Ken Hanson of Team Type 1 nearly spoiled the victory celebration by Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) Saturday at the U.S. Air Force Cycling Classic Clarendon Cup.
Hanson overcame poor positioning out of the final turn to come within inches of overtaking Borrajo at the finish of the 100-lap race in Arlington, Va. Karl Menzies (OUCH presented by Maxxis) finished third.
“It was a total fight to get on Barrajo’s wheel because he had a teammate leading him out,” Hanson said. “I planned to sprint back onto his wheel before the second-to-last corner, but I got pushed out and had to slow down to avoid a crash. It was frustrating to lose by an inch or two, especially since I came out of the last corner behind so many people.”
Hanson was part of an eight-man breakaway that absorbed Chad Gerlach (Amore & Vita McDonald’s) with about 35 laps to go and held off the field to the finish. Up until that point, it appeared Gerlach was going to be the spoiler, soloing off the front early on and coming within 14 seconds of lapping the field near the halfway point.
“Guys started attacking and we brought the gap down, but then a few laps later, he (Gerlach) was about to lap us again,” Hanson said.
When a break that had two riders each from Colavita-Sutter Home and Kelly Benefits Strategies represented – along with one from Rock Racing and Menzies – it was Hanson’s teammate, Shawn Milne, who came up big at the right time. Milne turned himself inside out for two laps to tow the reigning elite national criterium champion up to the six escapees, who were closing in fast on Gerlach.
“Shawn did a great job to get me up there and look after me,” Hanson said. “I think tomorrow we have a good chance and I’m definitely motivated to take a win home for the team.”
Sunday’s race is the Air Force Cycling Classic in Crystal City, Va., a 109.2-mile (175 km) circuit race.
Hanson’s runner-up finish at the National Racing Calendar event follows a victory by Aldo Ino Ilesic at Wednesday night’s Ricola Twilight Grand Prix in Basking Ridge, N.J.
“The guys are really coming onto form at the right time, with the Philadelphia International Championship just around the corner,” Team Type 1 Director Sportif Vassili Davidenko said. ““The guys raced well, covering moves and keeping things together. Our idea was to have this race come down to a sprint and have our sprinters be in position. At the end, it happened just like that.”