Augusta Criterium Series, 7/17:
Masters 45+: Glenn Babikian broke away on the second lap, soloed the rest of the race for the win putting 2 minutes into the field. Keith Hala and Joe Straub did their team duty by chasing down any bridging attempts and keeping the peloton in check. Keith won the field sprint and Joe took 4th. 1st, 2nd and fourth for Rockstar.
Pro/1,2,3: In the A-Race, it was Keith’s turn. An 8-man break formed with Keith in it. This time Joe and Glenn kept things in check. Keith got 2nd in a sprint finish. Glenn led Joe out to win the field sprint and Glenn managed to hang onto 2nd.
Al Toefield Memorial Race / New York Cycling Series, 7/21:
Brian lined up with Scott Hodder, Mikael Hanson and Steve Suto. After several unsuccessful break attempts, Scott told Mikael to ride a nice, hard tempo on the climb with 3 laps to go and the winning break (with both Mikael and Scott) was initiated and eventually swelled to 15 riders. The break took some time to get organized and both Mikael and Scott had to work hard, but in the end the top 10 riders were not separated by much with Mikeal finishing an excellent 8th and Scott was 9th. Brian finished 2nd in the field for 17th overall.
Wilson T was in the Cat 4-5 race and seemingly made it into the winning break of three on the final climb, but lost contact before the end and was passed by the field in sight of the finish line (nothing ventured, nothing gained!). In the women’s race, Cheryl won the series finale and the overall series for the second time. The first was in 2010.
CRCA / Central Park Race, 7/22:
In the women’s race, Emily U took 6th place, Susan M 12th and Stephanie B 18th. In the Men’s B-Race, Aaron finished high in the final sprint and that would net him enough points to finish in 8th place on the day, with Laurent G in 12th and Peter N 21st.
Freedom Tour, 7/22:
Brian and Scott lined up in a star-studded field of about 70 riders. Scott was in several moves which split the field on more than one occasion. It all came back together with 3 laps to go. Scott strung it out in the last lap, especially going into the last corner which kept the race fast and safe. Brian finished 8th overall in the bike race. Cheryl lined up in the women’s 1-2-3 with some top riders from NJ and PA. There were $100 and $50 primes throughout the race. Cheryl ended up an excellent 4th place in the bike race.
NY State TT Championships, 7/22:
Mike N drove up to the NY State TT championships and had a nice showing. A tailwind on the way out would mean a nasty return trip on this out and back course. Heading out, Mike as able to pass his 30-second man about 4 miles in and had eyes on his 1-minute man, but never caught him. The lap button on his Garmin after the turnaround showed a time of 18:24, averaging 25.5mph. Then the headwind hit. He was determined to save nothing for later and crossed the line under 39 minutes, landing 6th of the NYers in his category. But this was a race where seconds mattered: 4, 10, 17 seconds less would have had him in 5th, 4th or 3rd place, respectively, and only 30 to 2nd!