Cherry Roubaix: Criterium and State Championship Road Race
Several AAVC riders made their way up to Traverse City last weekend for the Cherry Roubaix Old Town Crit and Road Race, so we wanted to give them a shout and congratulations for some solid results.
We had a handful of riders for the Old Town Crit on Saturday, including Andy Weir (Men Masters 35+, 15th place), John Shedlock (Men Masters 55+, 6th place) and Colin Boulard (Junior Boys 10-12, 4th place).
Sunday's road race saw a stronger turnout from the club. Andy Weir finished 10th and Rodger Bowser 16th in the Men Master's 35+, while in the Men Master's 55+ we had John Shedlock and Larry Bohnsack in 2nd and 7th place, respectively. Our Cat 4 contingent has recently been depleted by injuries: Winston Benedict, who won the Cat 5 race at last year's Cherry Roubaix, has been sidelined with illness, and Kyle Schroeder decided against racing with a broken shoulder, so Sean Geary was our lone finisher in the men's Cat 4 field. In the women's Cat 4 race, Jess Bratus from Two Wheel Tango finished 4th.
At Cat 3, Colin Hebert and Will Cawthorn were racing only their second road race, where things went pretty well: no breaks were able to get away but by the third lap things had broken up and they found themselves in the front group of around 20 riders. Coming into the final climb Colin found a good line up the inside, so Will followed him toward the front of the pack. As expected, everyone went flat-out on the climb, with half the group getting dropped before the final flat run-in to the finish. Colin and Will both stayed with the leaders up the climb and so were able to contest the sprint, with Colin finishing 8th and Will getting 6th: finishing in the prize money, so two very respectable results!
Finally, Dave Fanslow, Ray Barbehenn and Rich Stark were representing AAVC in the Men's Master's 45+ race. On the first lap Rich escaped with two other riders, and he and his accomplices managed to stay clear of the field for over two laps. However, by lap three Rich paid for his efforts and fell away from the front after several other riders had bridged across. Two riders eventually finished 40 seconds clear of a chase group that included Dave Fanslow. One of the chase group escaped on the final hill to take 4th, while Dave attacked at the top of the hill and rode away from the other chasers to take 5th place overall. A little further back, Ray Barbehenn broke away from the field on the third lap and rode solo for the final 15 miles, eventually catching Rich to finish in 12th place, just 4 seconds ahead of Rich (who took 13th).
Overall a decent showing in the road race for AAVC. With only a handful of crits left on the Michigan cycling calendar before cyclocross season begins, we're looking forward to a strong finish to the road season before things get dirty! Look out for CXpreX to kick things off...
We had a handful of riders for the Old Town Crit on Saturday, including Andy Weir (Men Masters 35+, 15th place), John Shedlock (Men Masters 55+, 6th place) and Colin Boulard (Junior Boys 10-12, 4th place).
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| Colin Boulard at the start of the Junior Boys 10-12 crit |
Sunday's road race saw a stronger turnout from the club. Andy Weir finished 10th and Rodger Bowser 16th in the Men Master's 35+, while in the Men Master's 55+ we had John Shedlock and Larry Bohnsack in 2nd and 7th place, respectively. Our Cat 4 contingent has recently been depleted by injuries: Winston Benedict, who won the Cat 5 race at last year's Cherry Roubaix, has been sidelined with illness, and Kyle Schroeder decided against racing with a broken shoulder, so Sean Geary was our lone finisher in the men's Cat 4 field. In the women's Cat 4 race, Jess Bratus from Two Wheel Tango finished 4th.
At Cat 3, Colin Hebert and Will Cawthorn were racing only their second road race, where things went pretty well: no breaks were able to get away but by the third lap things had broken up and they found themselves in the front group of around 20 riders. Coming into the final climb Colin found a good line up the inside, so Will followed him toward the front of the pack. As expected, everyone went flat-out on the climb, with half the group getting dropped before the final flat run-in to the finish. Colin and Will both stayed with the leaders up the climb and so were able to contest the sprint, with Colin finishing 8th and Will getting 6th: finishing in the prize money, so two very respectable results!
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| Will Cawthorn and Colin Herbet finishing the Men's Cat 3 Road Race |
Overall a decent showing in the road race for AAVC. With only a handful of crits left on the Michigan cycling calendar before cyclocross season begins, we're looking forward to a strong finish to the road season before things get dirty! Look out for CXpreX to kick things off...