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Schouten takes win at Beacon Cross, 2006By Kirsten Robbins in Beacon, New Jersey
Three riders solidified their lead on the field after the first run up the 'amphitheater of pain'. Tristan Schouten (Trek/VW/Michelin) earned his win after holding a small gap over Davide Frattini (Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home Winery). Jonathan Sundt (Hagens Berman) hung on for the third place on the podium aiding in the tactical third event organized by the Mid Atlantic Championship series. The smaller than usual field was not lacking in speed or strength, witnessed after the men began their grueling effort lead by Frattini. His quick start caused the decisive split in the field that only two would reconnect with. "In the beginning of the race I did not know what Davide's fitness was like but we gained a large gap right away," Schouten said. "I thought it was going to end more in a group but with the amphitheater and the beach, it separated from the beginning. I felt good and figured he was riding well too so I just had to wait and see what happened -- I was able to hold the gap on him the whole way to the end." Schouten said while thanking his sponsors Michelin and Trek. Sundt and Schouten closed the gap to Frattini soon after the start of the second lap. "Sundt was pretty strong on the fast sections so I stayed behind him after they caught me," Frattini said. "Then Schouten pushed hard in a couple of sections and we dropped Sundt. I stayed behind Schouten because it is the kind of race where if you stay behind you save more energy and have less fatigue." Although Sundt displayed remarkable strength on the flat sections of the circuit he noted that, "coming back to cyclocross is hard and you lose a lot of off-road skills," Sundt said. "There are really good riders here that have been getting top fives and tens so it was a really difficult start. I got a little excited and drove it in the beginning when maybe I shouldn't have."
Luck was not on Frattini's side when three laps to go he punctured a front tire losing Schouten's wheel for good. "I lost some time with a flat tire on three laps to go in one part of the circuit that is really fast with many turns," Frattini said. "I started to get close again on the technical parts but lost almost everything on the amphitheater stairs." Adam Myerson (Nerac-Outdoorlights.com) and Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo) were biting at the heels of Sundt's third place. The two worked well together until their final two up sprint for fourth place that Myerson convincingly won. The circuit offered a little bit of everything from a sandy beach to an amphitheater stair run up. "The upper section of the course was really fast and the lower sections in the sand were slow," Schouten said. "The corners were sandy so it was not a real high-speed circuit. It fit my style because I like really short, punchy type run ups that seem to favour my riding. Also, the racing is really strong out here and any time you do a UCI race you can't count any one out." Many of the riders competing in the MAC series come from either road or mountain bike roots and continue to progress in cyclocross fitness as the season moves on. "I can see the difference between me and some of the other guys here," said Frattini. "After a couple of months of cyclocross I am able to run the stairs and then jump on the bike to accelerate quickly, right now I am not able to do that. But, I am happy with the race today. Maybe I could have closed the gap - without the amphitheater of pain," Frattini joked. ResultsElite Men 1 Tristan Schouten (Trek/Vw/Michen) 57.43 2 Davide Frattini (Team Colavita / Sutter Home) 0.12 3 Jonathan Sundt 1.05 4 Adam Myerson (Nerac-Outdoorlights.Com Pro Cycling) 1.14 5 Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo) 6 David Wyandt (Hrs-Rocklobster) 1.51 7 Matt Kraus 2.06 8 Christopher Jones (Targetraining- Williamscycling.Com) 2.34 9 Luca Damiani (Team Fidibc Vc Arbedo) 2.47 10 Weston Schempf (Fort Factory Team) 3.01 11 Ryan Dewald 3.37 12 Sean Galegher (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 4.09 13 Bill Elliston (Targetraining/Fuji) 14 Zoltan Tisza (Rocky Mountain Business Objects) 4.37 15 John Hanson (Nerac/Outdoorlights.Com Pro Cycling Team) 4.54 16 Michael Yozell (Fort Factory Team) 5.05 17 Pierre Roussel (Velo Club Chaumontais / Univ Of Rochester) 5.16 18 Stephen Cummings 5.25 19 Andrew Wulfkuhle (Adg/Joe's Bike Shop/C3) 5.34 20 Stephen Kincaid (Meredith Group-Gpoa-Cannondale) 5.53 21 Nathan Deibert (Holmes Cycling) 22 John Mintura (Hotel San Jose) 6.41 23 John Degele (Inland Construction) 6.46 24 Joseph Reynolds (Wissahickon) 7.14 25 Peter Rubijono (Harris Cyclery) 8.02 DNF Greg Marini (Coffee Plus Inc. Com) DNF George Menard (Hunt Valley Bicycling) DNF Chris Newell (Hvb/Marathon Roofing) DNF Erik Mitchell (Quaker City Wheelmen) DNF Tyler Wren (Colavita) DNS Elliot Mcallister DNS Ryan Leech (Meredith Group-Gpoa-Cannondale) |
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