Mike Northey (Pure Black Racing) took a convincing sprint victory at the National Racing Calendar (NRC) Tour de Grove on Saturday. The youngster jumped ahead of his breakaway companions with three corners to go, outpacing Jake Keough (UnitedHealthcare) in second and Christian Helmig (Elbowz Racing) in third.
"My teammate helped drive the breakaway and that what allowed me to get the win," Northey said. "I didn't want to leave it to the last turn, especially because it was windy. I took it from three corners to go and hit the last turn with a bit of a gap. I was able to hold it to the line. I was pretty excited."
The race was a member of both the NRC and the USA Crit Championship Series. The Pro-Cat 1 men were competing for a $15,000 prize purse. They embarked on a 75-minute race, plus three laps, held on a two-kilometre, L-shaped circuit.
Rain drizzled over the riders as they took to the start line. Despite the wide open roads, the race was slightly dangerous due to the slick and wet corners. Riders were cautious but several crashes took place during the first two laps.
Northey attacked early in the race and formed an initial breakaway of five riders including Keough. An additional five riders bridged across forming a group of ten that included Helmig, Jonathan Cantwell (V Australia), Ty Magner (Team Type 1), Juan Paublo Dotti (Aerocat), Adam Myerson (MountainKhakis), Chris Monteleone (Kenda/5-hour Energy), Louis Crosby (Pure Black Racing), Adrian Hegyvary (UnitedHealthcare) and Eric Young (Bissell).
"The first group went right away and half a lap later another group came across," Keough said. "I think Cantwell and I played a little bit of cat and mouse. My teammate helped to drive it and kept it together but he flatted with lap and a half to go. One guy attacked on the last lap and I wound up on Cantwell coming out of the last corner. I had some gearing trouble and took a run at it late and I came from behind Cantwell and Helmig and just caught the guy who won at the line."
The breakaway hovered at approximately 30 seconds for the remainder of the criterium. Northey jumped with three corners to go and gained a small lead heading onto the finale straightaway. Despite headwind, he managed to hold off the sprint behind him for the victory.
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Northey (Pure Black Racing) | 1:27:28 |
| 2 | Jake Keough (UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis) | |
| 3 | Christian Helmig (ELBOWZ RACING) | |
| 4 | Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia Pro Cycling Te) | 0:00:01 |
| 5 | Ty Magner (Team Type 1-Development) | 0:00:02 |
| 6 | Juan Paublo Dotti (Team Aerocat) | |
| 7 | Adam Myerson (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | |
| 8 | Christopher Monteleone (Kenda Pro Cycling p/b GEARGRIN) | 0:00:13 |
| 9 | Louis Crosby (Pure Black Racing) | 0:00:14 |
| 10 | Eric Young (Bissell Pro Cycling) | 0:00:30 |
| 11 | Luke Keough (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | 0:00:32 |
| 12 | Aaron Marcus Kemps (Fly V Australia) | |
| 13 | Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia Pro Cycling Te) | 0:00:33 |
| 14 | Roman Van Uden (Team Rubicon-Orbea) | |
| 15 | Ben Kersten (V Australia) | |
| 16 | Emile Abraham (Aerocat Cycling Team) | |
| 17 | Euris Vidal (Foundation) | |
| 18 | Stephen Dilford (TradeWind Energy) | 0:00:34 |
| 19 | Zack Allison (Sonic Boom Pb Lucky Pie) | |
| 20 | Adam Leibovitz | |
| 21 | Issac Howe (Kenda p/b geargrinder) | |
| 22 | Rafael German (Foundation) | |
| 23 | Lisban Quintero (Foundation) | |
| 24 | Colton Barrett (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Optum) | |
