Cycling Classic
Clarke Claims Beaufort Win
By Kirsten Robbins in
Beaufort,
South Carolina
Night fell on the 140 rider field in
Beaufort,
South Carolina
for the Beaufort Memorial Cycling Classic, a round of the USA Crits Speedweek
series. Hilton Clarke (Toyota-United) teamed up with the Canadian-based team
Symmetrics to take the field sprint victory, ahead of second placed Kyle
Wamsley (Colavita/Sutter Home) and third placed Kevin LaComb (Kelly Benefit
Strategies Medifast).
"Symmetrics and myself were not here for Athens
Twilight, so we all ended up starting at the back of the race and there was
absolutely no way to move up to the front," said Clarke, who was
participating in the conflicting Tour de Georgia during the weekend's USA Crits
Series opener. "So, when the break went up the road we all missed out on
it and it wasn't coming back because it had every team represented in it.
"I spoke with the three Symmetrics guys and told them
I'd work with them," he added. "A big thanks goes out to Symmetrics
because without those guys I wouldn't have won today."
A dangerous break of six riders, included Wamsley, team-mate
Davide Frattini (Colavita/Sutter Home), John Freddy Para (Toshiba), Kyle
Gritters (Health Net), Alex Candelario and David Villeneuve (Kelly Benefit),
snapped off the front early. The six escapees worked together and gained a
maximum of 30 seconds over the peloton for over half of the criterium.
One team noted absent in the break was Symmetrics, which
later found itself in an organised chase that closed down the gap just in time
to set up for a field sprint. Alex Candelario, Mark Hekman (Toshiba) and Luca
Damiani (Colavita/Sutter Home) instigated flyers in the final leg of the race,
but none matched the speed set up by the sprinter's teams.
The red colours of Colavita/Sutter Home lined up next to the
green of Kelly Benefit in a scuffle to get their respective sprinters in a good
position. Instead of capitalizing on their strong position however, the teams
were unable to stop Clarke, who surprised the field with his winning kick to
the line.
"Our team did a great job to set me up perfectly for
the sprint on the last lap," said second placed Wamsley. "Hilton took
the inside corner first by my surprise and I knew that was the right move that
I had planned."
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