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Rossner takes back Philly
After surrendering the title for a year to Canadian Lyne Bessette (Quark), Petra Rossner (Nurnberger) reasserted her dominance in the Wachovia Liberty Classic, rocketing to a seventh win in a bunch gallop. Bessette won the Liberty in 2003 with a late race break, spoiling Rossner’s chances at winning her sixth straight title.
Rossner’s first win came in 1996 with the Vanwood team, and she racked up five straight between 1998 and 2002 before her former teammates with the now defunct Saturn seemingly put an end to the dominance. This year, however, Rossner’s powerful German Nurnberger team controlled the race perfectly, and provided a perfect leadout for their proven finisher.
The Liberty Classic takes in 4 laps of the 14.4 mile circuit used by the men’s Wachovia USPRO Championship for a total of 57.6 miles in the saddle. With a history of decisive field sprints and knowing what they were up against in Rossner, T-Mobile’s strategy was to put the power down from the start.
“She’s won the race six times, you know, she’s fast. She’s pretty much unbeatable if it comes to a sprint at the end, so we’ll have to make the race before that,” said T-Mobile’s Dede Demet-Barry.
The fast riding on the front quickly thinned the record field of 173 starters, breaking shattered groups totaling nearly 40 riders off the back by the end of the first lap. On lap 2, T-Mobile sent Lara Kroepsch out on the attack first during the long run back from the Manayunk Wall, only to be joined by two chasers by the course’s only other climb, the short, steep Lemon Hill. By the start finish, the group came back together. Rhonda Guzda of Team Cervelo-GSM was the next to try her hand, but was quickly brought back as the field steamed back out towards the Manayunk climb.
T-Mobile was in action again at the conclusion of Lap 3, sending Mari Holden off the front in a group of four that persisted over the Lemon Hill climb, but was reabsorbed by a Nurnberger chase once the race hit the flat terrain leading in to the start-finish area. At the beginning of the bell lap, it looked as if Nurnberger’s vigilance might have faltered, as a group of 15 broke off the front with only one representative. A strong Genesis Scuba squad, however, had four riders in the group, including dangerous sprinter Tina Mayolo-Pic. As dangerous as it looked, the break failed to ride cooperatively and came back into the fold after only several miles.
With the big threat past and only half a lap remaining, Nurnberger began its endgame, placing Jessica Phillips, Madeline Lindberg, and Judith Arndt on the front to drive the pace. Only Rona’s Katrina Grove could make it around the blockade as the group turned towards the final ascent of Lemon Hill, but quickly found Arndt glued to her wheel. The pair held a four second gap coming into the final loop through the start finish, but was absorbed by the final turn around Logan Circle.
The tireless Arndt continued on the front, taking Rossner to her final jump with 250 meters remaining. Victory Brewing’s Gina Grain, winner of the CSC invitational a week ago, was firmly glued to her wheel, with Laura Van Gilder (Genesis Scuba) sitting in third position. But, just as it has so many times in the past, nobody had the power to come around the favorite.
Every year, the field tries to break Rossner on the climb, and almost every year, Rossner stands up to the challenge. “I can’t really climb, but for one day a year I can climb,” smiled Rossner, who will retire from racing at the end of the season. While she’s vowed to come back to Philly in some capacity, the queen of the Liberty Classic isn’t tipping her hand quite yet with regards to her future. “Life is full of surprises, and life is full of challenges,” said the 37 year old, “I just have to find mine.” Next year, the field will no doubt be looking forward to the absence of Petra Rossner’s challenge.
Wachovia Liberty Classic
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 6
1. Petra Rossner (Ger) Nurnberger, at
2. Gina Grain (Can) Victory Brewing
3. Laura Van Gilder (USA) Genesis Scuba
4. Becky Conzelman (USA) Spin Cycle
5. Laura Yoisten (Can) Canadian National
6. Sarah Uhl (USA) Quark
7. Anita Valen (Nor) Team S.A.T.S.
8. Alison Wright (Aus) Nobili Runinetteri
9. Joanne Kiesanowski (NZL) Colavita Olive Oil
10. Regina Schleicher (Ger) Safi Pasta Zara, all s.t.
