Junior/Espoir Road Nationals Sizzle in Texas

NORMANGEE, Texas (July 3, 2003) – A typical Fourth of July weekend deep in the heart of Texas usually means big celebrations. In the Lone Star State fireworks are big, the barbeques are big and the leadoff event of the 2003 USCF Junior/Espoir Road National Championships proved to be no less in its demeanor.

Over 230 junior and espoir men toed the line in Normangee Thursday morning with start-line temperatures already in the mid 90’s. The 30-mile loop offered little respite from the sweltering heat and many riders felt the toll after one lap.

The junior race delivered the first 2003 Road National Champion of the day with Zak Grabowski (Lafayette, Colo.) claiming a stars and stripes jersey in 3:56.26. Grabowski attacked on the final kilometer and had enough left to finish thirteen seconds ahead of Keith Norris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Chad Beyer (Peoria, AZ).

Norris and Beyer fought hard to line to finish in second and third respectively in 3:56.39. Chris Deluise (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was close behind teammate Norris and clocked a 3:56.44 to notch fourth-place on the day. Brad Armstrong (Burleson, Texas) rounded out the podium with a 3:57.09 for fifth-place.

A relatively flat course led to a day of attacking and bridging with no distinctive area to naturally separate the peloton. The main factor of the day proved to be the heat, which caused many riders to cramp and slow the pace of the peloton.

A group of four riders managed to jump off the front to lead the peloton through the start/finish area for the first of three energy-depleting 30-mile laps. John Rogers (Tempe, AZ), David Nelson (Tempe, AZ), Steven Cozza (Petaluma, Calif.), and Jesse Anthony (Beverly, MA) stayed away for a short time until another group saw their opportunity and took it.

Cozza would be the only rider to stick with the second-lap lead group which included Ben Damhoff (Morrison, IL), Bradley Viera (Lancaster, PA), John Devine (Dixon, IL), and eventual winner Zak Grabowski (Lafayette, Colo.) The peloton would regroup on the third and final lap until attacks by Grabowski and Norris would stick.

Norris, second at last year’s Nationals found the course somewhat lackluster, but not without considerable challenge from the intense heat. “It was pretty rough out there,” commented Norris. “Zak attacked with about a mile to go - it was a really smart move on his part. I started to fade and had some cramps, but I came out of it and was able to hold onto second. I wanted the win badly, but Zak was definitely the strongest man out there today and he deserves the win.”

ESPOIR ROAD RACE

Jonathan Erdelyi (Brick, NJ) captured the Espoir National Championship jersey winning the espoir road race in a time of 5:01.09. Erdelyi jumped ahead of Darby Thomas (Montpelier, VT) to reach the victory podium for the second-year in a row.

Thomas finished in 5:01.12 with third-place finisher Michael Voigt (Alexandria, VA) right behind in 5:01.23. John Hygelund (Los Gatos, Calif.) and Oliver Stiler-Cote (Arundel, ME) claimed fourth and fifth-place respectively.

The espoir race also saw several breakaways that really never managed to get far enough away to pose any real threat. A relatively contained peloton looked to conserve energy throughout the 199km affair.

A breakaway of six riders took to the front of the 112-rider field and put 1:43 on the main group in the first lap. Gui Nelessen (Bellemead, NJ), John Hygelund, Stuart Gillespie (Brooklyn, NY), Saul Raisin (Dalton, GA), Malachi Peacock (Athens, GA), and Oliver Stiler-Cote led the field on the first lap.

The second lap would find the group downsized to a foursome consisting of Saul Raisin, John Hygelund, Oliver Stiler-Cote, and Stuart Gillespie leading the charge trying to increase their two and a half minute edge over the main field.

Another group of seven riders would shoot off from the main field to chase down the foursome to no avail. Chistof Herby (Salem, VA), Angetti Sheldrake (Englewood, Colo.), Will Frischkorn (Boulder, Colo.), Micheal Dietrich (Andover, MA), Jonathan Erdelyi, Michael Voigt, and Abraham Taylor (Berkeley, Calif.) all joined forces to bring it back.

The group would eventually need the help of the second chase group to make any dent in reeling the leaders in. Thus, a group of twenty riders caught the seven at approximately the 70-mile mark and at the end of three-laps the entire group was 2:10 behind the leaders. Thirty miles of searing pavement still awaited the peloton.

The final lap would see the leaders reeled in with Erdelyi, Thomas, and Voigt charging to the front.

Thomas, who has been racing in Europe the last several months was happy with his result. “I remember seeing the bank clock showing 99 degrees on the second lap and I was thinking it is going to be a really long day,” said Thomas. “Going into the last lap, everyone was attacking on and off and then three of us got away at about 10k to go. Jonathan was right there on our wheel – he was strong and still able to pull away in the end.”

Micheal Voigt, the reigning Elite Road National Champion was excited to be on the podium again after a long day in the saddle. “The course was a little bit flat for a rider like me, so I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Voigt. “Groups would get away and get caught - nothing was really sticking most of the time. Finally a small group of us attacked in the last mile and by then it was up to who was the strongest from there on out.”

Friday’s time trial event begins at 8:00 am in College Station with the junior women 10-12 leading off.

Check out the USA Cycling Photo Gallery for race images