6/4 Pennsylvania Triple Crown / Lancaster Criterium (Cat 1,2 invitational) Lancaster, PA
A full Sakonnet U25 squad made their way to this big event; attending was Wiswell, Kuhl, Swain, Hayes, Ferrero, East and Chauner. The first leg of the Pennsylvania Triple Crown begins in Lancaster followed by a race in Reading, PA (next Thursday night) and crowned a week from today in Philadelphia at the Commerce Bank Invitational. Mike Chauner’s Dad promotes this series and it was fitting that son made Dad proud today.
A topnotch amateur only field was invited and Sakonnet made their mark early with fierce attacking by Swain and Hayes. All breakaway attempts were brought back and it came down to a field sprint where Hayes reloaded and took Mike Chauner thru the pinball machine finish and dropped him off 100 meters from the line. Chauner was drag racing keirin track specialist J-me Carney and came up with a big 3rd Place at a very prestigious regional event. Congratulations Mike and Team (also taking 13th, 15th and 17th)!
Editor’s note: Look for Mike’s fast finish at the National U23 Criterium Championships.
6/4 CRCA Team Cup Round #2 New York, NY
Sakonnet’s Lee Rosenthal sprinted his way to 10th Place today in the second round of the season long CRCA Team Cup. The squad fell prey to two mechanicals (Mike Margarite and Basil Moutsopoulos) and was short a rider at the start due to work obligations. Never the less the best was made of an off day with LeeRo scoring valuable points for the team.
Next weekend the Team Cup continues with the Club Time Trial Championships, expect a strong showing by our professional Duathlete Lee Sossen, former CT State T.T Champion Stephan Badger and a trio of strong U25’s; Kuhl (PA U23 State TT Champion), Hayes and Rosenthal.
6/3 Red Robin’s USA vs. the World Trexletown, PA
Three Sakonnet men (Ruhl, East, Wiswell) took to the boards at the T-Town Velodrome on this night to tackle the Red Robin USA vs. the World UCI meet. All the team riders had great rides but the highlight of the night was David Wiswell's podium appearances, which included 5th Place in the Elite Men 15km Scratch Race and a fantastic 3rd Place in the Elite Men Keirin.
5/29 Tour of Sommerville (Cat 2) Sommerville, NJ
Sakonnet’s 18-year old Chris Ruhl notched another important top ten in todays under card Cat 2 event to the NRC Pro Race that followed. The race came down to a field sprint as the pace was so high that no breaks could escape the grasp of the peleton. Chris kept his cool amid flying bodies on the last lap and sprinted to a hard fought 7th Place. Sakonnet riders also took 14th and 20th.
5/28 Bound Brook Criterium Bound Brook, NJ
Sakonnet’s Jon Swain took a flyer 4-laps into this 36-lap race and found himself in a hard charging break of 6 riders. Despite a deep and strong field including several Jittery Joe’s rider chasing hard from behind Swain and company kept their lead of 30 seconds. Swain’s Sakonnet teammates kept a lid on the attacks and the break fought it out amongst themselves. After making a bid for a solo win Swain was out kicked by his remaining companions and finished a brilliant 4th Place.
Cat 3 Event – Sakonnet’s Louis Perez used his field sprinting skills to come out with a 7th Place finish in the Cat 3 under card race.
5/28 Hartford Criterium Hartford, CT
Sakonnet’s Stephan Badger sprinted to 9th Place in a massive field sprint with the help of fellow Connecticut resident Robbie Giannini.
30+ Event – The Badger did double duty and was in the money again with a 8th Place in the “old man’s” race.
5/27 Tour of Somerset Hills Somerset, NJ
In today’s Pro 1 Invitational Sakonnet was not fazed by a full Navigators squad. The boys launched the break of the day when Guy East went barreling off the front in mile number 2 shortly to be followed by Lee Rosenthal who got a free lift up with another rider. For 70 of the 80 miles it was East and Rosenthal along with one other off the front of the field. It took major fireworks from the Navigator riders to cross the gap. Following wheels and staying as fresh as possible thanks to help from Alex Ferrero was David Wiswell. Wiswell covered every move imaginable and in the end finished a solid 9th Place in this selective event.
5/27 Millport Road Race Lancaster, PA
While the majority of the team was in New Jersey two Sakonnet riders lined up for the Millport Road Race. In the field was Jon Swain and new regional rider Mike Margarite. A hard tempo at the outset of the event saw a major split go away from the peleton. Both Swain and Margarite where represented but out numbered by other teams. In the end after a break of 4 got away without SKNT representation Mike took matters to hand and broke away for a satisfying 5th Place.
5/26 Manville Madness Criterium (Cat 3) Manville, NJ
Today the Cat 3’s stole the spotlight, as the Cat 3 race was the premier event. In the race was Sakonnet’s fast finisher Louis Perez. Louis can sprint and climb but riding in a day long breakaway is a new hand in his poker game. After the five fastest laps of his life the break was set and moving away from the field. In the end they lapped the peleton and Louis finished a fantastic 4th Place.
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