CRCA JrDev graduate and team Sakonnet superclimber Amaury Arias (right) congratulates "Booya" Lewis Almonte - Prospect Part 4-1-07.
Photo © Marco Quesada / nyvelocity.com
Graham Lang aims for the overall series victory at Bethel next week.
© Andy Shen/ nyvelocity.com
GRAHAM LANG: 1st at BETHEL, CT - Lang took top Junior honors at Bethel Connecticut this Sunday in the combined Junior-Masters event, with a fine assist from teammate Connor Sallee who captured a mid-race prime. Here's how Sallee described the action:
"I got on the back of a three-man chain of Bethel riders doing a leadout, but I went wide and got the prime by a bike's length. After the race, I reminded the main official of my prime. The usually cold and silent official made off with a jovial comment, "Yes, you sure did win. Pretty impressive for a junior to beat all these guys with the huge gears!" That was pretty nice....anyway, I found myself back in the pack when the second bell rang, and a lot of people were off the front at that time so we didn't go for the second one. Eventually, in the last five laps of the race, I was glued to the wheel of another junior also in contention. Graham and his main competition of the day (Bob German) made their way up to my wheel, unintentionally together. Graham and Bob fought hard to get my wheel but with half a lap to go Graham eventually got on and we went like two demons up the right side on the gutter, and Graham got the win. It worked out great."
Graham Lang is now in second place in the overall points for the series.
This is the face of suffering? Khary Ward warms-up before the Kirkwood Road Race.
KHARY WARD: 4th at KIRKWOOD, PA - Ward made a heroic effort on a circuit not at all suited to his talents, and he got results: third in the 17-18 year-old age group, fourth in the combined 14-18 scratch. Here's the race in his words:
"The course was like nothing I ever experienced in NYC or 9W. It was really not in my favor. I am a big dude around 200Lbs and its really hard for me to keep up with a 120-135lb juniors on 6 tough climbs. I never suffered on a bicycle like this before. Besides the 6 or so River Road like climbs on this route there was a sweet 40mph+ descent and a sharp uphill right turn immediately after it, nirvana. There were some attacks but they all failed. All in all the experience was good. I got into my first breakaway for more than a minute and I actually pulled the entire field on the flats for like 2 miles until the barrage of steep hills came one after another and I was barely able to get on the back . I shouldn't have pulled, trying to push the pace for no reason, waste of energy. I should have recovered instead (lesson learned).
I got mad complements on the kit though, looks even better now that I got white bar tape!
Sorry I couldn't bring one home for the team but when the course description said rolling I thought "ahh pshh!", Central Park is rolling! But CP is pan-cake flat compared to this."
Evan Cooper (right), showing excellent sprinting form.
© Andy Shen/ nyvelocity.com
EVAN COOPER: 3rd at CRCA "C" RACE, CENTRAL PARK, NYC - Evan Cooper finally shed his goalie's mask and padding now that the high school hockey season is over, and he's come out to Central Park to play. Look for Evan to move up rapidly now that he's actually riding his bike. Evan was 3rd in the four lap- 24 mile "C" race on Saturday, March 31st, missing the win by a little more than a bike length.
Lewis Almonte on the prowl (2nd from left) Photo © Marco Quesada / nyvelocity.com
LEWIS ALMONTE: 3rd at the SPRING SERIES 3/4 RACE, PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN, Sunday April 1, and 7th at CRCA "A" RACE, CENTRAL PARK, NYC - Almonte is honing his field sprint and seniors best watch out..."Booya Lew" navigated a hair-raising finale in Central Park on Saturday as ace sprinter Anthony Lowe had an accidental 100 meter clip-out in the CRCA "A" race, throwing the field sprint into momentary disarray. Almonte came up the inside for seventh place. He repeated this show of velocity in Brooklyn the next day, taking third in a hotly contested lunge to the line at Prospect Park. Do I see an eventual run of one-two trade-offs between Almonte and his older brother Euri Madera (Empire Hotels-CRCA) this season? Madera garnered two 3rd places himself this weekend, in the CRCA "A" race and Prospect Park 1-2-3 event.
IAN HARRIS: Took the weekend off to celebrate his admission into every single college and university he applied to... most likely destination: Brown.
