Ramsey wins SF Twilight CritTIME PRO Cycling’s Daniel Ramsey took the penultimate leg of the 2008 USA CRITS Series in San Francisco yesterday at the inaugural running of the San Francisco Twilight Criterium. Ramsey, one of the more experienced members of the TIME squad, was the beneficiary of a mechanical that that took 3rd place finisher Jorge Alvarado (Kahala/Lagrange) out of the final moments of competition.
Photo by Ken Conley
“I was just trying to keep pressure on the other teams so mine could make a move. I bridged up on the final break and no one came with me. Alvarado and I started working well together. He’s a strong rider but he broke his saddle…unlucky for him. He told me to go ahead. So the win was easy.”
118 men initially rolled to the line of the one-kilometer course on Union Street in downtown San Francisco to contest the $10,000 prize purse. Alvarado was aggressive from the start, figuring into a five-man break that also included Alessandro Bazzano (Successful Living). Bazzano spent much of the evening out in front of the field, continually chasing down moves and eventually nabbing the mid-race prime. Every break that managed to establish even a momentary gap over the main field, however, caused a high-speed reaction from the pack. At one point, those riders who had yet to call it a night were stretched out on course in a 15-second-long single file.
With three laps remaining, Alvarado, Ramsey and Successful Living’s fast man Ricardo Escuela established what would be the evening’s winning effort. The trio held a 13-second gap over the remainder of the peloton, but Alvarado’s unfortunate mechanical put the race in Ramsey’s hands.
Photo by Ken Conley
This is the second USA CRITS victory for the TIME squad, whose Eric Barlevav won a dramatic sprint finish at this year’s Harlem Skyscraper Classic in early June, flying off of his bike as he threw his frame forward at the line.
The series now heads to its thrilling conclusion at the USA CRITS Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 25th. Organized in conjunction with cycling’s biggest industry event, Interbike, the race will once again be held beneath the glimmering façade of the Mandalay Bay Resort, and will be broadcast live and on-demand at Universalsports.com.
Videos and photos from the inaugural San Francisco Twilight Criterium can be found at www.CyclistVillage.com.
