Sunday was the 8th annual Conte's Cycling Classic in downtown Norfolk. A day full of some intense Crit racing right in front of Waterside. Organized, produced and staffed by the TriPower Cycling Club.

The conditions started out cold. rainy and windy, with slick wet roads. The technical course is almost a mile long with a section of cobbles, and 5 turns including a tight 180. It dried up and got warmer after the Juniors and Seniors, but the 25+ mph winds stayed the whole day. Here's a quick recap of some of the races.



Masters

After a few early 3 man breaks were reeled in, Roger Friend with the Monticello Velo Club from Charlottesville got away and stayed away. WAY away. Impressive effort. There was plenty of strong legs in the group, but Roger had the mojo, and had it workin' today. Mark King (Charlotteville Racing Club) took 2nd.

More photos of the Seniors are here.




Women's Pro 1234

Pro Women's Team Lipton had two of their Cat 1 racers down and pretty much led from the gun. These ladies were so smooth and in sync that from a distance it looked they were on a tandem. This left the rest of the group to fight for 3rd.

The TriPower ladies, captioned by Carol, led the charge for the rest of the field. After picking up a prime Super Sally went on a solo chase and got a huge gap before being reeled in by Biker BJ and Julie K (Team Siegler Imports/CVCC). This group of three worked well together to establish and keep a gap on the remaining field. Julie won the sprint for 3rd place. Laura, overcoming a fever and the flu, put in a strong ride to round out the top 6.

The rest of the Women's photos here.

Cat 4 Men

The Cat 4 guys had a huge field of close to 100. The first turn is a tight 180 that strung them out into a pace line that was over 1/4 mile long.

After the first few laps TriPower racers Kevin and Art were up front driving the pace. This led to a text book setup for a break by teammate Matt Chrabot . He got away just before the left hand turn up Commercial Drive. The only rider that had the legs, position, and attention to mark this move was Terry Huss (Raleigh Allstars).

Together they worked a break that lasted the rest of the 60 minute race, with Terry winning the sprint. Kevin took second in the field sprint, while Art took a prime and a ninth overall, to give us 3 riders in the top ten of a 100 person field. WTG team.

More photos of Cat 4 here.

My camera battery was spent after 400+ photos so I have none to share on the other 2 races.

Cat 3 men saw a 5 person break get away and last to the end with locals Mike Hosang (TriPower) and Bryan Sorrell (Atlantic Velo) putting in great rides. Mason Haymes (Team Seigler Imports/CVCC) took the sprint for the line. Marc "I don't do time trials" Greco (TriPower) took home a prime and a top ten finish.

The break (photo credit H. Ward -->)

Pro 12 men had a strong 2 man break by Scottie Weiss (Hincapie/Bianchi/Dasani) and Ward Solar ( Natures Path presented by Fuji Pro/Am Cycling Team). Scottie was wearing the Stars and Stripes jersey of the National Crit Champion, and representing it well. They rode away from the field that eventually broke into 2 groups. Ward won the sprint. The first chase group was powered by Team Snow Valley. Great showing by recently upgraded Cat2 Michael Stoop who took home a prime and a fifth place.

Complete results can be found here.

RideOn

JB