marketplace
The Reno Wheelmen
A cycling tradition since 1896
2003 season sponsored by
history
Home marketplace links contact us

Twilight Road Race #4
The Sparks Outlet Criterium
Results 5/27/03
Conditions: Hot...damn hot. Oh, and windy. Oh, and it was a HARD.

RACE REPORT

*If you have a correction to these results, please email me. The finishes were tight pack finishes and numbers were hard to get...maybe we'll get a camera someday!
** Cash Sprints - if you did not receive your cash award, come see me (Michael Hernandez) at the next race and we'll square up. If you won your event, you receive a free race entry.

Cash Sprints

$10 - Dave Fish
$10 - Roderigo Rubiano
$5  - Charlie Apple
Krispy Kremes - Kerry Barnes
Water Park pack - Bill Nagel


Points Sprints

1. Dave Fish
2. Nate Sowle
3. Ricardo Bulisimo

1. Ricardo Bulisimo
2. Dave Fish
3. Nate Sowle

Cash Sprints

$20 - Paul Meirs
$10 - Shawn Pearson
$5  - Spencer Erickson
$5  - Eric Wang
Krispy Kremes - Kyle Smith
Water Park pack - Spencer Erickson

Points Sprints

1. Shawn Pearson
2. Carlos Wilson
3. Mike Damon

1. Spencer Erickson
2. Mike Damon
3. Rich Paul

Cash Sprints

$20 - Tom Skiles
$10 - Gary Thompson
$10 - Jouzas Martynaitis
$5 - Jouzas Martynaitis

 

Points Sprints

1. Jouzas Martynaitis
2. Gary Thompson
3. Scott Fifield

1. Jason Chalks
2. Michael Cupitt
3. Tom Skiles

1. Gary Thompson
2. Dustin Sweet
3. Jeff Dickey

Category C Results
(20 entries)

TEAM

Category B Results
(40 entries)

TEAM

Category A Results
(30 entries)

TEAM
1.  Nate Sowle* Reno Wheelmen 1.  Steve Kaufman Reno Wheelmen 1.  Dustin Sweet Reno Wheelmen
2.  Ricardo Bulisimo Reno Wheelmen 2.  Eric Wang UNR/RW 2.  Jeff Dickey --
3.  Dave Fish GS Reno 3.  Dana Mosmar -- 3.  Rick VandenAkker Bicycle Bananas
4.  Bill Nagel Reno Wheelmen 4.  Chris Payne Reno Wheelmen 4.  Kyle Dixon Reno Wheelmen
5.  Rodrigo Rubiano -- 5.  Scot Ferguson UNR 5.  Tom Skiles UNR
6.  Mike Shipman -- 6.  Dave Rummel NorthStar 6.  Gary Thompson GS Reno
7.  Rick Hathaway Reno Wheelmen 7.  Dave Reeves -- 7.  Michael Cupitt GS Reno
8.  Charlie Apple* SBA 8.  Taylor Mirich -- 8.  Jouzas Martynaitis GS Reno
9.  Joseph Little* Reno Wheelmen 9.  Gabe Burke MRC 9.  Scott Fifield GS Reno
10. Chris Morton Reno Wheelmen 10. Mike Damon Reno Wheelmen 10. Wayne Mackey GS Reno
11. Mike Henry Alta  Alpina 11. Paul Miers Reno Wheelmen 11. Paul Gossi GS Reno
12. Matthew Sosh Reno Wheelmen 12. Nick Blades* Reno Wheelmen 12. John Anderson --
13. Jeffrey LaCombe UNR Cycling 13. Mark Henry Alta Alpina 13. Jim Barkley GS Reno
14. Kathy Casey GS Reno 14. Shawn Pearson Reno Wheelmen 14. Chris Mahannah GS Reno
15. Kerry Barnes Reno Wheelmen 15. Rich Paul Reno Wheelmen 15. Jason Walker Reno Wheelmen
16. Jenny Frayer Reno Wheelmen 16. Scott Phillips UNR
17. Jim Mitchell Reno Wheelmen 17. George Quinn GS Reno
18. Paul Horsley Reno Wheelmen 18. Rinaldo Bullintini Alta Alpina
19. Chuck Semeit --

*Junior riders

Questions to Michael

Sparks Crit Report

The C race was brutal. The pack split very early in to 3 chase groups. Up front was Dave Fish, Richard Bulis, Bill Nagel, and junior phenom-Nate Sowle. Nate has been ripping up the Nor-Nevada MTB Series and now looks to be turning his legs in to full fledged roadie material. I’ll have him shaving yet!

