Age: 18
Hometown: White Plains, NY
Category: Road 3 Track 4
Pascual is the kind of rider who everyone speaks about in superlatives. A brilliant climber who can also time trial, Pascual seems to have all the physical tools required for a stellar career in bicycle racing. Yet he is also known for disasterous crashes and mid-season physical breakdowns. Hailing from Venezuela via White Plains, Caputi practically grew up on the fabled Gimbel's Ride, where he was first spotted years ago riding in the wake of the pack wearing sweat pants and riding a hand-me-down racing bike. Several veteran racers, including CRCA JrDev's sponsorship director Joao Correia took Pascual under their wing, and he's been racing with tremendous success for the better part of two seasons. Pascual's performance in 2006 fluctuated wildly. He rode away from the field for most of the 56 mile Battenkill-Roubaix road race, eventually winning that event, and had a calamitous bout of back trouble at the Capital Region Road Race. Pascual's chronic back problems then seemed to disappear for the Nancy Morganstern Memorial at Bear Mountain this September when he finished second in the category 4 event ahead of an 80 strong field of senior men; and that on a restricted junior gear of 50-14! Pascual's primary goal for 2007 is to hone his consistency, with a little diligence Pascual could win a race every weekend.
