Held in Long
Island's Cedar
Creek park, in Wantagh, NY, the "Tour de Parc" is a must
for NY-based criterium enthusiasts, due to the friendly atmosphere the
park exudes,
not to mention a splendid, somewhat challenging course. This course,
within miles of
the famous Jones Beach, has been used for numerous National Criterium
Championship
events, including the 1989 Masters edition. Originally promoted by
Long
Island's Craig
Roberts, Charlie Issendorf took over as promoter this year, and as
brilliant a tactician
Issendorf was on the bike, he proved just as accomplished when it comes
to promoting
a well-organized bicycle race.
Lining up for today's featured event, the "Vito Perucci Memorial," Pro,
1, 2 category,
was a concoction of renowned amateur cyclists. The strongest team
present was the
GS Mengoni squad, fully armed with all their riders -- most notably,
Roosevelt "Pollo" Martes,
the fastest sprinter currently racing in the Atlantic Region's amateur
circuit. Also present
was Colombian, Lisban Quintero of team Cuevas, who recently placed an
unprecedented 4th for
an amateur in stage 2 of the Fitchburg Longsjo Stage Race (Pro, 1, 2
category) in MA. Junior
standout, Devin Flaherty (ACT-UPMC), who just yesterday out-sprinted
many elite-amateurs at
Prospect Park for a respectable second-place finish, was also present
and sure to be of consequence.
Riders faced 35-laps of this one mile course -- which offered one slight
uphill, in addition
to a sharp U-turn, and strong wind, due to its proximity to the ocean.
After certain
riders were called to the line, the starting gun was fired, as the
peloton readied for battle.
Immediately, Greg Durovich (East End), a brilliant pursuiter on the
track, broke the ice with
a strong attack on the home-straight of the course. Soon thereafter,
Horace Burrows and a
Sakonnet rider, chased, and joined forces with Durovich.
With no GS Mengoni riders present in this move, Time Trial specialist,
Jason Bremer (GS Mengoni),
single-handily ended today's original move with 29-laps to-go. Bremer
continued to apply the
pressure to the strung out filed, until all-arounder, Eugene Boronow,
suddenly attacked just
before the course's U-turn, followed by Jason Schneider (both-GS Mengoni).
Schneider then
accelerated out of the turn, with only Lisban Quintero following. With
28-laps to go, Quintero
and Schneider quickly worked together, and established a buffer of some
20-seconds.
Just behind, the field was being led by teams: CRCA/Sakonnet, the Guyana
National team
(riding for their leader, Horrace Burrowes), as well as a few riders
from the ACT-UPMC teams,
in addition to many attacking opportunists. As Quintero and Schneider
pressed on, the GS Mengoni
team dampened numerous chasing attempts, by refusing to work with them.
Nevertheless, the gap
from the main pack to the leaders never exceeded 22-seconds, and that
fact prompted the leaders
to be on-edge throughout the entirety of the 28-mile breakaway.
Quintero and Schneider got the bell-lap with a lead of 14-seconds, and
it appeared the two
riders would stay away. During the today's main breakaway, however,
Quintero led
through the Start/Finish line, while Schneider led through the technical
U-turn. The
two escapees exchanged efforts, and cooperated magnificently -- their
only option
if the move was to succeed. Thus, Schneider led through the U-turn, and
pulled another 400
meters, when Quintero took over just 1000 meters from the line.
Schneider then jumped
Quintero with 400 meters to-go, taking the victory, with Quintero
finishing a solid 2nd.
Roosevelt "Pollo" Martes won the field sprint, edging out Robert Gianni
of CRCA/Sakonett,
after a superb lead-out by the teammate of the former, Jason Bremer.
Eugene Boronow finished
5th, just ahead of Flaherty and another fine junior rider, Gavriel
Epstein (CRCA/Next).
Click
Here to enlarge
Schneider was pleased with his victory, and very proud of the excellent
job his trusty teammates
did in unselfishly blocking. "My teammates were great as usual, and
Lisban [Quintero] really
impressed me. He is a strong, respectable rider, with promising days
ahead," Schneider affirmed.
"It's a pleasure to be in a breakaway with a guy who is willing to
cooperate and, if he can,
accept his deserved share of the work".
Tour de Parc
Cedar Creek Park, Wantagh, New York
Pro, 1-2-3
35-miles
1. Jason Schneider - GS Mengoni
2. Lisbon Quintero - Necsa/Cuevas
3. Roosevelt "Pollo" Marte - GS Mengoni
4. Robert Gianni - CRCA/Sakonnet
5. Eugene Boronow - GS Mengoni
6. Devin Flaherty - ACT-UPMC
7. Gavi Epstein - CRCA/Next
8. Greg Durovich - East End
9. Zoltan Tisza - CRCA/Axis
10. Brian Cooblall - Necsa
Masters category
20-miles
1. Trevor Sears - East End
2. Eugene Boronow - GS Mengoni
3. Karl Rahn - CRCA/Sakonnet
4. Roger Friedman - Visit Britain
5. Glenn Schneider - GS Mengoni
6. Chris Long -
Gotham
7. Greg Lee - CRCA
8. Horace Burrowes - Guyana National
Junior Category
20-miles
1. Gavi Epstein - CRCA/Next
2. Barry Miller - USI
3. Filip Capella -
Category 3/4
1. Lisbon Quintero
2. Anthony Lowe
3. Paul Burrows
4. Istvan Beryei
5. Garrett Crooks
6. Zoltan Tisza
7. Steve Hylton
8. Tom Cipolla
9. Raj Seepersaud
10. Daniel Zmolik
Category 4/5
15-miles
1. Jan Mikko - GBSC/Festo/Bialostok Chiropractic
2. Eutemio Quintero - Columbia
3. Roger Friedman - CRCA / Visit Britain
This report was written by:
Jason Schneider / RaceListings.com
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