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Wamsley claims Chris Thater crit
Proving that he is one of the stronger American crit racers, Kyle Wamsley won the 24th edition of the Chris Thater Memorial on Sunday in Binghamton, New York.
"I'm ecstatic ... just ecstatic!" the Navigators Insurance rider said as he caught his breath.
Wamsley figured into every part of the race, leading out the first lap, hanging in the day's major break, and pulling a "caution to the wind" move at the end of the race.
"This season's winding down, so I thought I'd through everything into the race. If I didn't make it, so be it. But I really wanted to win today,” he said.
The event got under way beneath cool, partly cloudy skies, a welcome improvement from the torrential rain that plagued last year's race.
The Chris Thater Memorial is held annually in honor of a local cycling enthusiast killed by a drunk driver in 1983. The course is a fairly technical 1.2 mile route that features seven turns and a slight rise on the backside that in the past has been the catalyst for a decisive break.
Multiple races were afoot from the start, including the NRC battle between Toyota-United and Health Net Maxxis, and the USA CRITS competition, re-animated by the loss of series Mark Hekman (Abercrombie & Fitch) to a crash in Downer's Grove.
With Frank Pipp absent from competition due to a pair of broken ribs sustained during the Haynes Park Criterium, Health Net arrived in Binghamton with diminished numbers and plans for the three-man squad — Karl Menzies, Rory Sutherland and Shawn Milne — to lay back initially.
"We're (have) to be a little quieter at the beginning since we don't have any guns to shoot off early on in the race. Today's a bit more strategic as far as getting into the right groups. I don't think one guy can stay off the front." Milne said beforehand.
Out of the gate Kyle Wamsley lit up the race for Navigators during the first couple of laps, until a four-man breakaway that included Emile Abraham (Priority-Health), and Bennet Van der Genugten (Abercrombie & Fitch) rolled off the front. Keith Norris (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) and Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) initiated a successful move to bring them back.
But Wamsley showed that he was far from done as he became part of the first significant move of the day, with Edward King (Priority Health), Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery), and Rite Aid teammates Alejandro Borrajo and Bill Elliston.
With 11 gaps to go Toyota-United's seven-man lineup decided that enough was enough and they began to slowly hack away at the leaders’ advantage.
Elliston was the first to fall, and then AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network began to chip in on behalf of their sprinter, Frank Travieso. With Hekman gone, Travieso was almost assured of stepping up from second place and assuming the series lead.
Six laps later Toyota had whittled the leaders’ gap to just 15 seconds with average speeds exceeding 27 mph. Suddenly, counter-attacks were in the air, but that threat dissolved once the break was completely absorbed and the Toyota-United train locked things down for Dominguez, who sat comfortably in third wheel.
Unfortunately the effort Toyota-United expended in putting the Cuban sprinter in striking distance proved too costly. Dominguez's last lead-out man peeled off as the field went up the climb and he found himself swarmed.
"I was expecting something a little more flat, but when we did the first lap, I thought 'I'm going to be in pain today.' And my boys they were dying. They were in front for like 20 minutes. But I knew I was going to be in trouble once they saw that I didn't have anybody left."
Wamsley and teammate Viktor Rapinski pounced on the opportunity. Rapinski covered the other sprinters in the field, sitting up just in time to keep anyone from coming around Wamsley when he launched. Three turns from the finish, Wamsley went for broke.
"Everyone just sat up and watched me go," Wamsley said.
The victory was redemption for Wamsley, who wasn’t happy with his race at the USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championship August 19 in Downers Grove, Illinois.
"After my lackluster performance in crit nationals I had something to prove today. I definitely wanted to be in the move today (since) I thought it would stay away. It was a little bit cold, a little bit windy, and I knew there were some tired legs out there today."
Toyota's efforts would not go completely unrewarded — Dominguez held on for second, leaving Health Net to settle for third with Karl Menzies.
Chris Thater Memorial
Binghamton, NY
1. Kyle Wamsley, Navigators Insurance, 1:51:04
2. Ivan Dominguez, Toyota-United, same time
3. Karl Menzies, Health Net-Maxxis, s.t.
4. Keven Lacombe, Kelly Benefit-Medifast, s.t.
5. Rory Sutherland, Health Net-Maxxis, s.t.
6. Erik Lyman, Calyon/Litespeed, s.t.
7. Emile Abraham, Priority Health-Bissell, s.t.
8. Anibal Borrajo, s.t.
9. Luca Damiani, Colavita Sutter Home, s.t.
10. Frank Travieso, AEG-Toshiba Jet Network, s.t.