The four would rotate through and keep a hungry pack of 6 at bay. Bill Nagel would take a bit of soft digger mid-way through the race, shelling him off the leaders, forcing on himself a furious solo chase to get back…a very strong effort. In the chase, Rick Hathaway would lunge out of the group a couple of times to come close…oh, so close to bridging up to the leaders, but would have to fall back each time. Painful – but the big man would still finish with a very satisfying 7th.  With three to go, Joseph Little would take a full-bore flier in a last ditch attempt to bridge up to the leaders. Again…so close. But the heat and the exertion would cause a serious explosion in the young rider’s lungs and legs…and the last lap saw him biting his bars, suffering like a dog to finish an admirable 9th, right behind Charlie Apple of the Sugar Bowl Academy.

The front group would stay together until the last 2 corners. Digging in to his ‘tough guy’ reserves, young Nate Sowle would attack hard (and I mean hard) through the turns and open up just enough gap and have just enough power to keep it to the line for his first road victory. Well done! Bulis would fight till the end for a valiant 2nd, with Dave and Bill rounding out the top 4. New rider to the area, Rodrigo Rubiano would lead in the chasers for 5th followed by the consistent Mike Shipman. Chris Morton, our newest Wheelmen I’m proud to say, would lead in the rest of the field.
Fantastic riding C racers – your race was safe, fast, and damn hard. Congrats.

Next off was the B event. After a couple of neutral laps for the riders to get accustomed to taking the corners en masse, the flag was dropped and it was an immediate hammerfest. Spencer Erickson was especially active early on, riding away from the field for a couple of sprint prizes. Mike Damon and Shawn Pearson would be active sprint beasts, as well. But, Paul Miers would take the largest cash sprint of the day, $20. A solid break away never really materialized in the B event…I think there were just too many strong riders pushing the pace…that and the constant flow of sprint prizes thrown out by a malicious promoter. At about 25 minutes in to the race, Rich Paul edged away from the field solo and looked to be very strong. Alas, about 3 laps in to his effort his rear tire came out of the bead and he was forced to the pit for a wheel change. Back in on the next lap, the stopping would sap the snap from his legs and he would have to fight for a finish with the lead pack.

The last lap – oh man, you either had to be really experienced or a guy who could really suffer to stick on that last lap. Playing the classic lead-out role, Chris “Lombardi” Payne notched it up from a mile out. Powering through every corner, he almost gapped his protected sprinter, but Eric Wang is too experienced AND too strong to let that happen. Into the final corner, the field was strung out and whittled down to 15 very tough riders. An excellent bike handler, Eric Wang would shoot off of Payne’s wheel and dive through the final corner perfectly – setting himself for yet another win. But right behind would be the wolf, Steve Kaufman. Still learning the ropes, Steve would skip his rear tire through the turn and lose a couple of bike lengths to Eric…a serious deficit with only 150 meters of pavement to the finish. Eric would speed towards the line like a bullet, straight down the middle of the finishing stretch. Kaufman would dig deep, deeper than I think I’ve seen him go this year. He would luck in to Eric not closing off the draft side, getting that miniscule bit of protection as he came up along side of him. Like a train, like a big angry locomotive, Kaufman would throw himself towards the finish with a singular purpose – reach that line first. Eric has been flawless this year. Each of his sprints has been timed to perfection and executed with the cold calculation of a…well, a mechanical engineer. But this time he would leave that draft side open, and Kaufman would pounce. A wheel’s difference and Kaufman finally wins one. What a sprint!

The last event was particularly nasty. All those riders who have become accustomed to getting the free ride at the Air Center Crit all of a sudden found themselves very quickly in the red zone, trying to match the painful accelerations and decelerations of a technical, tough criterium course.

An early move by Tom Skiles and the Aussies, Jason Chalks and Casey Guthrie ended when the pack finally clawed back in to the race and the two men from down under found themselves dry-heaving in the bushes – suffering like dogs on this hot and painful day.

Yes…suffering. This is the first time in a while I’ve seen so many A riders suffering out there – from the gun. It was glorious. With 3.5 laps to go, Dustin Sweet would launch off the lead group of 7, 3.5 miles of wind and heat in between him and his first crit win in who knows how long. The chase group of 6 just wouldn’t have the gas to reel in a driven Sweet. Fantastic effort and he would cross the line with 50 meters of cushion. Behind, the new and very real sprinter on the block, Jeff Dickey would sweep up for 2nd, followed by a tight finish between VanDenAkker and Kyle Dixon. Leading in the 2nd group and fighting desperately to keep the Twilight Leader’s jersey on his back was Jouzas Martynaitis. Jouzas was on fire for the first half of the race, driving every move that went away from the group…but, he would burn one match too many and miss the winning attack. First time all year and a good lesson for him.

What an evening of racing. If you didn’t get a chance to come out and watch this race, check it out next week…cause it is spectacular!