Keough fastest sprinter in Charlotte

Jake Keough (UnitedHealthcare) benefited from a perfect team lead-out to take the victory at the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium on Saturday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. He took a run to the line in the bunch sprint and out-paced Australian Criterium Champion Jonathan Cantwell (V Australia) in second and Alejandro Borrajo (Jamis-Sutter Home) in third.

“It was our race to lose from the start,” Keough said. “We raced smart all night and it was really hard and we didn’t control it until those last few laps when we did our lead-out. Everyone was attacking, it was stop and go and everyone was attacking. It was a hard race to win and I think we earned the win.”

Cantwell protested the sprint with race officials following the final sprint. Several riders alleged that Keough abruptly switched lines in the finishing straight. Officials ruled in favour of Keough saying that they did not see the incident. Cantwell declined to comment.

“Cantwell is a classy rider, Australian National Criterium Champion, and when he lines up, nine times out of ten he is the one we are looking at to be the big competition,” Keough said. “I have full respect for him. I don’t know what happened, we sprint from the front. The team rode the front for the last seven laps and we worked really hard for it.”

Cantwell lined up under sweltering heat to defend his title in the Pro-Cat 1 men’s race for a whopping $50,000. Three rows of riders including Elite, Amateurs and Professionals were called to the start line. Notable sprinters included Luca Damiani (Kenda/5-hour Energy), Menzies (UnitedHealthcare), Frank Pipp and Kyle Wamsley (Bissell), Mark Hekman (Clevland Clinic Sports Health), Christian Helmig (Elbowz Racing) and Emile Abraham (AeroCat-Cycling) and USA CRITS overall series leader Luke Keough (MountainKhakis p/b Smart Shop), among others.

“I think the whole race was a little more quiet than usual because of the heat, the air was really heavy,” Borrajo said. “It was an easier race because there weren’t a lot of attacks. It was still a hard pace, but the humidity made it a strange race.”

The dumbbell-shaped race course offered the fans a chance to see the riders twice through the finish area and a four-corner circuit on each end. The Pro-Cat 1 men raced for 80 kms. Race organizers kick-started the race with a $1000 prime won by Cantwell.

Heath Blackgrove (Elbowz Racing) went on a solo move in the first few laps of the race and he was followed by chaser Jose Navarro (GM Bikes). Bissell and UnitedHealthcare seemed interested in keeping the field together during the early parts of the race. John Loehner (Stan’s No Tubes-AXA Equitable-CRCA) picked up several race primes during his solo efforts.

“The primes were an incentive tonight,” said Blackgrove, who made nearly $2000 in primes on the day. “But I think breakaways would go and then a prime would just happen. I was going to try and break up the race, try and get a breakaway going and try and win the race.”

Kenda/5-hour Energy made a chase effort but was quickly marked by riders from UnitedHealthcare and Bissell. Yosvany Falcon (RealCyclist.com) made a solo move followed by Chad Hartley (Kenda/5-hour Energy), who worked together to hold a small lead over the field for several laps. Soladay and Bobby Lea (Pure Energy Cycling-ProAir HFA) tried to bridge across.

The next series of riders to attempt a breakaway included Kyle Wamsley (Bissell), Clayton Barrows (Stan’s No Tubes-AXA Equitable-CRCA) and Tom Soladay (Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth). Wamsley won the mid-race prime for USA CRITS points.

Soladay continued to ride solo several laps before his breakaway was neutralized with 14 laps to go by riders attempting to bridge across. Bissell and UnitedHealthcare continued to have a strong presence at the front of the field. Andy Baker (Bissell) made his move but was covered by Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare). Daniel Holt (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis) went on a solo flyer for one lap. He was followed by Ben Zawacki (Mountain Khakis p/b Smart Shop) and Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare).

Blackgrove made one final move and stayed off the front for three laps, picking up a $1000 prime. Luis Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home) made a short effort to try and bridge across, but the two riders were reabsorbed into the field with four laps to go by the UnitedHealthcare train.

“We had a small team here because the other part of the team is racing in Brazil,” Borrajo said.

