Nearly 400 competitors came out to stake their claim at the U.S. Cup unification race at Bonelli Park on Sunday the 20th. Racers were met with warm sunny skies with temps topping out in the high 80's, and the racing was just as intense.
Lower division racers prepare to battle at Bonelli
With a custom Primal unification jersey up for grabs and a load of swag from contributing US Cup sponsors, racers were leaving it all out on the course in hopes of adding one more title to their resume, and another trophy to the mantle before the season's end. In the men's Pro Class, it was Sid Taberlay defending his Kenda Cup West title against some heavy hitters, who were there to try and topple his efforts.
Taberlay wins the day and the series--for Australia
At the end of the day, Taberlay proved to be too strong for Team Turbo's Ignacio Torres from Mexico and KHS/Cytomax's Sean Donovan. Rounding out the unification pro men's podium was Trek rider Dana Weber and Team Sho-Air/Specialized's Manny Prado.
Pace line at the pro feature.
After the race Taberlay had this to say, "Well mate, it's been a long season, and I'm glad to end on a high note. These guys weren't giving me an inch and made me earn it. I just want to thank Sho-Air/Specialized as well as other team sponsors for their backing this year. It was my first full year in the States and I think it went pretty well all things considered."
In the Women's class, Kenda Cup West Champion Krista Park from the Incycle team lost the battle on the day but won the war. It was Sho-Air support rider Alison Mann taking her first professional win after turning pro in March 2009. However, because of her late start, Park got the Unification title based on her points accumulation and her second place finish on the day.
"It was great to get my first real pro win out of the way," expressed Mann. "Krista and I battled back and forth and neither one of us could get an advantage. I just bided my time in the heat and made my move stick when she ran into some shifting problems."
"Bonelli Park looks very likely to host the opening round of the 2010 PRO XCT series in early March and the venue has a lot of potential," states US Cup marketing director Ty Kady. "In conjunction with USA Cycling we should be releasing a full PRO XCT schedule as early as October or maybe sooner once we confirm commitments from promoters and venues. We also have some exciting things lined up for the US Cup as well for 2010 and should be releasing that calendar here shortly over the fall. We are hoping to expand our presence across the country and offer both pro and amateurs a great racing experience and some titles to shoot for."
Feed zone frenzy
TEAM SHO-AIR'S BLOW-BY-BLOW OF THE PRO MEN'S RACE
Team Sho-Air/Specialized's Sid Taberlay capped of the 2009 season with a "bookend" win at the U.S. Cup Unification Race at Bonelli Park. Taberlay the men's Kenda Cup West Pro Champion, and runner up in the PRO XCT series opened the season with a win at Bonelli in March and closed off the year with another convincing victory at Sunday's Unification Shootout.
The men's field blasted off around high noon, under bright sunny skies with temps soaring in the high 80's. Immediately a group of 6 formed off the front including Team Sho-Air's "moonlighter" Ben Bostrom of A.M.A. street bike fame, Team Turbo's Ignacio Torrez of Mexico, Sean Donovan, Team Sho-Air riders Manny Prado, Sid Taberlay and Dana Weber.
Prado experienced a flat tire less than 15 minutes into the first lap and was gone from the lead group. He would later claw his way back to a 5th place podium spot, but wouldn't factor with the leaders.
At the front, Bostrom set the early tempo for his team leader Taberlay and had many spectators wondering who and where this guy had come from.
Heading into lap 2 Bostrom experienced a mechanical and dropped back off the group of five. Shortly after, Torrez made the first acceleration and whittled it down to Sid Taberlay and Sean Donovan, as Trek's Dana Weber lost contact.
Donovan was already showing signs of difficulty as he Yo-Yo'd off the leaders, but somehow managed to claw his way back onto the duo a few times. Then out on the back section of the course, Taberlay showed his cards and laid down an attack that only Mexico's Torrez could follow. KHS/Cytomax's Sean Donovan was unhitched for good and quickly gave up ground to the leaders.
From there the crafty Taberlay played cat and mouse with Torrez as they each took pulls testing each other, looking for a chink in the armor.
The heat of the day was also adding to the difficulty, as riders began to deteriorate under the intense racing and sun.
Late into lap three, Taberlay saw an opening and punched it at the top of a climb before a fast, tricky decent. Immediately the Aussie opened up a 5 second lead on Torres. From there Taberlay began putting real estate between himself and the Mexican rider on the 4th and final lap.
Eventually the five-time Australian National Champion put in two minutes and twenty seconds into second place Torres and four minutes into eventual third place finisher Sean Donovan. Rounding out the podium in fourth was Trek's Dana Weber, with Team Sho-Air/Specialized Rider Manny Prado making it back to fifth after a first lap flat tire.
At the end of 2009, Taberlay took the US Cup Unification Title, The Kenda Cup West Title, four PRO XCT podiums with one win and a second overall in the series.