- HOT TOPICS:
- The new VeloNews.com (BETA)
Van Gilder, Wamsley find success in Somerville
Somerville, New Jersey - A trio of trackies came out on top in the62nd running of the Tour of Somerville on Memorial Day, with Snow Valley-SealOn’s Kyle Wamsley netting the team its first NRC win.
It was a win that Snow Valley had been looking for since the beginningof the season, when the standout elite development squad from Marylandmade the jump to the professional ranks.“It’s outstanding,” said Wamsley of taking some pressure off the squad.
“We’ve actually been kind of frustrated with each other, and we reallyneeded something big.”Wamsley, who raced hard from the gun to take several early primes, waspart of a seven man move that broke clear with 12 laps of the flat, 1 mileloop remaining.
He was joined at the front by Mick Dietrich and PhilipWong ( both Fiordifrutta), Shawn Milne (Navigators), Evan Elken (JitteryJoe’s-Kalahari), Eneas Freyre (TargeTraining), and German national teammember and six-day veteran Stefan Stienweg, racing in the colors of theamateur Texas Roadhouse team.
The break worked smoothly around the windy course, stretching its legsto a 15 second gap with 7 laps remaining. Behind, a promising sixman chase formed, containing Marty Nothstein (Navigators), Eric Saunders,Dave McCook, and Jason Allen (all McGuire), Tyler Wren (Colavita), andGuillame Nelessen (Northwestern Mortgage).
Just when the group looked set to close the gap for good, the infighting began. With sprinters McCook and Nothstein marking each other, the chase was caught in purgatory,never slowing enough to rejoin the peloton, but seemingly moving in slow motion as it dangled frustratingly close to the sharp end of the race.With just 3 laps remaining, the gap reached its narrowest point, close enough for McGuire to springboard Allen—but no one else—into the front group.
“[Saunders] was pulling really hard and he brought down the gap enoughthat we thought I could bridge across to it,” said Allen, who was recruitedby the McGuire squad after representing New Zealand in the team pursuitat the world track championships in Los Angeles.
“I went, and I justmade it before I blew up.”Behind, the field was content to let the leaders fight it out themselves,as first Jittery Joe’s, riding for Elken, and then Wamsley’s Snow Valleysquad took up positions at the head.Freyre made a solo bid for the win soon after Allen caught on, but Wamsley’scounterattack a lap later proved to be the decisive move. The 25-yearold, a former national champion in the junior and U23 points races andthe elite team pursuit, hammered home into the headwind front stretch toclaim his and his team’s first NRC triumph.
Allen quickly recovered from his bridge effort to launch his own soloattack, good for second place just ahead of Stienweg, who led home theremnants of the breakaway for third.“I got in that breakaway, and I was nervous as all-get-out with about4 or 5 to go, and I had to go for it,” said Wamsley at the finish.“I’m just really happy I could deliver for the guys because we’ve beenlooking for one, and this was it, this was our day.”
Van Gilder, Take Three
Like Wamsley, Laura Van Gilder (Quark) delivered her deserving squada Tour of Somerville win, but Van Gilder’s win wasn’t the first of anything.Her victory was her third at Somerville, following victories in 1999 and2002.“Somerville is a very special race for me,” she said. “I havea local fan club up the street, and all my family and friends come to seeme race, so it’s a great way to finish the weekend.”It was also Van Gilder’s third victory of the single weekend that sawher claim the top prizes at both the Kelly Cup in Baltimore, Maryland,and the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia.“I feel good. My team has worked flawlessly.
Every day,it’s been a little bit of a different way to choose a victory,” said VanGilder, who is clearly looking forward to next Sunday’s showdown at theLiberty Classic in Philadelphia. “ I think that’s good for my confidence,and it’s good for the team’s confidence.”After starting with a large field under sunny skies, the selections in the 20-mile women’s race came largely from the back.
The longest-lived move came from Team Lipton’s Kristen LaSasso, who escaped with seven lapsremaining. Lisa Jellett (CTS-Cranford) was the only taker, bridgingthe gap and helping to make the 5-second gap last until four laps remaining.From there, the sprinter’s teams took over to keep the pace up and discourageany last-minute heroics. Van Gilder’s Quark squad and T-Mobile, workingfor CSC Invitational runner-up Ina Teutenburg, were first to the front,joined by the Victory Brewing squad of Gina Grain, who has raced well thisweek despite battling broken ribs.
From the exit to the final turn, it was a straight drag race, with VanGilder taking the win from Teutenberg by a bike-length, followed by Shannon Hutchinson (Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings).Tour of Somerville
Somerville, New Jersey, May 30
Men’s Pro, 1
1. Kyle Wamsley, Snow Valley-Seal On
2. Jason Allen, McGuire-Langdale
3. Stefan Stienweg (Ger), Texas Roadhouse Cycling
4. Shawn Milne, Navigators Insurance
5. Mike Dietrich, Fiordifrutta
6. Evan Elken, Jittery Joe’s-Kalahari
7. Eneas Freyre, Targetraining
8. Phil Wong, Fiordifrutta
9. Guillame Nelessen, Northwestern Mortgage
10. Erik Saunders, McGuire-Langdale
Women’s Open
1. Laura Van Gilder, Quark
2. Ina Teutenberg, T-Mobile
3. Shannon Hutchinson, Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings
4. Brenda Lyons, Victory Brewing
5. Sarah Uhl, Quark
6. Nicole Freedman, Ford-Basis
7. Christina Underwood, Team Fuji
8. Zoe Owers, Century Road Club
9. Sheba Farrin, Hub Racing
10. Catherine Powers
