USA CRITS #5: Priority Health's Abraham Wins At West Chester In a clear display of grit and determination Priority Health rider Emile Abraham took a stellar victory at the third annual Iron Hill Twilight Criterium, as the fifth installment of USA CRITS Series
In a clear display of grit and determination Priority Health rider Emile Abraham took a stellar victory at the third annual Iron Hill Twilight Criterium, as the fifth installment of USA CRITS Series reached West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Alongside Abraham throughout his effort was Battley Harley-Davidson’s Evan Fader. The pair set a blistering pace for the last 22 laps of the race that whittled a top shelf starting field of over 125 men down to just 42 finishers. The remaining riders tried in vain to reel in Abraham and Fader as the lap count wound down and the gap to the dynamic duo slowly shrunk. But in the end, Abraham and Fader were relentless, and maintained just enough of an edge to set up a drag race to the line. Abraham was the stronger of the two, but told cyclingnews.com that he couldn’t have pulled off the win without Fader’s strong commitment to their breakaway.
“He was equally as strong as I was and that was what made the difference for us staying away.”
Abraham and Fader struck out on their winning move after chasing down one of many of cash bonuses (known as “premes”) on offer throughout the race.
Around the entire one kilometer course through West Chester’s commercial district, twenty thousand fans lined the metal barriers and cheered Abraham and Fader from the starting gun to the race’s final nail-biting conclusion 60 laps later. The 27 year-old Fader’s relatively unknown squad is made up of Category 1 and 2 riders from the D.C. area.
“We’re just a small low budget team that came together this year that just want to race hard just for the fun of it.”
Abraham’s win moves the nine-time Trinidad and Tobago National Champion into fourth place in the USA CRITS series. And despite being relegated to 30th place for a dangerous move in the field sprint, series leader retains his spot at the top of the overall standings. But close behind Hekman is AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork’s Frank Travieso who has now moved within 105 of first place.
On the women’s side of the series, Team Cheerwine’s powerhouse sprinter Laura Van Gilder maintained her hold on first place for the overall competition with her win during Saturday’s race in West Chester. Van Gilder narrowly nipped 2006 National Criterium Champion Theresa Cliff-Ryan at the line followed by Brooke Miller (Tibco) in third. The women’s points race has become increasingly tight with the top seven places all within 314 points of one another.
The riders now move on to stage 6 in the series - the Wells Fargo Twilight Criterium in Boise Idaho. The race will be celebrating it’s 20th anniversary and is sponsored by Wells Fargo & George’s Cycle and Fitness. More information at www.boisetwilightcriterium.com.
This year’s USA CRITS Series culminates this year with the World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) USA CRITS Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 27th. The event will be hosted at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino and will coincide with this year’s Interbike, North America’s largest bicycle trade show. Additionally, WCSN will carry the Finals event live, as well as stops #7 (Presbyterian Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, NC on August 4) and #8 (Chris Thater Memorial Criterium in Binghamton, NY on August 25).
Current standings in the USA CRITS Series follow. For complete results and standings, as well as registration information, scheduling, and WCSN USA CRITS Finals information, please visit www.usacrits.com.
Pro Men
1 2 3 4 5 Mark Hekman Frank Travieso Yosvany Falcon Emile Abraham Adam Hodges Myerson A&F Pro Development Cycling AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork PRIORITY HEALTH Nerac Pro Cycling 995 890 760 540 517
Laps Led
1 2 3 4 5 Mark Hekman Viktor Rapinski Emile Abraham Curtis Gunn Oleg Grichkine A&F Pro Development Cycling Navigators Insurance Cycling PRIORITY HEALTH Successfulliving.com Navigators Insurance Cycling 28 25 20 19 14
Team Points
1 2 3 4 5 A&F Pro Development Cycling AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork Colavita Sutter Home P/b Cooking Light Nerac Pro Cycling Navigators Insurance Cycling 2362 2333 1672 1619 1407
Pro Women
1 2 3 4 5 Laura Van Gilder Sarah Caravella Jennette Williams Theresa Cliff-Ryan Shontelle Gauthier Cheerwine Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team Hub Racing Verducci/Breakaway Racing Team Ultralink 937 800 723 708 669
Laps Led
1 2 3 4 5 Rebecca Larson Ally Brandt Laura Van Gilder Katharine Carroll Jen McRae Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team HealthCoach Cheerwine Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team Advil ChapStick 38 34 16 13 12
Team Points
Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team Cheerwine 2408 2163
About USA CRITS
USA CRITS National Criterium Series has been developed to feature a brand of cycling unique to the United States, the criterium. Criteriums are historically run on short laps through city streets, they offer spectators the opportunity to watch Olympians, world and national champions up-close as they ride at top speed. This has made the criterium format the most spectator-friendly form of cycling entertainment. Events on the USA CRITS series have the ideals that have made criterium racing an American legacy: Challenging courses that showcase arts and entertainment districts; a large and energized base of spectators; broad community support; and strong marketing opportunities for sponsors. For more information visit www.usacrits.com.
About World Championship Sports Network (WCSN)
World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) is the premier destination for fans of Olympic and lifestyle sports, delivering an immersive experience via exclusive live and on demand coverage of world class competitions, interaction with top athletes and in depth access to sports news and information year round.
WCSN offers comprehensive coverage of over 60 sports disciplines, through exclusive long term programming agreements across a number of key International Federations and National Governing Bodies. Major championship events in sports ranging from Track & Field, Skiing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Cycling to Volleyball, Karate and Taekwondo are featured online at www.wcsn.com and on television via WCSN’s 24/7 cable sports network. WCSN also markets Olympic sports in partnership with International Federations, National Governing Bodies, local organizations, clubs, sponsors, and through related websites and publications. For more information, please visit www.wcsn.com.
About Interbike
Interbike, produced by Nielsen Business Media, is a full-service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. Producers of the OutDoor Demo and Interbike International Bicycle Expo, Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Finishing its 25th successful year, Interbike (www.interbike.com) gathers more than 1,000 cycling-related brands and more than 21,000 total attendees annually.
About Swagger
Recognized as a leading action and adventure sports production company, Swagger offers an array of business services that include branding, creative services, events and athletes, media packaging and production, mobile programs, public relations and communications, relationship leveraging, sales and sponsorship, staffing resources, and strategic marketing. As the country’s leading producer of criterium racing currently producing over forty criterium events, Swagger has over 50 years of combined experience as a sports marketing and event management organization. Swagger has managed America’s premier criterium, the Twilight Criterium in Athens, Georgia for 27 years and has assisted with hundreds of large and small-scale events. For more information visit www. swagger.us.
Contact: JoE Silva @ 706.372.3692 or pr@swagger.us
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