–Basking Ridge | May 27, 2009 | By: p9 SportsGroup
Event Presented by: Ricola USA
The established and rising stars of some of the best road cycling race teams, both domestic and international took part in the 4th annual Ricola Twilight Grand Prix in the historic borough of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The challenging 8 turn, 1.1 mile, spectator friendly circuit snakes through the suburban side streets and up the main road in downtown Basking Ridge. The 44 lap event and race circuit are very demanding of both riders and machines- with its 5 sweeping fast and 3 tight corners that challenge the riders handling skills as much as their speed and endurance.
The temperaturewas a mild 70 degrees with partly sunny skies at the beginning of the race as some 93 riders from about 15 pro and category 1 & 2 cycling teams rolled off the start line. The opening laps pitted Kenda/Inferno racing, Battley Harley Davidson Cycling Team, Canadian Team Planet Energy, Mtn. Khakis Team, Empire Cycling, Kelly Benefit Strategies, Team Team Type 1 and OUCH Pro Cycling Team against one another for about the first quarter of the race.
Empire Cycling Team briefly led the first few laps before Mtn. Khakis took a turn at the front followed by the Harley Davidson and Kelly riders who struck back taking their team colors to the head of the field. The race was fast-paced and tidy, as the bulk of riders stayed mostly together through the first half. Then the racing action heated up as Battley Harley Davidson made a mini break but was soon caught by the pack. As the last third of the race wound down a handful of riders led by Team Kelley Benefit made another attempt to split and break free but it was short-lived as well.
The tempo was rapid but steady as the pro’s winded their way through some of the narrow streets, inches from curbing and hay bales- the action, swift and intense. The group bent their bikes in- leaning hard left sweeping around Lee Place then a quick cut right on to Hillside Terrace as the tight pack tucked in and drafted up No./So. Finley across start-finish one more time.
Lap after lap, turn after turn, the 90 plus rider field was whittled down to about 30 with 10 circuits to go. Soon after, team Mtn. Khakis made a solo effort to break away and began to gap the main field by about 15 seconds. But on the penultimate lap the fury of the speeding pack in the final sprint reeled him in and one became 20+ riders flying on the road at over 35 mph- pegged at their absolute limits heading to the final bell lap.
Up South Finley Street on the main finishing stretch of road- it was Aldo Ino of Team Type 1 and Kazane-brand mounted Eric Barlevav from Mtn Khakis fighting it out- as the Slovenian Ino nipped Barlevav at the line with Francois Parisien aboard his sleek and swift Argon 18 of Planet Energy Racing team taking third. The 44 lap Ricola GP went by quick- as the riders clicked off lap after lap with speeds touching just over 40 mph in some sections of the course. Thankfully there were only minor incidents that saw only 2 crashes, one being a Champion Systems rider that was relatively unhurt. In the end, the average speed of the event was a very stout 32.2 mph.
Top Three Finishers:
- 1st place – Aldo Ino | Team Type 1
- 2nd place – Eric Barlevav | Mtn Khakis Racing
- 3rd place – Francois Parisien | Planet Energy Racing
Fourth to Tenth Place:
Maxime Vives | Planet Energy
Jonathan Page | Battley HARLEY-DAVIDSON/Sonoma Grill
Clayton Barrows | CRCA/Empire Cycling Team
Cheyne Hoag | Kelly Benefit Strategies
Chad Burdzilauskas | Kenda Pro Cycling
Stephan Kincaid | CRCA/Empire Cycling Team
Ryan Anderson | Kelly Benefit Strategies
A big round of applause goes out to all of the riders and teams as well as Ricola, Base Camp, The Store and Liberty Cycle. The racing was great and the excited, cheering fans who lined roads were treated to a unique display of athleticism, determination and passion all rolled into one fast, galant battle of men and their machines. See you in 2010!
Larger/Additional Photos: http://www.p9group.8m.com/photo2.html
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