Ramsey Wins San Francisco Leg Of USA Crits!
TIME Pro Cycling's Daniel Ramsey took the penultimate leg of the 2008 USA Crits Series in San Francisco at the inaugural running of the San Francisco Twilight Criterium. Ramsey, one of the more experienced members of the Time squad, was the beneficiary of a mechanical that that took third place finisher Jorge Alvarado (Kahala/Lagrange) out of the final moments of competition.
"I was just trying to keep pressure on the other teams so mine could make a move. I bridged up on the final break and no one came with me. Alvarado and I started working well together. He's a strong rider but he broke his saddle...unlucky for him. He told me to go ahead. So the win was easy."
Photo: Larry Rosa Photography
118 men initially rolled to the line of the one-kilometer course on Union Street in downtown San Francisco to contest the $10,000 prize purse. Alvarado was aggressive from the start, figuring into a five man break that also included Alessandro Bazzano (Successful Living). Bazzano spent much of the evening out in front of the field, continually chasing down moves and eventually nabbing the mid-race prime. Every break that managed to establish even a momentary gap over the main field, however, caused a high-speed reaction from the pack. At one point, those riders who had yet to call it a night were stretched out on course in a 15-second-long single file.
With three laps remaining, Alvarado, Ramsey and Successful Living's fast man Ricardo Escuela established what would be the evening's winning effort. The trio held a 13-second gap over the remainder of the peloton, but Alvarado's unfortunate mechanical put the race in Ramsey's hands. This is the second USA Crits victory for the Time squad, whose Eric Barlevav won a dramatic sprint finish at this year's Harlem Skyscraper Classic in early June.
"I was just trying to keep pressure on the other teams so mine could make a move. I bridged up on the final break and no one came with me. Alvarado and I started working well together. He's a strong rider but he broke his saddle...unlucky for him. He told me to go ahead. So the win was easy."
Photo: Larry Rosa Photography
118 men initially rolled to the line of the one-kilometer course on Union Street in downtown San Francisco to contest the $10,000 prize purse. Alvarado was aggressive from the start, figuring into a five man break that also included Alessandro Bazzano (Successful Living). Bazzano spent much of the evening out in front of the field, continually chasing down moves and eventually nabbing the mid-race prime. Every break that managed to establish even a momentary gap over the main field, however, caused a high-speed reaction from the pack. At one point, those riders who had yet to call it a night were stretched out on course in a 15-second-long single file.
With three laps remaining, Alvarado, Ramsey and Successful Living's fast man Ricardo Escuela established what would be the evening's winning effort. The trio held a 13-second gap over the remainder of the peloton, but Alvarado's unfortunate mechanical put the race in Ramsey's hands. This is the second USA Crits victory for the Time squad, whose Eric Barlevav won a dramatic sprint finish at this year's Harlem Skyscraper Classic in early June.
posted by Jered at
8:34 AM
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