Cedartown's Krige Schabort (Invacare / Top End) won the opening kneeseat race in Rome, GA at the Clocktower Classic, just two inches in front of Scott McNeice (Invacare / Top End), who in turn finished ahead of 3rd-placed Oz Sanchez (Challenge Athletes Foundation) by another two inches. All three racers showed great form in the 23.3 mile road race and U.S. Handcycling officials had to rely on the camera to confirm the final results.

Sanchez -- the winner in Redlands two weeks ago -- put in a number of small attacks on many short downhill sections, but couldn't get away on the fast, rolling course. It came down to the final 400 meters, where Sanchez launched a sprint too early, only for McNeice to react and accelerate to what looked like a win...but it was Schabort who had the last word as he squeaked out one last pedal stroke for the narrow victory...one of the most thrilling since the 2007 criterium finale in Redlands.

Denver's Matt Updike (U.S. Handcycling), emerged from the long Colorado winter with a victory in the longseat race...but it was the rest of the longseat results that produced some big surprises on the day. Crafty veteran Rafael Ibarra (Sunrise / Quickie), managed to the bridge to gap to Updike following an early break that saw Updike in the front group with the kneeseats. After Updike was dropped from the front group, a big group that included Ibarra, David Lee, Todd Richardson, and Brian Mitchell formed and chased the Coloradon, 15 seconds back.

Ibarra dug deep and blew the group wide open as he chased Updike down at the midway point, and the two raced back to the line, together. Ibarra's effort clearly hurt the group, and only Mitchell recovered well, wildly chasing for 11 miles. Meanwhile, Lee and Richardson (both pre-race favorites) both settled down and had to take time to recover, losing valuable time. At the finish, Ibarra -- apparently content to finish in the same time -- conceded the sprint to Updike. Mitchell came in, another 4 minutes down on the pair, with Lee back another minute,
and Richardson, yet another minute behind Lee.

Both races raise questions about who will be headed to the Paralympics in Beijing, with limited spots open. Schabort will likely represent South Africa, but Sanchez and McNeice will likely battle through the Rocky Mountain Omnium in June to see who heads to Asia in September. The same applies to Lee and Updike, who are the two top team contenders to represent the U.S. in the HCB category in Beijing. Lee did well in Redlands, but confessed he is a bit "overtrained" as of today, and needs to take some time to recover and ready himself for RMO.

Also on the table, were bragging rights for the 45-54 and the 55+ categories, with Ibarra taking the lead in the former category. Veteran, Laverne Achenbach of Snellville was the best 55+ finisher, not too far ahead of Joe Dowling of Greenwich, CT.

Tomorrow's race is the National Criterium Championship, and carries double points for the weekend...so it should very interesting to see who steps up in the big show!

Photos on the way soon!
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