September 7/08 12:26 pm - Univest Grand Prix: Parisien 5th

Posted by Editoress on 09/7/08
 

Univest Grand Prix
Courtesy Joe McDermott, Media Director, Univest Grand Prix

Garmin-Chipotle's Euser Takes Wet & Wild Univest Grand Prix

Garmin-Chipotle's Lucas Euser held off Frederick Ericsson of Cykelcity.se/Klerh Harrison in a wet and wild finish to the 2008 Univest Grand Prix, helping his team retain the title won last year by Will Frischkorn.

The young California rider broke away from Ericsson in the last laps of the 100-mile race, finishing in a downpour blown in from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.

"I love the bad weather," Euser said. "All of my best results have come in bad weather."

Euser and Ericsson held a more than two-minute lead in the finishing laps of the race and held off more than 20 riders to take the solo first and second place finishes. Euser's teammate, Pat McCarty finished third and Tyler Farrar, also of Garmin Chipotle, took fourth.

Francois Parisien of Team RACE Pro completed the podium with a fifth-place finish.

The race started under cloudy and humid conditions and the rains arrived in Souderton at about the same time the riders finished their 60-mile road race through the hills of Montgomery and Bucks County. The humidity, hills and hot competition wore at the riders throughout the race.

Ericsson, deemed the most aggressive rider of the race, said he was forced to expend additional energy because he was dropped in one of the breaks, and Euser played a team card with two of his teammates --McCarty and Farrar --close behind in the finishing circuits.

But Ericsson's efforts were not unrewarded. His constant pressure helped him win the Saab "Leader of Most Laps, Leidy's "Best Sprinter" and The Intelligencer's "Most Aggressive Rider" awards.

Euser, for his part, said he didn't want to come to the line with the strong Swede in tow.

The Univest Grand Prix has earned a reputation over the past 11 years as a race that tests the best riders. This is the second time the race has been run in the remnants of a tropical storm --Ivan--forced organizers to forego the road-race portion of the event in 2004 and riders raced in the short circuits through the borough of Souderton.

"This was great. This is what the Univest Grand Prix is all about," said race organizer John Eustice. "We have never had a big pack finish. It has always come down to a very small group, and most often it is one or two riders.

Bernardo Colex Tepez of the Tecos/Alderfer Auction team won the King of the Mountain competition and Jake Keough of the Kelly Benefits Strategies/Medifast team won the Sparta Youth Award.

Racing continues on Sunday, Sept. 7, with the fast-paced Univest Criterium of Doylestown. Riders such as Ukrainian Yuri Metlushenko of Amore e Vita/Mc/Donald's team and German Christian Lademann are expected to fare much better in that race. Lademann won the criterium two years ago and wants to regain the title. Metlushenko won a photo-finish sprint at the Lehigh Valley Classic in Allentown, Pa., in June and took second overall in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling.