Philadelphia International Championship/Liberty Classic
Philadelphia, PA
| June 10, 2007 |
FINAL LEG OF COMMERCE BANK TRIPLE CROWN OF CYCLING SEES FLYING ARGENTINE SPRINTER CAPTURE THE MEN'S RACE AND GERMANY'S TEUTENBERG WIN LIBERTY CLASSIC IN PHILADELPHIA
German Woman Cyclist Captures All 3 Races of Triple CrownThe Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling concluded today in Philadelphia when an international field lined up for the most prestigious race in all of the Americas. Another chapter was written in this race's rich 23-year history when Juan-Jose Haedo, "the fastest man on two wheels" sprinted home for the win in the 156-mile Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship. In the pro women's Commerce Bank Liberty Classic, Ina Teutenberg (T-Mobile) completed a hat trick as she won the final race of the series.
After the first two stops of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling in Lancaster and Reading, Philadelphia welcomed some of the world's best professional bicycle racers for the final stop of the series. In the men's race, all eyes were on Bernhard Eisel (T-Mobile) after he won the first two races of the Triple Crown. Today's race presented a different challenge, a longer course of 156 miles and the ten grueling climbs over the steep Manayunk Wall.
Riders set off under overcast skies and what appeared to be perfect conditions for a bicycle race. As usual the pace was high from the start and as the riders appeared over the top of the Manayunk Wall for the first time, Team Slipstream went on the offensive sending two riders off the front. This acceleration put the main group under pressure as Will Frishkorn (Slipstream) took the first points for the VisitPA.com Best Climber's Award. This competition which honors the most consistent climber of the day is a race within a race and it appeared that Slipstream was eager to build an insurmountable lead.
As the riders re-grouped on the descent, Team Slipstream director, Jonathan Vaughters, ordered his team to stay aggressive and they eventually forced an early breakaway which included their team leader, Danny Pate, as well as two more of his teammates. The strongest teams were represented in the 16- man break which got down to work building their lead. As promising as the break looked, the gap only grew to just over one minute. Although the Navigators Insurance team had Ciaran Power in the break, they were not convinced he would produce a win and sent their team to the front of the chasing pack to reel the break in.
With the entire Navigators Insurance team on the front, the break was doomed and the field regrouped. On lap five, 10 riders went clear. This time Team Slipstream was not in the mix and they were forced to chase. Two laps later, the field was back together again but noticeably smaller as the race was taking its toll on those not prepared for the torrid pace.
At this stage in the race, it looked unlikely that a smaller group would stay away to the finish. This seemed to play into the hands of the Pro Tour teams T-Mobile, with Bernhard Eisel and last year's winner Greg Henderson, and CSC who would look to their ace sprinters, Juan-Jose Haedo and Matthew-Harley Goss. Also in the group were 2002 winner Henk Vogels (Toyota United) and the emerging Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid).
The final three, 3.5 mile laps which took the race over the short but taxing Lemon Hill, saw a barrage of breakaway attempts by Sergey Lagutin. Nothing stayed away. As riders approached the final round-about with half a mile to go, T-Mobile was lined up at the front leading out Eisel for the inevitable sprint. Conspicuously glued to Eisel's wheel, however was Haedo who, after failing to stay away in the day's early break, found enough reserves to come around the Austrian for an excellent win. Haedo's Australian teammate Matthew Goss was also able to pass Eisel before the line for a CSC one, two finish. The record finish time was 5 hours 45 minutes and 51 seconds. The fastest in the race's 23 year history. And, the "world's fastest man on wheels" took home a sweet $15,000.
Although Eisel didn't win the final event in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling series, his third place was more than enough to give him the overall win awarded to the most consistent rider over the three race series.
The VisitPA.com Best Climber's Award was won by Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's) designating him as the best climber over the Manayunk Wall and Lemon Hill.
