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Tulsa Tough: Ramsey, Olds tear it up in Riverview Crit

By Ian Dille
Published: Jun. 1, 2009

Mountain Khaki's Daniel Ramsey didn’t think much of his chances in a field sprint in Sunday’s Riverview Criterium. So he attacked with five laps to go in the NRC event and held off a hard-charging field to win ahead of Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) and Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia).

"I just went off of instinct," said Ramsey after winning the third round of Oklahoma’s Tulsa Tough criterium series. "I don't think I've ever placed top 20 in a field sprint before, so my best option was to attack.”

The milelong Riverview course featured a long drag down Riverside Drive, a bucolic boulevard with a wide bike path bordering the Arkansas River, before taking two hard rights up a steep incline through the Victory Park condominiums.

The raucous crowd along the hill included two live bands. The fans sprayed water from garden hoses and squirt guns on the leaders, then offered adult-beverage hand-ups for those falling off the back. They painted their own KOM line across the street and took collections for rogue primes in the hundreds of dollars. Between races, an impromptu dance circle formed in the middle of the street.

To further reward those willing to suffer for a result, the race promoters tacked an extra $6,000 onto Sunday’s prize list, putting $24,000 on the line for the pro men.

Riding in defense of teammate Brad Huff's omnium lead, Jelly Belly's Bernard Van Ulden escaped from an early break and spent much of the 70-minute race off the front.

Van Ulden's lead hovered at around 20 seconds as a multitude of riders tried and failed to bridge across. Finally, Fly V Australia's Jonny Cantwell joined Van Ulden, but the move was doomed.

As the duo returned to the decimated field with five laps to go, Ramsey attacked.

“I still had some juice left with two laps to go,” he said. “But when I looked back at the second-to-last corner I thought my race was over."

Ramsey held on by mere bike lengths to take the win, raising his arms well after crossing the finish line.

"I love these kinds of courses," he said.

Huff finished the weekend with 83 points and the omnium title. Cantwell was second with 69 points followed by teammate Bernie Sulzberger in third with 64 points.

In the women’s race, an anti-celebration
Shelly Olds was so intent on winning the Riverview Criterium in a field sprint, that when the Proman rider crossed the line in first place, she forgot to throw her hands in the air.

“It’s my new victory celebration: The anti-celebration.” she joked.

Carmen McNellis (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Team Type 1's Jen McRae rounded out the podium in second and third, respectively.

With her back-to-back sprint victories over some of the nation’s top talent in the 55-minute race, Olds, 28, cemented herself as one of the top domestic sprinters.

Isolated in the dwindling front group of roughly 30 riders, Olds said she decided to do as little work as possible and focus on the field sprint.

“Luckily all the moves were chased back by other teams because not everyone was represented,” she said.

With less than five laps remaining Stacy Marple (Colavita-Sutter Home), who won the Riverview criterium solo in 2008, held a tenuous 10-second lead over the field and appeared on her way to a repeat victory.

But with two laps to go McRae surged up the backside hill, closing the gap and ensuring another field sprint. Just before the final turn, Olds jumped Van Gilder and Team Type 1’s lead-out, Alison Powers, then rode away on the long drag to the finish line.

Olds took the omnium title with 68 points. Van Gilder took the runner-up spot with 65 points while McRae claimed third with 58.

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