   0.38
38 Jonathan Hamblen (USA) Navigators Cycling Team              2.18
39 Dirk Friel (USA) Jet Fuel Coffee                            2.29
40 Marty Jemison (USA) US Postal Service                       3.12
41 Frankie Andreu (USA) US Postal Service
42 Peter Wedge (Can) Team Shaklee
43 Chris Horner (USA) Mercury Cycling Team
DNS Graeme Miller (NZl) Team Shaklee
DNS Eric Wohlberg (Can) Team Shaklee
DNS Glen Mitchell (NZl) Team Shaklee
DNS David Mccook (USA) Team Shaklee
DNS Jamie Carney (USA) Team Shaklee
DNS Steve Sevener (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNS Thomas Kalstrup (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNS Jonathan Atkins (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNS Micah Rice (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNF Nicola Chseini (USA) Mapei Quick Step
DNF Philippe Koehler (Fra) Mapei-Quick Step
DNF Gianni Faresin (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step
DNF Jakob Storm-Piil (Den) Memory Card-Jack&Jones
DNF Bjarke Nielsen (Den) Memory Card-Jack & Jones
DNF Jacob Rasmusssen (Den) Memory Card-Jac&Jones
DNF Matthew Gilmore (Bel) Memory Card-Jack & Jones
DNF Dylan Casey (USA) US Postal Service
DNF Stefan Kjaeraard (Nor) US Postal Service
DNF Levy Leipheimer (USA) US Postal Service
DNF Kirk O'bee (USA) US Postal Service
DNF Benoît Joachim (Lux) US Postal Service
DNF Roy Knickman (USA) Mercury Cycling Team
DNF Floyd Landis (USA) Mercury Cycling Team
DNF Christopher Pic (USA) Mercury Cycling Team
DNF Kirk Willet (USA) Mercury Cycling Team
DNF Mike Barry (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
DNF Bart Bowen (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
DNF Robert Ventura (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
DNF Seth Pelusi (USA) Saturn Cycling Team
DNF Adham Sbeih (USA) Navigators Cycling Team
DNF Brendon Vesty (NZl) Navigators Cycling Team
DNF Paul Martin (USA) Navigators Cycling Team
DNF Elliot Hubbard (GBr) Navigators Cycling Team
DNF Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Navigators Cycling Team
DNF Franky Van Haesebroucke (Bel) Navigators Cycling Team
DNF Jesse Keefer (USA) Nutra Fig - Noni
DNF Jason McCartney (USA) Nutra Fig - Noni
DNF Donald Reeb (USA) Nutra Fig-Noni
DNF Jamul Hahn (USA) Nutra Fig-Noni
DNF John Foster (USA) Nutra Fig-Noni
DNF Alex Gardner (USA) Nutra Fig-Noni
DNF Ryan Allison (USA) Nutra Fig-Noni
DNF Paul Collins (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
DNF Steve Speaks (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
DNF John Corbett (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
DNF Anton Villatoro (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
DNF Mike Ley (USA) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
DNF Juan Pineda (Dom) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist
DNF Oscar Cavagnis (Ita) Alexia Alluminio
DNF Eddi Serri (Ita) Alexia Alluminio
DNF Marco Villa (Ita) Alexia Alluminio
DNF Maurizio Semprini (Ita) Alexia Alluminio
DNF Aldo Zennetti (USA) Alexia Alluminio
DNF Torsten Nitsche (Ger) Saeco-Valli & Valli
DNF Valentino China (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli
DNF Danny Pate (USA) Saeco-Valli & Valli
DNF Alessandro Guerra (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli
DNF Piotr Chmielewski (Pol) Mróz
DNF Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mróz
DNF Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mróz
DNF Chris Valenzuela (USA) Team Shaklee
DNF Colby Pearce (USA) Team Shaklee
DNF Jason Crookham (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
DNF Heath Cockburn (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
DNF Kevin Field (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
DNF Charly Gorman (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
DNF Giusseppe Giuliano (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
DNF Jonathan Hall (Aus) Festina-Lotus
DNF Sean Kelly (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee Cycling Team
DNF Piotr Przydzial (Pol) Mat-Ceresit CCC
DNF Krzystof Szafranski (Pol) Mat-Ceresit CCC
DNF Piotr Zaradny (Pol) Mat-Ceresit CCC
DNF Marcin Gebka (Pol) Mat-Ceresit CCC
DNF Slawomir Chrzanowski (Pol) Mat-Ceresit CCC
DNF Steve Hegg (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Scott Cochran (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Norm Carter (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Adam Livingston (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Kirk Albers (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Mariano Friedick (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Matt Minard (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Josh Collingwood (Aus) Jelly Belly
DNF Ryan Barnett (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNF Thomas Kalstrup (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNF Jonathan Atkins (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNF Dirk Friel (USA) Jet Fuel Coffee
DNF Russel Miller (USA) Zaxby's Cycling
DNF Antoine Bodwin (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Jim Laporte (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Joby Siciliano (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Alex Nunez (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Travis Hutchinson (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Navaro Ayala (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF John Bickmore (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Tim Erwin (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe
DNF Troy Reynolds (USA) Yahweh Tokyo Joe

Results courtesy of Domenica Lewis, First Union Cycling

Preview

By John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent

Lancaster is a city of about 60,000 people, located 74 miles west of Philadelphia. Situated right in the middle of Pennsylvania's farm country, Lancaster is commonly - if incorrectly - referred to as 'Pennsylvania Dutch Country', owing to its centuries-old settlements of German Amish and Mennonites. The film 'Witness', starring Harrison Ford, was filmed in the area, and Amish horse-drawn buggies are a common sight on local roads.

Cycling is fairly popular in the area: the local club, the Red Rose Rockets (so named because Lancaster is also known as 'the Red Rose City') has a junior developmental program that last year produced a national champion in Allie Warfel, who is now riding with the U.S. National Team. 2000 will be the ninth year that Lancaster has hosted the First Union Invitational.

Race Day Forecast: mostly sunny with a 20% chance of late day showers; high temperature of 75 degrees F, with winds of 5-10 mph.

What are the odds?

....that the First Union Invitational will be decided by:

A field sprint? Well, in nine years, there's barely ever been a group large enough to call a 'field' that's even finished, let alone contested the victory. This year doesn't look to be any different. The odds: 100:1

A large breakaway group (a half-dozen or more)? Possible, but not likely; the short, circuitous downtown course tends to favor smaller groups. The odds: 8:1

A trio in which two of the riders are teammates, but neither of whom end up winning? Not as long as you might think. It happened in both 1996 (when Chris Horner topped two U.S. Postal Service riders) and 1997 (when Chann McRae did the same to a Comptel duo). The odds: 4:1

A break of three or four? This is the best bet. Wile the winner may finish solo, he'll likely have been part of a small group right up until the final miles. The odds: even

What's the word from the riders?

John Lieswyn, Shaklee/Marin

"This is the hardest of the lead-up races, and probably harder than Philly itself. The thing is that, if you flat (and kids have thrown tacks on the road in years past, ostensibly to watch the drama of a wheel change!), you WON'T get back to the pack. The caravan is too short and the average speed is too fast. This race has always been my focus because, at 90 miles and without $35,000 for the win, the Euros aren't 'charged' to win as much as at Philly. I have a real shot at this one. On our team, it will be Eric (Wohlberg), Sylvain (Beauchamp), Glen (Mitchell), and I going for it."

Ronnie Schmeer, Nutra Fig/Noni

"As opposed to all the road and stage racing we've been doing the past two months, the First Union events are more like Belgian kermesses: short circuits, short & steep hills, not too long (except for Philly), and really aggressive racing. Lancaster is the hardest course with all the corners and short, steep hills. It's probably the best for me if I have good legs."

Anton Villatoro, 7 UP/Colorado Cyclist

"This race is a tough man's course. The cream rises to the top quickly in this one as the riders enjoy a roller coaster, single-file style race. The race loses riders from the back until you are left with a lead group of forty or so, a group that will eventually split in two. From the first group, there will develop a breakaway of anywhere from three to eight riders. This course requires a lot of power and the ability to maintain position at the front, as to not be gapped off. I have finished strongly in this one before - sometimes just finishing Lancaster is a feat in itself! Besides Sunday's U.S. Pro Championship course in Philadelphia, this course suits me very well - it is my best chance to show the goods before Philly and go for the win!"

Past Winners

1992 Roberto Pelliconi (Ita)
1993 Arvis Piziks (Lat)
1994 Andrea Peron (Ita)
1995 Fred Rodriguez (USA)
1996 Chris Horner (USA)
1997 Chan McCrae (USA)

1998 Frankie Andreu (USA) US Postal Service	147.5 kms in 3.23.17
1999 Jacob Piil (Den) Acceptcard             147.5 kms in 3.19.42

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