Thursday’s endgame didn’t come until late in the eighth of 10 laps (seven of the main 6.77-mile circuit,
plus three final long laps with the decisive Mt. Penn climb added in). It was then that Sevilla, and Team Type I riders Moises
Aldape and Valeriy Kobzarenko bridged across to Tecos-Trek’s Bernardo Solex.
The final foursome crossed the start/finish together, and then started to hammer away, desperately trying
to hold off a hard-charging main field. Four soon became two, with Solex and Aldape fading. Then Kobzarenko cracked under
Sevilla’s blistering pace.
"Initially my plan was just trying to get the other teams nervous and set it up for Freddy,"said Sevilla,
alluding to his team’s designated sprinter, American Fred Rodriguez. "But the race was very fast all day, so I
knew the others’ legs would not be so fresh."
His tactic worked to perfection, and after burying himself over the climb, and into the final flat miles,
the Spaniard was finally able to sit up and enjoy the moment.
"I never looked
back until only 500 meters were left," Sevilla said. "It was a very hard day."
Much of that pain resulted from a 17-rider break that nearly blew the race apart on the first of three
trips up Mt. Penn. The move included a star-studded cast with the likes of Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis), Dominique
Rollin (Toyota-United), Sevilla and Eisel, who won the opening two rounds of the 2007 Commerce Bank Triple Crown on his way
to the series title.
But with so many heavy hitters up front, and no one willing to completely cooperate, the big break was
pulled back.
"We made our main move in that big break," said Eisel. "After that I think everyone was feeling
tired, and Sevilla was very strong. He deserved this win."
The Triple Crown’s 25-team field now gets two days off before reconvening for the Commerce Bank Philadelphia
International Championship at 9 a.m. Sunday. Celebrating its 24th running, this epic 156-mile test of mettle begins
and ends on Philadelphia’s famed Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
In between, a fast field of the world’s 200 best cyclists will hurtle their way around 10 laps of
the 14.4-mile primary circuit that includes the infamous Manayunk Wall, with its always-raucous fans and precipitous grades
that exceed 17 percent. The 10 long laps are followed by three testing finishing circuits up and over Lemon Hill before the
2008 champion is crowned.
Opening race was won by Ukraine’s Yuri Metlushenko
Launching what his competitors called a late-race hail Mary, Ukraine’s Yuri Metlushenko scored
a razor-thin sprint win in Tuesday’s Commerce Bank Lehigh Valley Classic. Aussie Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) was
second by half a tire width at the opening round of the 2008 Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling, with American Brad Huff
(Jelly Belly) trailing home in third.
Metlushenko’s win came at the end of a12-lap, 85-mile battle on the rolling
roads of Allentown, Pa.,
the Keystone state’s third largest city. This was the first running of the Lehigh event, which replaced the former Triple
Crown series opener in Lancaster.
The new-for-2008 circuit traced a rectangular path from downtown Allentown, across the Little Lehigh River, and up the scenic and rolling
Lehigh Parkway before returning downtown via West Hamilton Street. While by no means a climber’s course,
the 7.1-mile circuit tested riders with a steady stream of punchy, leg-sapping rollers. Still, when the endgame unfolded,
it was the fast men taking center stage.
"You really had to pay attention the whole day," explained Huff, who after
the Triple Crown series will head to Los Angeles in hopes of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic track cycling team. "Speeds were high all day.
This was really a power man’s race. The sprint was really fast, but the hill before it really shook things up a little.
People were trying to go from a long way out."
Indeed, pre-race favorites such as Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) and Rock
Racing’s Fred Rodriguez were non-factors in the final outcome, while the heretofore unknown Metlushenko was thrusting
his hands in the air in triumph. That final move almost cost the Amore & Vita-McDonald’s rider the win, as Menzies
came oh-so-close to nipping him at the line.
"I was sure I would win and was thinking about making a good finish line picture,"
recalled Metlushenko, who has a large scar near his right eye that belies his career as a bike racer. "But then I got scared
when I saw how close it is. I won’t ever do that again."
The first half of the Lehigh race was marked by a series of repeated –
but fruitless – attacks. Among the riders trying escape at various times were Bissell’s Aaron Olson, Brian Jensen
(Team Successful Living), Pennsylvanian Kyle Wamsley (Colavita-Sutter Home), Jason Donald (Slipstream-Chipotle) and Colavita’s
Tyler Wren. None could make their moves stick for any significant length of time, and the race was all back together at the
halfway point.
The first real move of consequence came during lap 7 when Jeff Louder (BMC
Racing), Frank Pipp (Health Net-Maxxis), Luis Romero (Colavita-Sutter Home), and Canadian strongman Svein Tuft (Symmetrics)
took off. They quickly rolled up a 50-second advantage, with Toyota-United’s Ivan Stevic, Slipstream’s Mike Friedman
and Alberto Curtolo (Liquigas) all trying to bridge across. The bunch was having none of the second move, and the chasers
were soon back in the field.
The four escapees continued to work off the front during the next four laps,
but their advantage never exceeded a minute, and it was clear the sprinters’ team was in control. The break eventually
split up, with Pipp and Tuft pushing ahead, while Louder and Romero drifted back.
The move was then momentarily re-energized when seven new riders pulled off
the front of the field and bridged up, creating a dangerous lead group that included Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United), Kasper Klostergaard
(Team CSC), Bernardo Tepoz (Tecos-Trek), Martijn Maaskant (Slipstream-Chipotle), John Murphy (Health Net-Maxxis), Eric Baumann
(Team Sparkasse), Glen Chadwick (Team Type 1), Tuft (Symmetrics) and Romero. But the field was chasing hard and the race was
all together early in the final lap.
Several more attacks and counter attacks ensued, including one final move with
Pipp and Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United). But they were snowed under on the final trip up the circuit’s short climb,
setting things up for a furious dash to the finish.
"I’m not sure where he came from," admitted Menzies of the race’s
final 200 meters. "I had two teammates leading me out perfectly, but I had to wait to make sure Huff didn’t come over
the top of me. Then Uri came by. At the finish I knew I was coming quicker and saw him pause and throw up arms, so I gave
a throw and hoped I could get him."
It was a strategy that came up about a half inch short.
