Reading Classic Bike Race

6.06.08

COMMERCE BANK READING CLASSIC PROVES THIRD YEAR IS A CHARM

June 6, 2008: Oscar Sevilla unleashed a bold solo attack in the waning moments of Thursday’s Commerce Bank Reading Classic, then held on for victory at the second round of the Triple Crown of Cycling series.

The triumph was the biggest to date for Sevilla’s California-based Rock Racing team, and pushed the lithe climbing specialist into a tie atop the overall Triple Crown standings with Ukrainian Yuri Metlushenko who won the series’ opening round race on Tuesday in Allentown.

Sevilla, Metlushenko and the rest of this top international field that’s here in southeastern Pennsylvania are all vying for a piece of the $93,500 prize purse that includes a $10,000 bonus for the series winner.

Sevilla carded a time of 2 hours, 47 minutes and 11 seconds in the 75-mile race, with Team High Road’s Edval Boasson Hagen six seconds back, and 2007 Triple Crown series winner Bernard Eisel (Team High Road) leading home the field, another three seconds in arrears.

Thursday’s endgame didn’t come until late in the eighth of 10 laps (seven of the main 6.77-mile circuit, plus three final long laps with the decisive Mt. Penn climb added in). It was then that Sevilla, and Team Type I riders Moises Aldape and Valeriy Kobzarenko bridged across to Tecos-Trek’s Bernardo Solex.

The final foursome crossed the start/finish together, and then started to hammer away, desperately trying to hold off a hard-charging main field. Four soon became two, with Solex and Aldape fading. Then Kobzarenko cracked under Sevilla’s blistering pace.

“Initially my plan was just trying to get the other teams nervous and set it up for Freddy,” said Sevilla, alluding to his team’s designated sprinter, American Fred Rodriguez. “But the race was very fast all day, so I knew the others’ legs would not be so fresh.”

His tactic worked to perfection, and after burying himself over the climb, and into the final flat miles, the Spaniard was finally able to sit up and enjoy the moment.

“I never looked back until only 500 meters were left,” Sevilla said. “It was a very hard day.”

Much of that pain resulted from a 17-rider break that nearly blew the race apart on the first of three trips up Mt. Penn. The move included a star-studded cast with the likes of Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis), Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United), Sevilla and Eisel, who won the opening two rounds of the 2007 Commerce Bank Triple Crown on his way to the series title.

But with so many heavy hitters up front, and no one willing to completely cooperate, the big break was pulled back.

“We made our main move in that big break,” said Eisel. “After that I think everyone was feeling tired, and Sevilla was very strong. He deserved this win.”

The Triple Crown’s 25-team field now gets two days off before reconvening for the Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship at 9 a.m. Sunday. Celebrating its 24th running, this epic 156-mile test of mettle begins and ends on Philadelphia’s famed Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

In between, a fast field of the world’s 200 best cyclists will hurtle their way around 10 laps of the 14.4-mile primary circuit that includes the infamous Manayunk Wall, with its always-raucous fans and precipitous grades that exceed 17 percent. The 10 long laps are followed by three testing finishing circuits up and over Lemon Hill before the 2008 champion is crowned.

Commerce Bank Reading Classic Women’s Criterium

Teutenberg charges to another Triple Crown triumph

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg continued her dominating run at the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling, taking her fifth straight win with a commanding performance at the Commerce Bank Reading Classic women’s criterium on Thursday.

Teutenberg was part of a five-rider group that broke away from the field about halfway through the 25-mile race that traced a 1.8-mile circuit through downtown Reading. On the last lap the German High Road rider punched the accelerator with 200 meters to go, easily out-gunning Team Tibco’s Joanne Kiesanowski. Cheerwine’s Laura Van Gilder was third in the race that lasted one hour, one minute and 23 seconds.

Teutenberg also won the Lehigh Valley Classic criterium on Tuesday in Allentown, and swept the Triple Crown series a year ago.

“No way,” answered Teutenberg when asked if winning ever gets old. “Each one is a little different, so you appreciate them all.”

Unlike on Tuesday when Teutenberg had to bury herself to make a solo bridge across to the decisive breakaway, this time she was part of the key selection that was initiated by Kristin Armstrong, team leader of the Swiss-based Cervelo-Lifeforce squad and a U.S. Olympic hopeful. Only Teutenberg, Kiesanowski, Van Gilder and Alison Powers (Colavita-Sutter Home) could respond to the 2006 world time trial champion’s move, quickly making the race a five-rider affair.

“Kristin went with Ina on her wheel,” explain Kiesanowski, who is married to former Tour de France rider Jeff Pierce. “It was clear that was going to be the big break of the day.”

What wasn’t clear is how to beat Teutenberg. Despite doing the lion’s share of the work in the break, the two time Liberty Classic winner had little problem taking the sprint at the end.

“No one was really working that hard in the break so the time came down a lot on the last lap,” explained Teutenberg of a gap that was cropped from 60 seconds to just 13 by the finish. “I came into the final straightaway on Alison Power’s wheel and then just had a go. It was a bit of an uphill to the finish so it was better to start my sprint from a ways out because there’s less of a draft.”

Teutenberg’s final burst generated a 950 watts reading on her on-bike power meter, a device commonly used by cyclist’s to measure their efforts during training and racing.

Once again Teutenberg managed her feat minus the assistance of teammates. The rest of the High Road women are in Quebec contesting the final day of Le Tour du Grand Montreal. Following that race’s conclusion, they’ll make the trip south to Philadelphia to race Sunday’s Liberty Classic. The 56.7-mile event is run on the same circuit as the men’s Philadelphia International Championship.

In both cases competition begins and ends on Philadelphia’s famed Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In between, the world’s fastest women cyclists will scratch and claw their way around four laps of the grueling 14.4-mile circuit that includes the infamous Manayunk Wall, which boasts precipitous grades in excess of 17 percent. At stake in the three-race series is a $27,200 prize purse that includes $5000 for the overall winner – a title Teutenberg looks destined to defend.

Commerce Bank Elite Amateur Criterium Race Report

Fuentes makes it 2-for-2 with sprint win in Reading

When you call in ringers, you usually get results. That was certainly the case Thursday in Reading at the elite amateur criterium that kicked off round No. 2 of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling. The heavy hitter was Ashburn, Virginia resident Dave Fuentes, who was recruited by the Reading-based Dynaflo Racing team, and subsequently delivered his second Commerce Bank Triple Crown criterium win in three days.

Dynaflo is a category 3 team, meaning its riders couldn’t start either of the cat. 1/2 criteriums that opened this year’s Triple Crown racing slate at the Lehigh Valley Classic on Tuesday and then Thursday’s Reading Classic. But instead of just watching from the sideline, the local outfit brought in several members of the Washington D.C.-based cat. 1 Battley Cycles-Harley Davidson squad, outfitted them in Dynaflo team kit, and turned them loose on this top-flight amateur field.

The result was Fuentes’ two triumphs, plus a second-place effort from Ryan Dewald on the twisting Reading course. Armando Borrajo (Colavita) was third in the race that lasted 55 minutes and 14 seconds.

“We’ve got some guys on our current team that used to ride for Dynaflo,” explained Evan Fader. “So when they called us up we were psyched to come up and race in their colors.”

Unlike Tuesday’s affair, when Fuentes won out of a two-man break, the field was leery of his skills Thursday, marking him all the way to the finish. That meant a full-out bunch sprint along a crowd lined Penn St. in downtown Reading.

“We had a perfect lead-out with four guys going into the last lap,” explained Fuentes, 35, who works as a loss prevention manager for Nordstrom’s. “It was so good we got the first two spots on the podium.”

The well-attended event parceled out $2150 to the top 20 finishers, including $500 to the winner. The 15-team elite amateur field included squads from New England, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia and six Pennsylvania squads.

Both elite amateur criteriums were in part meant to foster youth cycling development by requiring each team to include at least one under-23 or junior rider. These younger riders contested a race within the race, with the best placed U23 each day taking home $75. Thursday’s winner was Penn State’s Eliot Gaunt, who placed sixth overall.

Source: Pro Cycling Tour