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Tropical Storm Garmin batters Univest GP

By Ryan Newill
Published: Sep. 6, 2008
Garmin-Chipotle’s Lucas Euser wins a very nasty Univest GP.
Garmin-Chipotle’s Lucas Euser wins a very nasty Univest GP.
Photo: Scott Schaffrick

Garmin-Chipotle’s Lucas Euser rode to an epic victory in Saturday’s Univest Grand Prix in Pennsylvania, relying on a dominant team performance that drove the outcome of the race every bit as much as the soggy remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.

After nearly four hours in Hanna’s rain, Euser attacked breakaway companion Frederik Ericsson (CykelCity) in a blinding downpour and near-darkness to secure his first professional victory.

Euser’s Garmin teammates Pat McCarty and Tyler Farrar escaped the nine-man chase group to lock up the third and fourth spots; Canada’s Francois Parisien (Team Race) was fifth.

Drizzle before the storm
Though the 107-mile race began under only intermittent morning drizzle, the skies opened up around noon as Hanna made her way north, bathing riders in rains that ranged from mild to extraordinary. With a multitude of crashes and mechanicals causing havoc on Univest’s initial 64-mile loop through the countryside, riders were anxious to escape the field.

True aggression began on the day’s first KOM climb, with a group of eight going off the front and a considerable number of riders exiting from the rear. The break was quickly brought back, but the fast descent on slick roads claimed several more victims, as Tom Danielson (Garmin-Chipotle) and two other riders went down on a sweeping right-hander. Danielson was the only serious injury, leaving the race with road rash on his right side and a deep gash to his forearm that would send him to the hospital for stitches. It was a second blow for the team, as defending Univest winner Will Frischkorn was unable to start due to knee tendinitis. However, at race end, Garmin director Allen Lim was confident that Danielson’s participation at the Tour of Missouri was not in doubt.

The day’s second KOM point, a steep, narrow ascent of Knockel Road at the 39-mile mark, proved to be the launching pad for the move that would shape the race. There, a strong group of 20 went clear, with the most powerful squads in the race well represented: Garmin was in with Euser, Farrar, and McCarty; Team Type 1 had Chris Jones, Valeriy Kobzarenko, and Ian MacGregor; Mexico’s Tecos squad had Juan Pablo Magallanes and Univest veteran Bernardo Colex; and Canada’s Team Race had Mark Walters and Parisien in the mix. The group quickly carved out a minute over a five-man chase and an additional 30 seconds over the field.

Ericsson’s charge
After a few miles of relative harmony, the attacks began again, with Colex hitting out first, followed by McCarty. Worsening conditions, relentless short hills, frequent turns, and the attacks halved the lead group, and with its three riders making the split, Garmin found itself firmly in control of a bike race.

Parisien also made the cut, along with Type 1’s Jones and McGregor, Tecos’ Magallanes and Colex, Philipp Mamos (Sparkasse), and Gerardo Fernandez (Champion System). With the chase quickly falling two minutes back and the peloton another 30 seconds adrift, the door was closing fast for anyone else who wanted a shot at the title. Indeed, the only man to squeak through before it slammed shut was the big Swede, Frederik Ericsson.

“I was playing it a little bit cool, then I realized I’d made a big mistake, so I bridged up from the last KOM on the big circuit,” the CykelCity rider said. “It took me all the way to the finishing circuits to catch the front group, so I thought I’d blown it. But I recovered much faster than I thought.”

Those powers of recovery allowed Ericsson, the last man to make the 11-rider selection that would fight for the win, to follow Euser’s attack on the first of 11 3.2-mile finishing circuits around downtown Souderton. Ericsson’s second bridge of the day was shorter than his first, and he drew up to Euser’s back wheel in a little under a lap’s time. For Ericsson, it was an impressive ride. For Garmin, it was a tactical dream come true.

Eye of the storm
With Euser in a lead break of two, and McCarty and feared sprinter Farrar in the nine-man chase, Garmin was in the enviable position of not having to work at either end of the race. If the chasers wanted to bring the break back, they’d have to bring well-rested Farrar and McCarty with them; at the same time, Euser could force Ericsson to the driver’s seat in the break, knowing that he had Farrar and McCarty behind him.

“I wanted to work well with him. I knew that if this move didn’t work, I’m going to have three of these guys on my hands at the end,” said Ericsson. “I knew my game was going to be up at some time. Of course you never stop hoping, but I knew my odds were really bad.”

Ericsson, second on the final stage of the recent Tour of Ireland but a largely unknown quantity on this side of the Atlantic, played the hand he was dealt, and helped push the pair out to a three-minute gap over a chase that seemed largely paralyzed by the situation. More importantly, those who did try to get themselves back into the race were simply unable to shake McCarty and Farrar. Together with Euser, the pair recently returned from the Tour of Portugal, which all three credit with a wave of form they’ve ridden through last week’s USPRO championships and into Univest.

Euser in a downpour
Though a group of eight — most of them refugees from the earlier large move along with a few newcomers — rejoined the chase group with six laps remaining, it did little to reinvigorate the chase, leaving Ericsson and Euser to fight out the win. Despite Garmin’s firm grip on the race, Euser was in no hurry to deliver the killing move as the skies continued to darken and the rain evolved into a blinding downpour on the final lap.

“It got windy when the storm started picking up, and it’s good to have a big Swede with you,” said Euser, who at 5 feet 7 inches was able to tuck in neatly behind the considerably larger Ericsson. “We were talking, and he was cramping, and I knew I could get him in the end. He really wanted to get to the line, so we worked together and I knew I could get him.”

Euser finally made his move with just 1.7 miles remaining, making a clean snap and quickly putting 13 seconds into his former collaborator. The well-timed move was enough to give the 24-year-old Californian his first win in the pro ranks, and maybe get him out of a bit of trouble with his family, as well.

“It’s glorious, man. It’s my first pro win, you’ve got to be excited about that,” said Euser. “I wasn’t really sure about this race. I’m missing a really big family wedding, and I really wanted to be there. So this is for my cousin Isaac and his new wife, Kerry.”

Euser’s victory assured, McCarty and Farrar executed their own endgames, with McCarty escaping on his own to take third, and Farrar outsprinting Parisien and the rest of the chase for the fourth spot. For For Lim, Garmin’s team doctor, who had slipped into the DS seat for the day, the command performance by the squad’s younger riders was a promising sign.

“We were holding the cards all day, and they guys just had great fitness and great legs. It’s easy to ride a tactically great race when you have athletes that are so good,” Lim said.

“[Euser] definitely earned that one. It’s been a long time coming. His form coming off of Portugal was so strong, and he had a great USPRO, so it’s really good. It’s another line in the sand for the growth of this program and the development of guys like [Euser].”

Univest Grand Prix: Top 10
1. Lucas Euser, Garmin-Chipotle, in 3:50:48
2. Frederik Ericsson, CykelCity.se-Klehr Harrison, at 0:13
3. Pat McCarty, Garmin-Chipotle, at 1:47
4. Tyler Farrar, Garmin-Chipotle, at 2:00
5. Francois Parisien, Team Race Pro, at 2:01
6. Phillipp Mamos, Sparkasse-Cannon Capital, at 2:02
7. Chris Jones, Team Type 1, at 2:03
8. Mark Walters, Team Race Pro, at 2:04
9. Valeriy Kobzarenko, Team Type 1, at 2:20
10. Robbie King, Rite Aid Pro Cycling, at 3:33

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