Last weekend's U.S. Handcycling Series finale, at the Indiana Stage race in Indianapolis was a smashing conclusion to the season, showcasing some great form by many athletes, including Invacare Top End's Krige Schabort (Cedartown, GA), and Brian Mitchell of Missouri.
Schabort -- who isn't going to the Paralympic Games for the first time since 1992 -- has been training hard on the handcycle (he splits his time between handcyclng and wheelchair racing), and it showed with a truly dominant performance in Indiana. Everyone knows that the South African -- who will become an American citizen this Fall -- does not show up to a race unprepared. So it was no surprise when he broke away midway through Saturday's slightly hilly road race and dropped the Invacare duo of Scott McNeice and Chris Peterson. McNeice -- apparently suffering in the 92 degree heat and very high humidity -- couldn't hang with Peterson with two laps to go, and limped in for 3rd. Peterson -- in his first U.S. race after nearly being killed by a car in Florida 12 weeks ago -- hung on for 2nd, but slowed his chase on the final lap waiting for McNeice. Peterson never heard the bell for the final 2.5 mile lap and missed a chance to catch Schabort.
Meanwhile, the longseat category was HOT as it has been all season long. The usual suspects were on hand, including Quickie's Rafael Ibarra (who became National Road Race Champion in June at the RMO), David "Evil Knievel" Randall (more on that later), Todd Richardson, and the wicked fast Mitchell. Also shadowing the group was kneeseater, Dane Pilon. The group stayed together until the final lap when Mitchell launched an attack up the hill and looked back to see nothing but daylight. He cruised in for a very convincing win, his first on his new Schmicking. Randall, Ibarra, Mitchell, and Pilon limped-in respectively, conceding the day to the ever-consistent Mitchell.
Meanwhile, newcomer Michael Postell looked good as did the always fast cagey veteran, Vern Achenbach, who doesn't ever seem to slow down. Local racer John Enriettor put in a good performance at his first race in a few years, and everyone was impressed with Carly Waugh, the lone woman in the race who looks to have a bright future in handcycle racing.
A mere 60 minutes later, everyone headed across town for a 5 mile time trial, but most were not recovered from the road race. 55+ racer, Dennis Clark, used good judgement to sit it out and recover for the next day's road race, while Scott McNeice chose to race...but regretted it, finishing 10th, the worst domestic finish of his career. To nobody's surprise, Schabort "opened a can" winning easily in 11 minutes, 25 seconds, just ahead of Peterson who came in at a respectable 11:53. Mitchell again showed some prowess, finishing only 20 seconds back of Peterson. Todd Richardson looked good, as did newcomers Greg Queen, Bill Schwarz, and Rob Leiser.
The weekend's finale showcased a handcycle-perfect criterium course, and for the first time, it was a huge group made up of all the favorites. This time, the kneelers couldn't shake the longseats, and it came down to a sprint, with Schabort and Mitchell going 1-2 overall. Late season form is hard to come by, but it's clear that Brian Mitchell and Krige Schabort are not to be taken lightly in the month of August.
David Randall proved he has a bit of work to do --- albeit not on his fitness. Randall has more crashes in the last two seasons than anyone, and Indy was no exception. Randall tumbled in the final turn....riding on his own. Rest assured, he will be attending the US Handcycling Development Camp at the Olympic Training Center in September, and our bet is that once learns to keep 3 wheels on the road....Mitchell beware!
Carly Waugh, Tom Kahler, Jose Pulido, Ben Hulin, and Chad Johnson all peformed well in the criterium, with Kahler trying to shake Waugh for most of the race (which he finally did). Achenbach was fast as ever, and even got the nod from Chris Peterson: "He's like and old penny...he just keeps turning up!"
The stars of the day, however, were Rob Zimney and Joe Dowling. Zimney, a C56 Quad, and Dowling, approaching his 70th birthday, both rode well and smiled the whole time, despite another brutally hot day.
This race would not have been possible without the support and direction of Michele Sheets, and the rest of the crew from the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana, who did a great job as always! Special thanks to John Nizley for some great humor and commentary.
Complete results from the weekend are HERE.
Users' Comments (0) 
|
|
|
Tags
