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Rochester, New York (June 24, 2006) - Racing after
dark in front of a raucous crowd estimated at 40,000 by Mayor Robert Duffy,
the Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling Team rode an impressive team
race in tonight's Saturn Rochester Twilight Criterium, with five riders
placing in the top 25 and Dan Schmatz finishing 2nd.
After a few days spent meeting and cycling with Kodak employees in and around
Kodak's Rochester headquarters, the team's nine-rider squad got down to
business shortly after sundown.
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Dominique
Perras (L) and Jesse Anthony in the breakaway |
Confidently executing its strategy, Kodakgallery.com/Sierra
Nevada marked each and every attack throughout the 2-hour race, with Jason
Allen, Jesse Anthony, and Dominique Perras figuring in the most significant
move.
Given that a break lapped the field in each of the race's first two editions,
few expected a field sprint.
But as TIAA-CREF rode a strong tempo on the front in the closing laps, Kodakgallery.com/Sierra
Nevada moved to help position sprinters Schmatz and Martin Gilbert.
Coming out of the last turn, Schmatz timed his acceleration well but was
forced to come all the way around a Navigators Insurance rider who veered
sharply towards the outside after finishing his leadout effort.
Having taken the long way out of the corner, Schmatz held of Colavita-Sutter
Home's Sebastien Alexandre for second but was unable to catch Navigators'
Hilton Clarke.
"The team rode an excellent race tonight and if Dan had a clean shot at
the line, we might have won. But this kind of race is unpredictable, and
I'm happy with how the team rode," said Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada Racing
Manager Jonas Carney.
Asked about the pressure of racing in front a large contingent from the
team's co-title sponsor, Schmatz answered, "We always want to win and we
always want to represent all of our sponsors, so in that sense there's no
added pressure. But it still would have been special to win here, and I'm
disappointed that we didn't. But our whole team had a great time here in
Rochester and a great time at this race, so we'll definitely be back next
year."
Rounding out Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada's top finishers were Gilbert
in 10th, Jackson Stewart in 15th, Pete Lopinto in 20th and Scott Zwizanski
in 25th.
After Rochester, the team's next race will be the four-day Fitchburg Longsjo
Classic in Massachusetts, beginning this Thursday.
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