Howe, McCormack take day 1 on Long Island

By Alan Atwood

Strong performances from Barbara Howe (Velo Bella) and Mark McCormack (Clif Bar) took home victories in day 1 of the 2005 Whitmore’s Super Cross Cup.

The riders were met by beautiful sunshine and 75 degrees towards race time; very un-cross like conditions. But the warm and very dry conditions made for very fast racing and some great competition for the riders and the spectators who attended.

14 women lined up for the first east coast UCI race of the season, and it was Howe who shot out the blocks to take the first lap hurdle prime that was offered by the promoting Hampton Velo Club. Howe’s acceleration was so that only a couple of riders kept in touch with her on the first lap, Maureen Bruno-Roy (Independent Fabrication) and Mackenzie Dickey (Team Bike Alley).

But Howe was just too strong on the day and led wire-to-wire for the race win. Bruno-Roy was 2nd and Dickey was 3rd as their places were never threatened. 4th place went to the well-rested Anna Milkowski (Gearworks/Spin Arts) despite a slow start that saw her hit the first barriers in 7th behind teammate Rebecca Wellons, Pauline Frascone (Independent Fabrication), and Katheryn Roszko (NCC/BikeReg.com). While Roszko could not keep pace, Wellons and Frascone were together for most of the race until the last 2 laps of the race where Wellons pulled away to round out the top 5.

The men’s race was a good size field for a smaller regional race, and some heavy hitters were amongst the mix. McCormack did not the same start as Howe did in the women’s race, as veteran Jon Hamblen (FiordiFrutta) and espoir Troy Wells (TIAA/CREF/Clif Bar) blew out of the gates to lead the first lap. Wells’ acceleration was enough to capture the first lap preme, but soon after that a very familiar figure was at the front. As he stated later at a post race interview, he took advantage of the riders being tired from their first lap full throttle start and accelerated himself off the front and wound up staying clear to the finish. With McCormack getting out of site, the front group of Jesse Anthony (Clif Bar), Matt Shriver (Easton/Kona/CCA), Hamblen, Wells, Josh Snead (Rock Lobster), and Matt Kraus (Alan) settled in for what was sure to be a dogfight on the fast, dry course. Most of the riders took turns trying to accelerate and get away, but most wound up not getting too far away as the pace was just too high.

The pace proved to be too much for some, and as some were getting gapped, Shriver accelerated with 2 laps to go and no one could match it. The right timing for Shriver gave him 2nd place on the day. Meanwhile some new players were coming in to the fold, as teammates Michael Cody and Matt White (FiordiFrutta) were able to bridge up and give Hamblen some teammates to work with. With 3 of the 6 on the same team, it was inevitable that a FiordiFrutta rider would challenge for the last podium spot, and Hamblen took advantage of a surge by Wells to get a gap of the rest of the fledgling group. These 2 stuck together until the final sprint, where Hamblen’s road skills came into play and easily outsprinted a tired but satisfied Wells.

Cody also took advantage of the teammate factor, as he had enough energy to get away on the last lap and beat Anthony and White for 5th place.

The Whitmore’s Super Cross Cup continues tomorrow as the riders will be vying for valuable Cat 1 points and a near $8,000 total prize list. Racing for amateur men, beginners, masters, and kids will take place during the day beginning at 9am on the Southampton Youth Services campus in Southampton, New York.

Whitmore’s Super Cross Cup Day 1 Elite Results

Category: Elite Men 34 starters

Place Time Bib # Rider Team

1 0:56:12 1 Mark MCCORMACK Clif Bar

2 0:56:32 9 Matt SHRIVER Kona Easton/CCA

3 0:56:45 26 Jonathan Hamblen FiordiFrutta Elite Cycling Team

4 0:56:48 32 Troy Wells TIAA/CREF/Clif Bar

5 0:57:01 25 Michael Cody FiordiFrutta Elite Cycling Team

6 0:57:07 2 Jesse ANTHONY Clif Bar

7 0:57:17 3 Matt WHITE FiordiFrutta Elite Cycling Team

8 0:57:31 5 Joshua SNEAD Rock Lobster

9 0:57:44 12 Matt KRAUS Alan Factory Team

10 0:58:22 4 Ryan LEECH Fort/GPOA !

11 0:58:34 8 Justin SPINELLI CYBC/RICHARD SACHS

12 0:58:44 33 Roger Aspholm Westwood Velo

13 0:58:44 7 Jacob STECHMANN Alan Factory Team

14 0:59:16 19 Ryan O’CONNOR 1K2GO/S&W SPORTS CYCLING TEAM

15 0:59:18 22 Noah TAYLOR RGM Watches- RICHARD SACHS – HUDSON VALLEY

VELODROME

16 1:00:22 10 Jonny BOLD Corner Cycle

17 1:00:45 6 Adam HODGES MYERSON Team Nerac.com p/b Banknorth

18 1:00:47 13 Robert CAMPOS HVC/Jessies

19 1:01:53 21 Weston SCHEMPF FORT-GPOA!

20 -1 lap 28 Aaron Molloy 1K2GO/S&W SPORTS CYCLING TEAM

21 -1 lap 15 Jeffrey CRADDOCK CCB/Volkswagon

22 -1 lap 29 Brad Sheehan 1K2GO/S&W SPORTS CYCLING TEAM

23 -1 lap 16 Noah HARWOOD Coast to Coast/CL Noonan/KAM

24 -1 lap 17 Brian HAYES RGM Watches- RICHARD SACHS – HUDSON VALLEY

VELODROME

25 -1 lap 20 Myles ROMANOW Hampton Velo /Jessie’s

26 -1 lap 34 Ralph Rueben Rotations/Gettysburg

27 -1 lap 23 Matt WILSON NAV/Pedros

28 -1 lap 14 Todd CASSAN Rocinante

29 -1 lap 30 Logan Hodson Indenpent Fabrications

Category: Elite Women 14 starters

Place Time Bib # Rider Team

1 39:31 99 Barbara HOWE Velo Bella

2 40:52 85 Maureen Bruno-Roy Indenpent Fabrications

3 41:51 97 Mackenzie DICKEY Team Bicycle Alley

4 42:12 98 Anna MILKOWSKI TEAm Lipton

5 42:23 94 Rebecca WELLONS Gearworks/Spin Arts Cycling

6 42:54 89 Pauline Frascone Indenpent Fabrications

7 43:48 95 Kathryn ROSZKO NCC / BikeReg.com

8 44:10 87 Alicia Hamblen Richard Sachs/CYBC

9 45:07 93 Lisa MOST Wissahickon

10 45:40 90 Megan Bilodeau NCC / BikeReg.com

11 46:42 92 Susan MACLEAN Gear Works/Spin Arts Cycling Team

12 46:54 86 Kami Tremblay Gearworks/Spin Arts Cycling

13 -1 lap 91 Martha WILSON Gear Works/Spin Arts Cycling Team

14 -1 lap 88 Allerton Johnson UPMC/ACT