Juan-Jos HAEDO Team CSC Matthew-Harley* GOSS Team CSC Bernhard EISEL T-MOBILE Alejandro-Alberto BORRAJO RITE AID USA Dominique ROLLIN KODAK GALLERY p/b SIERRA NEVADA Mark* CAVENDISH T-MOBILE Charles DIONNE COLAVITA-SUTTER HOME USA Ricardo* ESCUELA SLP Alex CANDELARIO JELLY BELLY Frank PIPP Health Net - Maxxis Emile ABRAHAM PRIORITY HEALTH p/b BISSEL Sebastian* HAEDO ROCK RACING USA Henk VOGELS TOYOTA-UNITED USA Greg HENDERSON T-MOBILE Sergey LAGUTIN Navigators Insurance Svein "TUFT," SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Jacob ERKER SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Benjamin BROOKS Navigators Insurance Valery KOBZARENKO Navigators Insurance John-Freddy PARRA TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD Alejandro-Ivan CORTES CAICO Andrew RANDELL SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Andrew BAJADALI JELLY BELLY Rory SUTHERLAND Health Net - Maxxis David* VITORIA BMC RACING TEAM Ben DAY Navigators Insurance Christopher JONES NERAC Trent WILSON JITTERY JOE'S Benjamin JACQUES-MAYNES PRIORITY HEALTH p/b BISSEL Jorge MARTINEZ CAICO Chris WHERRY TOYOTA-UNITED USA Juan-Pablo MAGALLANES TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD Christian* MEIER SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Sean SULLIVAN TOYOTA-UNITED USA Christian VALENZUELA SLP Oleg GRISHKIN Navigators Insurance Ivan STEVIC TOYOTA-UNITED USA Cameron* EVANS SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Davide FRATTINI COLAVITA-SUTTER HOME USA Ryder HESJEDAL Health Net - Maxxis Daniel BOWMAN KELLY BENEFIT / MEDIFAST Luke ROBERTS Team CSC Cesar-Augusto GRAJALES JITTERY JOE'S Dominique PERRAS KELLY BENEFIT / MEDIFAST Eric KEIM AEG-TOSHIBA-JETNETWORK USA Allan JOHANSEN Team CSC Michael BLAUDZUN Team CSC Gregorio LADINO TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD Marco PINOTTI T-MOBILE Richard ENGLAND PRIORITY HEALTH p/b BISSEL Martin* PEDERSEN Team CSC Caleb MANION TOYOTA-UNITED USA Jesse* ANTHONY KODAK GALLERY p/b SIERRA NEVADA Kirk O'BEE Health Net - Maxxis Javier-de-Jesus ZAPATA CAICO Shawn MILNE Health Net - Maxxis Alessandro* BAZZANA SLP Yosvani FALCON AEG-TOSHIBA-JETNETWORK USA Michael GRABINGER SLP Danny PATE SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE Roger HAMMOND T-MOBILE Mike SAYERS BMC RACING TEAM Mark WALTERS KODAK GALLERY p/b SIERRA NEVADA Eric BAUMANN T-MOBILE Erik LYMAN CALYON - LITESPEED Adam MYERSON NERAC Christopher FREDERICK AEG-TOSHIBA-JETNETWORK USA Daniel HOLT NERAC Adam BERGMAN COLAVITA-SUTTER HOME USA Todd YEZEFSKI NERAC Zachary BELL SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Jake RYTLEWSKI RITE AID USA Martin GILBERT KELLY BENEFIT / MEDIFAST Ben RABY KODAK GALLERY p/b SIERRA NEVADA Wendy CRUZ CAICO Nick* REISTAD JELLY BELLY Rudolph NAPOLITANO ROCK RACING USA Patrick WALSH NERAC Kasper* KLOSTERGAARD-LARSEN Team CSC Fausto-Marcelino ESPARZA TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD Alex* HAGMAN AEG-TOSHIBA-JETNETWORK USA Michael DIETRICH KODAK GALLERY p/b SIERRA NEVADA Hector-Hugo RANGEL TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD Tyler WREN COLAVITA-SUTTER HOME USA Stephen KINCAID RITE AID USA Herberth GUTIERREZ TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD David MCCANN COLAVITA-SUTTER HOME USA Michael FRIEDMAN SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE Gustavo ARTACHO COLAVITA-SUTTER HOME USA James* MEADLEY JELLY BELLY Eric WOHLBERG SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Scott MONINGER BMC RACING TEAM Matthew* GUSE CALYON - LITESPEED Scott NYDAM BMC RACING TEAM Austin KING JITTERY JOE'S Garrett PELTONEN PRIORITY HEALTH p/b BISSEL Edward* KING PRIORITY HEALTH p/b BISSEL Geoff KABUSH SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM Neil SHIRLEY JITTERY JOE'S Scott ZWIZANSKI PRIORITY HEALTH p/b BISSEL Frank TRAVIESO AEG-TOSHIBA-JETNETWORK USA Matt SHRIVER JITTERY JOE'S Ryan* ROTH KELLY BENEFIT / MEDIFAST Nicholas* WAITE KELLY BENEFIT / MEDIFAST Hilton CLARKE Navigators Insurance Cody STEVENSON JITTERY JOE'S Aaron OLSON T-MOBILE Jacob ROSENBARGER BMC RACING TEAM Taylor* TOLLESON SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE Heath BLACKGROVE TOYOTA-UNITED USA Luis-Fernando MACIAS-HERNANDEZ TECOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD John* MURPHY Health Net - Maxxis Ken HANSON BMC RACING TEAM Evan ELKEN JITTERY JOE'S Nikola SMUTNY NERAC Tommy* NANKERVIS JITTERY JOE'S Chuck COYLE SLP William FRISCHKORN SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE Charles-Bradley HUFF SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE Chad HARTLEY BMC RACING TEAM Francois PARISIEN SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE Karl MENZIES Health Net - Maxxis Michael CREED SLIPSTREAM p/b CHIPOTLE
COMMERCE BANK LIBERTY CLASSIC FEATURES WORLD'S BEST WOMEN RACERS
At the final stop of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling in Philadelphia, the veteran German rider, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, waited until the final meters of the 14th annual race to show her cards and they came up all aces once again after her wins in the first two rounds of the world class professional bicycle race series.
