Krige Schabort (Cedartown, GA) and Chris Peterson (St. Petersburg, FL) put on a show this week at the Clocktower Classic Handcycling races in Rome, GA. Schabort won Tuesday’s exciting criterium downtown, with Peterson taking a convincing win in Wednesday’s 19-mile road race. The races were sponsored and organized by the Rome, GA Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the Redmond Regional Medical Center, with support from Parkway Ford Mobility. The events were run in conjunction with the Tour de Georgia, a world class cycling event featuring top European and American pro cycling teams. “We’ve been involved with the Tour de Georgia for a few years, and the handcycling race is something we knew would be a big hit here in Rome.” said Ann Hortman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Krige Schabort wins the criterium in Rome, GA
Photo: The Cedartown Standard. Click here for story.

Schabort, who lives just down the road in Cedartown, arrived home from a 2nd-placed finish at the Boston Marathon just hours before the criterium start. Having never raced against one another before, Schabort and heavy favorite Oz Sanchez (who won two days earlier in Jacksonville) were a little unsure of what to expect. “I’ve never seen him race before, and I won’t know what to expect until the gun goes off.” said team U.S. Handcycling member, Sanchez.

As the race got underway, it looked to be anybody’s game as a huge group of 10 riders stayed together for the first two laps. On lap three, Chris Peterson put in an acceleration on the short-but-steep hill on the backside and whittled the lead group down to four, including Schabort, Sanchez, and Scott McNeice. Monique Van der Vorst, Todd Richardson, and Matt Updike gave furious chase just meters behind, while the rest of the field began to spread out. Not unlike SUnday’s Jacksonville crit, the lead group remained in tact through the final lap and it was a game of cat and mouse. Sanchez blew turn three on the final lap, drfiting extremely wide, and Schabort — with a little help from Peterson — attacked hard. Sanchez recovered from his mistake, but it was too late as Schabort turned on the afterburners and posted a thrilling victory to the delight of the huge crowd. Peterson held off McNeice for 3rd as Schabort celebrated with high fives from the crowd.

Meanwhile, Richardson was gapped with two laps remaining and Updike pushed the pace to shake him for good. Updike however, was in a tricky situation as Van der Vorst was clearly the crowd favorite. “It was ‘lose / lose’ for me….if I outsprinted her, I would be the bad guy, and if she outsprinted me, it’d be the second time in three days.” said Updike. Van der Vorst gave it her all towards the line and the crowd went crazy as she edged out Updike and showed off her rainbow-striped world champion’s jersey.

Also making a good showing were Patrick Doak (Concord, MA) and Keane West (Lake Placid, FL) finishing 8th and 9th, respectively. There was definitely some local flavor as well, that saw Derek Little (15th) of nearby Cartesville and Bob Anders (12th) of Cedartown get some great fan support….but it was the local hero, Mike Sprouse (a former Marine) who resides in Rome and received an extra few mph from the awesome crowd downtown.

ROAD RACE

The road race on Wednesday was “nothing short of awesome” according to many athletes who competed. The City of Rome worked with race directors John Crowley and Ann Hortman to shut down 20-miles of smooth, beautiful, rolling terrain just outside of town. The handcyclists took off immediately following the start of the Tour de Georgia road stage and as soon as the racing began in earnest, Sanchez moved to the front. “I get really antsy in a big group, and I just can’t stand to sit in the back and wait for things to happen” said the 30-year old from San Diego.

With quite a few small hills in the course, strategy proved to be a big factor for the day. After the two mile mark, Schabort pushed hard up a small hill, with Peterson in tow. As they crested the hill, they caught Sanchez and McNeice asleep and opened a 20-meter gap. Peterson immediately moved to the front and the two Invacare riders opened up the racing 101 manual and traded the lead until the gap grew to 30 seconds. The ensuing 10 minutes of racing was nothing short of nuclear as McNeice and Sanchez furiously chased, not conceding defeat without a fight. By the time the leaders hit the halfway mark, they moved out of sight on a twisting section of the course and were out front by a minute. They settled in to a rhythm, and it was a two-man race to the fast, downhill finish at Lock and Dam Park, where Peterson used the weight advantage to slingshot down the hill and take the win (his first) by a good 10 meters.

Sanchez rode in with McNeice, and edged out the crafty veteran for 3rd. It seemed that two-man sprints were the theme for the day as Updike was again challenged by Van de Vorst after dropping Richardson [again] at the 13-mile mark, and wound up 0 for 3. Next in was Patrick Doak, who used his powerful triathlon time trial ability to chase down Richardson and finish 7th by inches. In a similar move, Rafael Ibarra powered by Keane West for 9th, and Bob Anders came in ahead of Joe Dowling for 11th. Tennessee contingent Tom Kahler and Dennis Clark also sprinted for the line, with Kahler edging out his training partner for 17th.

One of the most exciting parts of the event, was what we like to call “The Backwoods Boys.” Indeed, all bike races need local flavor, and there was no shortage of it on the rural roads of Georgia as local residents came out to cheer on the handcyclists. Just prior to the turnaround on the course, a local group of rockers set-up a softball game and a band in their front yard and jammed out classic rock covers as the race went by…a truly awesome sight to see!

The consensus from all the athletes who participated at this year’s Clocktower Classic was that it was a first-class race. In addition to the tremendous hospitality from the community, the awards ceremony following the race was very special to many athletes, including U.S Handcycling staff. The Floyd County wellness program created a special award in memory of our fallen brother, Warren Strickland. Strickland competed in Rome the last two years and the community was shocked to hear of Warren’s passing, and thus created the Warren Strickland Spirit of Inspiration Award. After talking to race staff and participants, Floyd County decided to give the award to Krige Schabort. Schabort, who helped design the road race course and was instrumental in bringing a handcycling event to Rome, is very well liked in the wheelchair sports community. According to local racer Mike Sprouse, Krige’s guidance in sport and healthy living “has changed his life.” There was really not more of a fitting end to a great week of racing in the Southeast. Special thanks to the Harbin Clinic Cycling Team and all the volunteers who helped make the race a success!
Check back soon for full results, including U.S. Handcycling Series point standings.

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