Bart Wellens retains second victory in Issaquah in Rapha-Focus Gran Prix 2011 – Cycling Update
Telenet-Fidea team’s Bart Wellens showed a good performance and took his second victory in this weekend at Rapha-Focus Gran Prix 2011 on Sunday, September 18.
In the final kilometres, Telenet-Fidea team controlled the situation of the stage and helped their rider Wellens so he could cross the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 21 seconds. The former double World Champion Rob Peeters of Telenet-Fidea
also showed a good effort but grabbed runner-up spot with a difference of 26 seconds.
Co-promoter Zac Daab said, "Wellens mentioned that he has a big appreciation for the American riders who come over to Europe to race. Traveling and not having what you’re used to can be tough. It’s hard to race when you are abroad and I think he has more
respect for US guys going over to Europe now."
In the race, the number of corners and twists created problems for the cyclists in each lap. Daab further added that, the crowds were good on both days and the fans also like the course of the race. However, due to wet weather the lines were different.
With few laps to go, Wellens increased his pace and was joined by two cyclists including, Ryan Trebon (LTS-Felt) and Jonathan Page (Planet Bike-Blue) as the trio worked well together to gain a lead.
They trio was quickly joined by the other five cyclists Todd Wells (Specialized Racing), Rob Peeters (Telenet-Fidea), Fabio Ursi (CS Esercito), Ben Berden (Stoemper), and Zac McDonald (Rapha-Focus).
However, in the last lap of the race, Wellens showed his tremendous abilities and made a winning move. He built a lead of a few seconds over Peeters and Page.
Daab further explained, “They were riding one, two and three for most of the race and it stayed that way until the end, that was how they finished."
Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain bicycles/Shimano), Fabio Ursi and Zach McDonald was in sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively.
Ryan Trebon of LTS/Felt tried his best to take a lead and launched an attack but he was caught by the peloton and grabbed the 18th spot with a difference of 5 minutes and 40 seconds ahead of Kevin Noiles and Spencer Paxson.
Previously, Wellens took third place in the Belgian National Cyclo-cross Championships in 2000, 2005 and 2007. He also secured first place in Gezet van Antwerpen Trophy in 2004.
Jake Wells (Stan's NoTubes Elite Cyclocross Team), Giancarlo Dalle Angelini (Rio Blanco), Aaron Tuckerman (Corsa Concepts Cyclocross Team) and Brue Syvertsen (Team Marin) were disqualified.
Wellens put in a brilliant performance as he fought hard throughout the race to take a decent win in the end.
Tags: