Sanchez, Gilger get BUSTED in Rome

on 04-29-2008 22:10

We try to make things interesting at U.S. Handcycling, and we hope the title of this post grabbed you enough to keep reading…misleading though it may be!

John Crowley, one of the race organizers at the Clocktower Classic, put together a new award for Saturday morning’s time trial: “The Need for Speed” award. Local police set-up a speed trap on a fast downhill section of the course, and it was Oz Sanchez with the fastest overall speed of 30+ mph. Fastest in the longseat category was a bit of a surprise…it was John Scott Gilger who clocked in at just over 26mph, to take home some bragging rights, and – along with Sanchez – an unofficial speeding ticket (no, they don’t have to pay!).

Meanwhile, there was some great racing going on, as the 6.0 mile time trial course showcased the closest racing of the weekend, throughout the field. Once again, the folks in Rome outdid themselves by selecting a perfect handcycle TT course, complete with smooth-as-silk pavement, and of course…a completely closed course courtesy of the Rome PD.

Times were smoking fast all morning long, and notables were of course Sanchez, who looks to be unstoppable this season [where is Albor ?], Matt Updike, continuing to rack-up wins in the longseat race, and Ohio’s David Randall….who seemed to get his groove going as the weekend progressed. Dane Pilon also ‘opened a can’ and once again, Vern Achenbach snuck by quite a few of the younger guys. Gilger called it just before his race started "6 miles ? That's definitely my style of race" which he proved by putting up some respectable numbers…only one more race left in this amazing weekend of racing!

RESULTS: Clocktower Classic, Rome, GA
Time Trial, 4/26/2008			6	MILES
Place	Bib #	Category	First	Last	Hometown	State	St Time	Finish Tm	Total Time	Avg Speed	Points
1	5	Kneeseat	Oscar	Sanchez	San Diego	CA	9:28	9:43:48	0:15:48	22.78	23
2	6	Kneeseat	Krige	Schabort	Cedartown	GA	9:26	9:42:39	0:16:39	21.62	22
3	3	Kneeseat	Scott	McNiece	St. Petersburg	FL	9:27	9:43:54	0:16:54	21.30	21
4	28	Longseat	Matt	Updike	Denver	CO	9:25	9:42:08	0:17:08	21.01	20
5	21	Longseat	David	Lee	Cardiff-by-the-Sea	CA	9:20	9:37:22	0:17:22	20.73	19
6	19	Longseat 45+	Rafael	Ibarra	Atlanta	GA	9:24	9:42:01	0:18:01	19.98	18
7	4	Kneeseat	Dane	Pilon	Fayetteville	NC	9:18	9:36:01	0:18:01	19.98	17
8	24	Longseat	David	Randall	Mansfield	OH	9:19	9:37:14	0:18:14	19.74	16
9	25	Longseat	Todd	Richardson	Morrisville	NC	9:22	9:40:20	0:18:20	19.64	15
10	22	Longseat	Brian	Mitchell	Lee’s Summit	MO	9:21	9:39:22	0:18:22	19.60	14
11	18	Longseat	Geoff	Hopkins	Washington	DC	9:15	9:34:28	0:19:28	18.49	13
12	17	Longseat 45+	Niel	Harding	West Bountiful	UT	9:16	9:35:54	0:19:54	18.09	12
13	26	Longseat	Josh	Sharpe	Navarre	FL	9:12	9:32:08	0:20:08	17.88	11
14	11	Longseat 55+	Vern	Achenbach	Snellville	GA	9:13	9:33:12	0:20:12	17.82	10
15	15	Longseat	John Scott	Gilger	La Grange	OH	9:10	9:30:27	0:20:27	17.60	9
16	12	Longseat	Ken	Bestine	Clymer	NY	9:09	9:29:30	0:20:30	17.56	8
17	1	Kneeseat	Gerard	Ah-Fook	Bothell	WA	9:14	9:34:38	0:20:38	17.45	7
18	29	Longseat 45+	Rich	Wagner	San Diego	CA	9:03	9:24:27	0:21:27	16.78	6
19	14	Longseat 55+	Joe	Dowling	Greenwich	CT	9:08	9:29:51	0:21:51	16.48	5
20	16	Longseat 45+	Rick	Gilliland	Kenai	AK	9:07	9:29:01	0:22:01	16.35	4
21	13	Longseat 55+	Dennis	Clark	Oliver Springs	TN	9:00	9:22:51	0:22:51	15.75	3
22	23	Longseat	Jose	Pulido	Alto	GA	9:04	9:27:12	0:23:12	15.52	2
23	20	Longseat 45+	Thomas	Kahler	Clinton	TN	9:06	9:31:08	0:25:08	14.32	1