Rick Kent - RedBud Sports © Enduro Photo
Borrajo Takes Austin Leg of USA CRITS Series
(June 22, 2008)
Report Filed by USA CRITS
With temperatures edging toward triple digits Argentina’s Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita Sutter Home) raced to victory, Saturday, at the AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium, the fourth installment of the 2008 USA CRITS Series. With the help of Anibal Borrajo, his brother and teammate, Alejandro Borrajo fought off a well-stocked field of top-shelf criterium racers that included the strong Toyota-United team who clearly came armed to win.
The race was held on a traditional four-corner, 1-kilometer circuit that ran counter-clockwise down Guadalupe Street and around to Colorado Street. The men’s field was vying for a $20,000 in prize money as well as crucial points for the overall Series competition.
"It's a world-class event,” event organizer Barry Lee said of the race, which is also part of the 2008 National Racing Calendar. “It’s one of the largest crits in the U.S., purse-wise, with the largest number of super high-end racers," he added.
Earlier in the day, severe lightning plagued the race course, but the weather improved significantly by the time the evening’s main events began. Prior to the race getting underway, Series leader Australia’s Jeff Hopkins (Team Inferno) held only a 91-point lead over Rock Racing’s Rahsaan Bahati, so Hopkins knew that the competition to stay on top would be tough. “I feel pretty lucky to still be leading,” he said. “But with the next couple of races, Iron Hill and Gastown, coming up, this is where the hard work starts.”
To maintain his lead, Hopkins would have no choice but to mark Bahati throughout the race, and make sure the 2008 Athens Twilight Criterium winner didn’t make an advantageous move that would cost Hopkins the overall Series lead. But, much like last week’s Skyscraper Harlem Cycling Classic, no significant move was allowed to get away from the main field and, as the 75 minutes of racing wound down, it was clear that the riders would be looking at a bunch gallop for a finish.
With seven laps to go, Toyota-United began to orchestrate a lead-out train for their man, Australia’s Hilton Clarke. The men in red, white, and blue lifted the pace just enough to control the remainder of the race, but as they approached the final few hundred meters, it was Borrajo and not Toyota-United who proved to be the strongest on the day.
Borrajo’s win and Toyota’s inclusion of three riders in the top ten meant that Hopkins had, indeed, slipped out of the top slot for the overall Series. Bahati at 713 points now holds that position, but only by a narrow 14-point margin over Cuban rider Yosvany Falcon (TOSHIBA-Santo). Hopkins is now holding down third place, 70 points back.
Results AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium:
1.
Alejandro Borrajo Colavita Sutter Home
2. Henk Vogels Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team
3. Ivan Dominguez Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team
The next event in the USA CRITS Series is the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium which, for the second year in a row, will be held on the same day as the initial stage of Tour De France. Racers will assemble in West Chester, Pennsylvania on July 5th for what is now one of the fastest growing criteriums in the USA.
For additional information regarding the Team, please visit teamcolavita.com, or contact:
Susan Gilbert Cohen
Kendal Valley Associates LLC
973.763.9197 phone
973.763.7987 fax
Susan@KendalValley.com
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