Voight Captures Victory

U.S. Elite National Champion Crowned

Seven Springs, PA (May 22, 2003) --Today’s Elite National Road Championships were every bit as exciting as the challenging course layout promised it would be. With 3200 feet of climbing on each of the four 28 mile laps on a rolling circuit among the most beautiful landscape Pennsylvania has to offer, Snow Valley’s Mike Voigt (Alexandria, VA) took the honors and was crowned the U.S. National Champion today after an impressive show of strength and determination in the closing miles.

The course alone suggested it would be a race of attrition as the riders were either ascending one of the many long, sustained climbs or flying down the technical descents, never really having an opportunity to recover from their physical efforts or mental concentration.

On the opening lap, as the peloton met the six-mile climb up Highway 31 for the first time, it was Ronald Schmeer (Seattle, WA Saturn of Seattle) who drew first blood attacking the bunch and quickly opening up a gap which extended to 50 seconds. Schmeer’s initial move proved to be too much too early, as he was eventually caught before entering the twisty and technical roads that wound through Laurel Hill State Park.

As the now together group climbed up to the host venue of Seven Springs Mountain Resort at the end of lap one, it was Garret Wonders (Goose Creek, SC US Armed Forces) who tried his hand at escaping the group. Immediately sensing the opportunity, Andy Applegate (Ashville, NC Cane Creek) bridged the gap to Wonders and the duo worked fluidly together to open up a gap of 1:45.

From the field behind, which exhibited no real urgency in chasing, a couple of riders attempted to distance themselves from the main pack in the hopes of catching the leaders. Brian Ecker (Bellingham, WA Recycled Cycles) and Eddy Hilger (Lookout Mountain, GA Subaru Athlete’s Foot) put together an honest chase, but as the twosome of Wonders and Applegate powered away, lengthening their gap to 3:15, Ecker and Hilger were eventually reeled back to the main group as they entered Swiss Mountain. Finally, in similar fashion to lap number one, the break was caught just as it wound through the grounds of Seven Springs towards the start-finish area in completion of lap two.

Dissatisfied with his earlier effort on lap one, it was Schmeer who attacked again to begin lap three, but again he was caught, this time at the base of the climb up Highway 31. Sensing opportunity, the Snow Valley Team attacked on the climb and created a break that included two of their riders, Scott Zwizanski (Spring City, PA) and Russell Langley (Washington D.C.) Also making the selection was Doug Ollerensha (Corvalis, OR Broadmark) and Mike Dietrich (Norwood, MA Florida Frutta). At first it looked as though they would not be able to escape for long as the field kept them at a steady distance of 15 seconds all the way up the climb, but eventually the foursome gave it some gas and opened up a 45 second lead. It appeared as if this move had the potential to make it to the finish, but it was not to be. A second group of four formed and gave chase. Schmeer, Viogt, Hilger, and Craig Wilcox (Port Angels, WA Broadmark) were all there.

The time gaps held steady for a short while but as Langley and Hilger dropped off the pace of their respective groups, the main group began to crumble as the speed increased up the climbs. Schmeer eventually caught the lead group and kept on going to open up a solo gap that was matched only by Calvan Allan (Upland, CA Broadmark). As Schmeer and Allan cruised ahead, the field was pared down to 29 riders as lap number four began.

As the group ascended Highway 31 for the last time, the two had created a gap of 2:00 minutes on the peloton, but there was a chaser in between named Voigt. With a half a lap remaining, Schmeer started to fade and Allan put in one last-ditch effort to stay away, but Voigt was unbelievably strong. He wasted no time in catching and blowing by Allan in a brilliant display of power. With the encouragement of his teammates and Director, Olympic Medalist Brian Walton, Voigt proved he had what it takes to be a National Champion as he cruised across the line in solo fashion.

Behind, a competitive chase group had formed with Steve Cate (Norman, OK Mathis Brothers), Adam Bergman (Lino Lakes, MN Bianchi), Bryan Smith (Madison, WI ISCORP) and Schmeer, which resulted in a hotly contested sprint for second that was taken by Bergman ahead of Cate.

Walton was thrilled at his team’s effort, which was a project in the making after crafting his team to specifically win this event. “We came out a week early to do reconnaissance of the course”, Walton explained. We vowed last winter to have a team ready to compete on the national level.”

Voigt, was humble in his victory as he explained the events that led up to his winning move. “I was in the group behind and I just wanted to keep things moving and all of the sudden I had a gap. Once I was within 25 seconds of the leaders I thought I had a chance. Once I caught them, I just put my head down and felt I could stay out.”