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Full Results
1Jake Keough (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)1:55:35
2Jonathan Cantwell (V Australia)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Alejandro Borrajo (Jamis-Sutter Home)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Demis Aleman (Jamis-Sutter Home)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Andrew Pinfold (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)0:00:01
6Serghei Tvetcov (AeroCat Cycling Team)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Kyle Wamsley (BISSELL Pro Cycling)0:00:02
8Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Euris Rafael Vidal (Foundation/CRCA)0:00:03
10Emile Abraham (AeroCat Cycling Team)Row 9 - Cell 2
11Yosvany Falcon (Realcyclist.com Pro Cycling Team)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Joey Rosskopf (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Weimar Roldan (Colombian National Team)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Luis Alberto Romero Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home)0:00:04
15Eric Young (BISSELL Pro Cycling)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Luke Keough (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Chad Hartley (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)Row 16 - Cell 2
18Frank Travieso (Realcyclist.com Pro Cycling Team)0:00:06
19Andrew Dahlheim (BISSELL Pro Cycling)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Chad Burdzilauskas (Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Joseph Schmalz (ELBOWZ Racing)0:00:07
22Rafael Meran (Foundation/CRCA)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Thomas Brown (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)0:00:12
24Colin Jaskiewicz (MetLife Cycling Team)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Daniel Holt (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis)0:00:17
26Keck Baker (XO Communications / Battley Harley-Davidson)0:00:19
27David Forkner (Foundation/CRCA)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Jose Frank Rodriguez (Team Coco's)0:00:20
29Patrick Allison (Birmingham Velo PB Donahoo Auto)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Owen Nielsen (Happy Tooth)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Jose Navarro (GM Bikes)0:00:21
32Clay Murfet (RideClean p/b PatentIt.com)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Ryan Dewald (XO Communications / Battley Harley-Davidson)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Stephen Housley (Chemstar p/b UnitedHealthcare)0:00:22
35Clayton Barrows (Stan's No Tubes / AXA Equitable)Row 34 - Cell 2
36J Gabriel Lloyd (MetLife Cycling Team)0:00:23
37Thomas Soladay (Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth)0:00:27
38David Guttenplan (Chemstar p/b UnitedHealthcare)0:00:35
39Andrew Gonzales (ELBOWZ Racing)0:00:37
40Arles Castro (Colombian National Team)Row 39 - Cell 2
41John Grant (Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team)0:00:38
42Marco Li (Garneau-Club Chaussures-Norton)0:00:45
43Josh Oxendine (DIY Music p/b AYC)Row 42 - Cell 2
44Travis Livermon (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)0:00:48
45Austin Roach (MetLife Cycling Team)0:00:49
46Christian Helmig (ELBOWZ Racing)0:01:06
47Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)0:01:08
48Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)0:01:09
49K Frank Pipp (BISSELL Pro Cycling)0:01:12
50Isaac Howe (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)0:06:11
51Robert White (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)Row 50 - Cell 2
52Winston David (Globalbike Elite Team)Row 51 - Cell 2
53Jonathan Hamblen (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)Row 52 - Cell 2
54David Williams (BISSELL Pro Cycling)Row 53 - Cell 2
55Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)Row 54 - Cell 2
56John Simms (Jamis-Sutter Home)0:06:12
57Shane Kline (BISSELL Pro Cycling)Row 56 - Cell 2
58Patrick Bevin (BISSELL Pro Cycling)Row 57 - Cell 2
59Adrian Hegyvary (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)Row 58 - Cell 2
DNFJoshua Carter (Aerocat Cycing Team)Row 59 - Cell 2
DNFDiego Garavito (Aerocat Cycing Team)Row 60 - Cell 2
DNFSabastian Cancio (Aerocat Cycling Team)Row 61 - Cell 2
DNFMark Warno (AVC/Team Hagerstown)Row 62 - Cell 2
DNFAndy Baker (BISSELL Pro Cycling)Row 63 - Cell 2
DNFAaron Frahm (Chemstar p/b UnitedHealthcare)Row 64 - Cell 2
DNFWally Bixby (Chemstar p/b UnitedHealthcare)Row 65 - Cell 2
