October 3/04 4:38 am - Road Worlds Men's Update, Kabush Third

Posted by Editor on 10/3/04
 

Road Worlds - Verona, Italy

Men's Road Race

There are approximately 75 kilometres left in the men's 265 kilometre race. Currently there are 5 riders off the front of the peloton - Sylvain Calzati (France), Steve Zampieri (Switzerland), Koos Moerenhout (Netherlands), Bartosz Huzarski (Poland), Frank Hoj (Denmark). They have just over two minutes on the peloton. Charles Dionne attacked the peloton at the end of lap 13, but was quickly brought back.

Five kilometres in, French rider Christophe Le Mevel attacked, and was joined on lap five by Vladimir Efimkin of Russia. The duo managed to carve out a maximum lead of seven and a half minutes, but by the halfway point the peloton were starting to crank things up. On the tenth lap (of 18) the peloton had a small split over the top of the Torricelle climb, with 25 riders getting clear and closing on the two leaders. The chase group caught the leaders at the end of next lap, but the peloton was chasing hard and caught everyone on lap 12. This set the stage for counter attacks on the climb, and the current lead group formed.

One of the more interesting developments has been ongoing problems suffered by Olympic champion Paolo Bettinin (Italy). bettini has been back to his team car multiple times for mechanical assistance and with an apparent knee problem. he is still with the peloton, but at the back on the climb, and has been brought back up more than once by his team mates. This brings back memories of last year, when Bettini was also the designated leader of the Italian squad, and didn't have it at the end.


Star Crossed Cyclo-cross - Redmond, WA
Courtesy Giant-Maxxis

The UCI cyclocross calendar officially kicked off the season at the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond Washington this past Saturday evening. Held under the lights, through the Tona Cerveza Garden and up and around the velodrome, the third annual Star Crossed drew the top talent in North America.

Team Maxxis-Giant rolled out the big guns with all riders in attendance. Geoff Kabush, Adam Craig and Jonny Sundt rolled to the start line aboard their new Giant TCX bikes, Zipp wheels and Maxxis rubber. At the gun, Sundt and Kabush immediately went to the front of the group with Craig just off the leader. As the protected rider for the night, it was Craig's job to stay out of the wind and out of trouble until late in the race and a hopeful victory.

As the pace wound up, Sundt maintained the high pace at the head of affairs riding in support of his teammates. The fast pace took its toll on the competitors as the lead group slowly dwindled down to a select few. Todd Wells (Hyundai-GT) took a good flyer and opened an immediate gap to the chasers with Kabush, Sundt, Russell Stevenson (BRI Racing) and a distanced Carl Decker (Giant-Peal Izumi) working feverishly to reel him back to the group. Accelerations from other riders spread the chase with Kabush working each lap to bring back Wells.

With only four laps remaining, Kabush made contact with Wells leaving Sundt, Stevenson and Decker together at a 10 second deficit. Wells and Kabush worked smoothly together but their pace had slowed enough that Decker made contact within a laps time. The three leaders rode together as Sundt dropped Stevenson and accelerated in an effort to bridge the gap.

At two and a half laps to go, Kabush bobbled in a corner, laying his bike over and losing contact with Wells and Decker. With two and then a single lap remaining, Kabush worked valiantly to bring back the escaped duo to no avail. At the finish it was Carl Decker escaping from Todd Wells to claim the prize. Kabush and teammate Sundt tolled across the line in third and fourth, Stevenson in fifth and Adam Craig in thirteenth.

Men's A
1. Carl Decker Giant-Pearl Izumi
2. Todd Wells Hyundai-GT
3. Geoff Kabush Team Maxxis-Giant
4. Jonny Sundt Team Maxxis Giant
5. Russell Stevenson BRI Racing