Saturday, July 18, 1998 -- Lost Creek
WV State Championship
[More Pictures] [Results]
The pace line is altogether during the early stages |
The day's races consisted of a 37 mile loop for the Cat 4 riders with the Cat 1-3 riders having two extra segements added in, to give them a 63 mile total. However the biggest climbs of the day were included in the course for all riders. The first climb was situated around the midpoint both circuits, with a feed zone available at the summit. The other climbs of interest where situated around the city of Johnstown, just a few miles from the finish.
Josh Smith leads the riders up the final climb |
The Cat 4 group saw Phil Lovalenti and Mark Waite finally pull away as they topped the final climb with Tim Willis and Matt Peterson in close pursuit. For the final miles of the race it was a team effort by Phil and Mark to keep Tim from closing the gap. Tim was riding well all day, on the relatively level stretches of road, and he'd be hammering hard to catch them by the finish. Tim made the effort and quickly dropped Matt, but was never able to catch the leaders. The race for first between two leaders was easily won by Phil, with Mark having little left to challenge with, in a sprint finish. (However, Mark was overheard telling Phil that it was "Just an early Christmas present.") Tim and Matt crossed with solo finishes for third and fourth, respectively. The Cat 4s finished their 37 miles in around 1:38, at an average speed of over 21 mph.
H. Orlandella reaching the final summit |
Other winners on the day included Katina Sayers, Cat3 Female, who battled with the Cat 4 Men on the 37 mile course. The Cat 5 Men raced earlier in the day, on a roughly 20 mile course, with Rick McAllister beating out Russell Dunkin for top spot.
The West Virginia Champion honor, which comes with the prerequisite of being a WV resident, went to Greg Cook. In second and third were Gunnar Shogren and Chris Hunnisett, respectively. These same three that took the overall awards, also laid claim to first in their respective race categories.