DNFBrian Hill (Chemstar p/b UnitedHealthcare)Row 66 - Cell 2
DNFGavriel Epstein (Chipotle Development Team)Row 67 - Cell 2
DNFNicholas Inabinet (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health RGF Cycling p/b Felt Bicycles)Row 68 - Cell 2
DNFAlan Antonuk (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health RGF Cycling p/b Felt Bicycles)Row 69 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Weddell (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health RGF Cycling p/b Felt Bicycles)Row 70 - Cell 2
DNFAndre Vandenberg (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health RGF Cycling p/b Felt Bicycles)Row 71 - Cell 2
DNFJames BaldesareRow 72 - Cell 2
DNFMark Hekman (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health RGF Cycling p/b Felt Bicycles)Row 73 - Cell 2
DNFJuan Esteban Araango (Colombian National Team)Row 74 - Cell 2
DNFCarlos Uran (Colombian National Team)Row 75 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Munoz (Deportivo CICO Rionegro)Row 76 - Cell 2
DNFMaxwell Robb (DIY Music p/b AYC)Row 77 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Raynor (DIY Music p/b AYC)Row 78 - Cell 2
DNFCody Johnson (DIY Music p/b AYC)Row 79 - Cell 2
DNFHeath Blackgrove (ELBOWZ Racing)Row 80 - Cell 2
DNFAlejandro Guzman (Foundation/CRCA)Row 81 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Bremer (Foundation/CRCA)Row 82 - Cell 2
DNFJeff Schiller (Garneau-Club Chaussures-Norton Rose)Row 83 - Cell 2
DNFKyle Knott (Team Globalbike p/b Catoma)Row 84 - Cell 2
DNFTrey Miller (Team Globalbike p/b Catoma)Row 85 - Cell 2
DNFMarc Williams (Globalbike Elite Team)Row 86 - Cell 2
DNFScott Edge (Team Globalbike p/b Catoma)Row 87 - Cell 2
DNFSimon Bennett (Globalbike Elite Team)Row 88 - Cell 2
DNFLuis ZayasRow 89 - Cell 2
DNFJohn Crow (Happy Tooth)Row 90 - Cell 2
DNFCory Scott (Happy Tooth)Row 91 - Cell 2
DNFAdam Ray (Industry Nine)Row 92 - Cell 2
DNFFernando Antogna (Jamis-Sutter Home)Row 93 - Cell 2
DNFShawn Milne (Kenda 5 Hour Energy P/B GearGrinder)Row 94 - Cell 2
DNFLuca Damiani (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)Row 95 - Cell 2
DNFChristopher Monteleone (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)Row 96 - Cell 2
DNFScottie Weiss (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)Row 97 - Cell 2
DNFSpencer Gaddy (Kenda-5 Hour Energy p/b GearGrinder)Row 98 - Cell 2
DNFAndy Munas (MetLife p/b groSolar)Row 99 - Cell 2
DNFBen Faulk (Mock Orange Racing)Row 100 - Cell 2
DNFBobby Lea (Pure Energy Cycling/ProAirHFA)Row 101 - Cell 2
DNFCole House (Realcyclist.com Pro Cycling Team)Row 102 - Cell 2
DNFAndy Crater (Serenity Bikes p/b Yoga One)Row 103 - Cell 2
DNFMarc Prutton (Stan's No Tubes / AXA Equitable / CRCA)Row 104 - Cell 2
DNFJohn Loehner (Stan's No Tubes / AXA Equitable / CRCA)Row 105 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Whitman (Stan's No Tubes / AXA Equitable / CRCA)Row 106 - Cell 2
DNFJim Cunningham (Team Carolina Tri-Metro Reprographics)Row 107 - Cell 2
DNFYosmani Pol (Team Coco's)Row 108 - Cell 2
DNFLeonardo Martinez (Team Coco's)Row 109 - Cell 2
DNFNeil Bezdek (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)Row 110 - Cell 2
DNFAdam Myerson (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)Row 111 - Cell 2
DNFBenjamin Zawacki (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)Row 112 - Cell 2
DNFJerome Townsend (Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop)Row 113 - Cell 2
DNFAndrea Ciacchinni (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis)Row 114 - Cell 2
DNFStrad Helms (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis)Row 115 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Bowden (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis)Row 116 - Cell 2
DNFCharles Eldridge (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis)Row 117 - Cell 2
DNFAdam BergmanRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFKevin Attkisson (Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team P/B Motorex)Row 119 - Cell 2
DNFJared Nieters (XO Communications / Battley Harley-Davidson)Row 120 - Cell 2
DNFTimothy Brown (XO Communications / Battley Harley-Davidson)Row 121 - Cell 2
DNFZachary Felpel (XO Communications / Battley Harley-Davidson)Row 122 - Cell 2
DNFJean-Michel Lachance (Team Canada)Row 123 - Cell 2
DNFMike Midlarsky (Realcyclist.com Pro Cycling Team)Row 124 - Cell 2
DNFDamien Dunn (Hub)Row 125 - Cell 2
DNFMarcus Morgan (Preferred Parking)Row 126 - Cell 2

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