The pro woman's Commerce Bank Liberty Classic has been the property of German riders over the past 8 years so the question before the start was not only who would win the 2007 edition but could anyone unseat the ever dominant Germans. As last year's winner, Regina Schleicher, on the Nuernberger Versiche team, appeared to be the strong favorite. Schleicher, however, was an unknown factor for the rest of the field since she did not compete in the first two legs of this year's Triple Crown in Lancaster and Reading. The woman who appeared to be at the very top of her game was Teutenberg. Local Pennsylvania resident, Laura VanGilder, was nipping at Teutenberg's heels and looked to be the most likely to break the German strangle hold on the race.
Riders were faced with a four lap race over the same terrain as the pro men. The first rider to test their legs was Kristin Armstrong (TEAm Lipton) using the steep slopes of Manayunk to scoop up the first points for the VisitPA.com Best Climber's Award given to the best climber of the day. Armstrong's unrelenting pace on the steep slopes of Manayunk was enough to shed a good portion of the field but the favorites were all still together as they started their second lap.
As the miles clicked by, the teams with strong sprinters, like Nuernberger Versiche and T-Mobile, kept the field together until Alison Powers (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) shot off the front and established a substantial one minute gap with one lap remaining. Recognizing the danger, Teutenberg rallied her team to chase and as the riders approached the top of Manayunk Wall for the final time, Powers' valiant effort came to an end.
The last futile efforts by the non-sprinters to escape before the line were shut down and the riders entered the last mile of the race all together. As the competitors rounded the final turn and prepared for the long drag to the line, the familiar pink T-Mobile jersey could be seen starting the sprint from a long way out. In spite of offering her wheel and the advantage of surfing in her slipstream to the line, the German held off all comers. Even though Schleicher was in a perfect position to come around, in the end she was unable to match the power and class of the triumphant "Triple Crown" winner Ina-Yoko Teutenberg.
Final Awards: Kristin Armstrong took the VisitPA.com Best Climber's Award. The Miji Rioch Award for the best placed rider aged-23 or under and offered by the Nicole R Reinhardt Foundation was awarded to Erica Allar (Juice Plush+) who took home the $1000 as the first place prize.
Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team Regina SCHLEICHER NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG GER Gina GRAIN TEAM EXPRESSCOPY.COM CAN Joanne KIESANOWSKI NZL NATIONAL/JAZZ APPLE Jen MCRAE ADVIL-CHAPSTICK Laura VAN GILDER CHEERWINE Katherine BATES T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team Erica* ALLAR Juice Plus Brooke MILLER TEAM TIBCO USA Tina PIC Colavita Olive Oil Catherine CHEATLEY CHEERWINE Oenone WOOD T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team Stacy MARPLE TEAM TIBCO USA Katharine CARROLL AARON'S USA Katie MACTIER VALUEACT CAPITAL Allison BRANDT TARGETRAINING Heather LABANCE ADVIL-CHAPSTICK Dotsie BAUSCH Colavita Olive Oil Rushlee* BUCHANAN NZL NATIONAL/JAZZ APPLE Kori SEEHAFER TEAM LIPTON Kristin ARMSTRONG TEAM LIPTON Katie LAMBDEN TEAM TIBCO USA Christina DEKRAAY VITESSE CYCLING USA Nichole WANGSGARD VITESSE CYCLING USA Holli STEELMAN Juice Plus Christine THORNBURN WEBCOR BUILDERS Kele MURDIN TEAM ULTRALINK CAN Rebecca LARSON AARON'S USA Alex* WRUBLESKI Colavita Olive Oil Chantal BELTMAN T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team Kimberly ANDERSON T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team Anne SAMPLONIUS TEAM EXPRESSCOPY.COM CAN Trixi WORRACK NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG GER Kathleen BILLINGTON TARGETRAINING Robin FARINA TARGETRAINING Dale TYE Hub Racing Leigh VALETTI TARGETRAINING Catherine POWERS AARON'S USA Marie* LINDBERG NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG GER Jenny TREW VITESSE CYCLING USA Sarah UHL CHEERWINE Rebecca WELLONS BMW-BIANCHI Mara* ABBOTT WEBCOR BUILDERS Heidi GOLDBERG ADG-JOE'S BIKE SHOP Shontelle GAUTHIER TEAM ULTRALINK CAN Marisa ASPLUND TEAM TIBCO USA Andrea LUEBBE Juice Plus Hannah* BANKS VALUEACT CAPITAL Cora OLSEN BMW-BIANCHI Helen KELLY WEBCOR BUILDERS Ann* TURNER, BMW-BIANCHI Jennifer STEPHENSON TEAM ULTRALINK CAN Michelle KIESANOWSKI NZL NATIONAL/JAZZ APPLE Claudia* HAUSLER NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG GER Courtenay BROWN VALUEACT CAPITAL Kim SAWYER BMW-BIANCHI Sharon ALLPRESS VALUEACT CAPITAL Mara MILLER ADVIL-CHAPSTICK Andrea GRAUS NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG GER Erinne WILLOCK TEAM EXPRESSCOPY.COM CAN Anna MILKOWSKI TARGETRAINING Katheryn CURI WEBCOR BUILDERS Andrea DVORAK Colavita Olive Oil Claudia* STUMPF NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG GER Leigh HOBSON CHEERWINE Kelly BENJAMIN CHEERWINE Natalie* KLEMKO ADVIL-CHAPSTICK Felicia GOMEZ AARON'S USA Sarah CARAVELLA AARON'S USA Jessie* MACLEAN Verducci Breakaway Racing Shannon HUTCHISON-KRUPAT AARON'S USA Michelle BELTRAN VITESSE CYCLING USA Jenette WILLIAMS Hub Racing Diane CASTOR ADG-JOE'S BIKE SHOP Melissa PETTY BMW-BIANCHI Amanda LOZANO TARGETRAINING Theresa CLIFF-RYAN Verducci Breakaway Racing Kathryn CLARK VITESSE CYCLING USA Michele BOTE Hub Racing Laura BOWLES ADVIL-CHAPSTICK Rebecca BROEDER Hub Racing Tricia CARNILA Verducci Breakaway Racing Julia FARELL TEAM ULTRALINK CAN Lauren FRANGES TEAM LIPTON Genevieve* GAGNON TEAM ULTRALINK CAN Rachel HEAL WEBCOR BUILDERS Melissa HOLT TEAM EXPRESSCOPY.COM CAN Nonnie HOWARD Verducci Breakaway Racing Lisa JELLETT Verducci Breakaway Racing Reem JISHI ADVIL-CHAPSTICK Rebeca JONES Hub Racing Lara KROEPSCH TEAM LIPTON Brenda LYONS TEAM LIPTON Malindi* MACLEAN NZL NATIONAL/JAZZ APPLE Kacey* MANDERFIELD Verducci Breakaway Racing Leeanne MANDERSON Hub Racing Diane MILLER ADG-JOE'S BIKE SHOP Meredith MILLER TEAM LIPTON Janet OLNEY ADG-JOE'S BIKE SHOP Martina PATELLA VALUEACT CAPITAL Alison POWERS Colavita Olive Oil Liza RACHETTO TEAM TIBCO USA Elizabeth REAP Juice Plus Alexis* RHODES T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team Christina RUITER CHEERWINE Lisa VIBLE ADG-JOE'S BIKE SHOP Lauren* WEBB NZL NATIONAL/JAZZ APPLE Iona WYNTER-PARKS Colavita Olive Oil Laura YOISTEN WEBCOR BUILDERS
About Commerce Bank
Commerce Bank, "America's Most Convenient Bank," is a leading retailer of financial services with 400+ convenient stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) has $45.3 billion in assets and in fiscal year 2006 achieved an 18% increase in core deposits, a 23% increase in net loans and total asset growth of 18%. For more information about Commerce, please visit the company's interactive financial resource center at commerceonline.com, or call 888-751-9000.
About Pro Cycling Tour
The Commerce Triple Crown of Cycling is managed by Pro Cycling Tour, LLC of Norristown, PA. Pro Cycling Tour is dedicated to the development of quality cycling events and programs in the United States. For the latest news on all three races, go to www.procyclingtour.com
