New York, NY
CRCA New Years Day Century a.k.a "CRCA January World Championships" (January 1st, 2006)
Sakonnet's Director Sportif Basil Moutsopoulos drew the team's first blood
with a fine 4th Place finish in yesterdays annual CRCA New Years Day Century.
The 117-year-old CRCA has many fine traditions however the January 1st 100
miler from Central Park to Bear Mt. State Park and back is one for the hard-men
and women of the Club. Weather conditions vary year to year but you can expect
cold conditions and bad salt covered roads.
The ride begins at 7a.m sharp at 5th Avenue and 90th Street; the pack does
2
loops of Central Park (12 miles) then heads north on 9W to the Bear Mt. lodge.
Tradition has the group staying together until the turnaround and then it
becomes
a free for all on the way back to the City. This year's event numbered 20
or so souls
facing 33 degree weather at the start and some light drizzling rain.
After the turnaround lone attacker Ken Harris (Merrill Lynch) left the pack
in a solo
effort. Behind him the field kept dwindling down as the terrain and hard
accelerations took its toll on the peleton. 4 miles before crossing the George
Washington Bridge a 3-man chase group over took the escapee. Included in
this group was SKNT's D.S. As the now group of 4 made it's way to the finish
thru the streets of Harlem it was a cat and mouse game all the way to the
line.
In the end after chasing down a late attack in the last mile and immediately
starting his sprint (on 93rd Street and 5th Avenue) Basil was over taken by
the
3 others to finish in 4th. Also representing the team in 9th & 10th Place
were
Louis Perez and Russell Kelly.
A full account with photos will be available in the January CRCA newsletter.
Training Camp Begins Tomorrow
The Teams annual training camp begins tomorrow in Tucson Arizona. Attending
the camp are U25 riders; Andy Guptill, Chris Kuhl, Johnny Hayes, David Wiswell,
Lee Rosenthal, Alex Ferrero, Jon Swain, Mike Chauner and new riders Guy East,
Caleb Fairly and Chris Ruhl. Team directors Basil Moutsopoulos, Stephan Badger
and Bob/Bruce Weyman will be in attendance along with regional riders Russell
Kelly and Robbie Giannini. Making a special appearance both on and off the
bike
is Sakonnet CEO Thurstan Bannister.
Thank you to all our sponsors for helping us with early delivery of team
equipment
prior to the camp.
U23 National Team Training Camp - Chula Vista, CA (November
29th to December 20th)
Sakonnet riders Guy East and Caleb Fairly attended this year's preseason
U23 National Team training camp held at the Olympic Training Center in
Chula Vista, CA. According to Guy, "the temperatures were a constant
70
degrees and we road a lot!" The riders averaged 4 to 6 hours each day
in
the hilly terrain surrounding the OTC.
During the second week the National Team coach (Noel D.) arrived from
Belgium to talk to the riders about theirNational Team commitments for the
2006 season. The U23 National Teamhas a full schedule with 180 racing
days planned for the year. Guy summedup his experience at the camp by
saying "it was a great place to meet the other National Team riders,
my
new Sakonnet teammate Caleb and to get in some good long miles."
2005 CycloCross Round up
Here's a quick round up of Cyclo Cross results not previously reported.
5th Place Glendale Cyclo Cross 30+ - Glendale, CA (November 27th) - Bob/Bruce
Weyman
7th Place August Cyclo Cross - Augusta, NJ (November 20th) - Robbie Giannini
3rd Place San Diego Cyclo Cross 30+ - San Diego, CA (November 20th) - Bob/Bruce
Weyman
3rd Place Durango Cyclo Cross - Durango, CO (November 13th) - Chris Kuhl
For More Information Visit: www.skntcycling.com