| 25 | Ian Crane (Hagens Berman LLP) | |
| 26 | Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) | |
| 27 | Thacker Reeves (Chipotle Devlopment Team) | |
| 28 | Jeremy Grimm (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health) | |
| 29 | Daniel Holt (Team Type 1-Development) | |
| 30 | Unknown | 0:00:35 |
| 31 | Neil Bezdek (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | |
| 32 | Ryan Knapp (Panther p/b Competitive Cyclis) | |
| 33 | Josh Gillingham | |
| 34 | Alder Martz (Hincapie Development team) | 0:00:36 |
| 35 | Ryan Aitcheson (Panther p/b Competitive Cyclis) | |
| 36 | Thomas Brown (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | |
| 37 | Jerome Townsend (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | 0:00:37 |
| 38 | Clayton Barrows (Stan's NoTubes / AXA Equitable) | |
| 39 | Gabriel Antonio Baca | |
| 40 | Joseph Schmalz (ELBOWZ RACING) | |
| 41 | Marco Aledia (Cleveland Clinic Sports Health) | 0:00:38 |
| 42 | Daniel Zmolik (Stan's NoTubes / AXA Equitable) | |
| 43 | Mark Langlands (Pure Black Racing) | |
| 44 | Andrew Otte | |
| 45 | Mat Stephens (Metro Volkswagen Cycling Team) | 0:00:39 |
| 46 | Alejandro Guzman (Foundation) | |
| 47 | Devin Clark (Hub Racing) | |
| 48 | Ryan Mele (Trek of Pittsburgh) | 0:00:40 |
| 49 | Steve Fisher (Hagens Berman LLP) | 0:00:41 |
| 50 | Shem Roger (Pure Black Racing) | |
| 51 | Taylor Gunman (Rubicon-ORBEA; Benefiting LIVE) | |
| 52 | Nicholas Bennette (MetLife p/b groSolar) | |
| 53 | Joey Rosskopf (Team Type 1-Development) | |
| 54 | Daniel Bechtold (Hagens Berman Cycling) | |
| 55 | Spencer Smitheman (Hagens Breman Cycling Team) | 0:00:42 |
| 56 | J Gabriel Lloyd (MetLife p/b groSolar) | |
| 57 | Brandon Feehery (South Chicago Wheelmen) | |
| 58 | Nicholas Coil (Mercy Elite Cycling Team) | |
| 59 | Michael Dalterio (Team Type 1-Development) | |
| 60 | Nick Frey (Jamis Sutter Homes p/b Colavit) | 0:00:43 |
| 61 | Scottie Weiss (KENDA Pro Cycling presented by) | 0:00:44 |
| 62 | Boy Vanpoppel (UnitedHealthcare Professional) | |
| 63 | Clay Murfet (RideClean p/b PatentIt.com) | |
| 64 | Chad Burdzilauskus | |
| 65 | Igor Volshteyn (CRCA/Jonathan Adler Racing) | 0:00:45 |
| 66 | Steve Scholzen | |
| 67 | David Williams (BISSELL Pro Cycling) | 0:00:47 |
| 68 | Demis Aleman (Jamis Sutter Home) | |
| 69 | Justin Maciekowicz (Dogfish Racing Team) | |
| 70 | Nick Housely (Chemstar p/b United Healthcare) | 0:00:48 |
| 71 | Erik Hamilton | |
| 72 | Mac Brennan (Panther p/b Competitive Cyclis) | |
| 73 | Tyler Jewell (ELBOWZ RACING) | 0:00:49 |
| 74 | Tristan Schouten (Nova Cycle Sports Foundation,) | 0:00:50 |
| 75 | Jackie Simes (Jamis Sutter Homes p/b Colavit) | |
| 76 | Tom Scully (Chipotle Devlopment Team) | |
| 77 | Phillip Snodgrass (Bicycles Plus) | 0:00:51 |
| 78 | Gavriel Epstein (Chipotle Devlopment Team) | 0:00:53 |
| 79 | Davide Frattini | 0:00:55 |
| 80 | Bradley Schaeffer (NUVO / Cultural Trail) | 0:00:58 |
| 81 | Colton Jarisch (Mercy Elite Cycling Team) | 0:01:00 |
| 82 | Benjamin Zawacki (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | 0:01:09 |
| 83 | Travis Livermon (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartP) | 0:01:10 |
| 84 | Sean Sullivan (Team Hotel San Jose/Mellow Jon) | 0:01:12 |
| 85 | Matthew Brandt (Gateway Harley-Davidson/Mesa C) | 0:01:25 |
| 86 | Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Professional) | 0:01:39 |
| 87 | Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Professional) | 0:01:40 |
| 88 | Austin Roach (MetLife p/b groSolar) | |
| 89 | Peter Bell (MetLife p/b groSolar) |
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