Cantwell flies to victory in Charlotte

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The hot streak continued for Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) who uncorked a blazing burst of speed to claim the seventh Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium under the lights in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 28-year-old Australian won his eighth event in recent weeks, outsprinting Jacob Keough (UnitedHeathCare p/b Maxxis) and Patrick Bevin (Bissell Pro Cycling) from a 22-rider strong escape which formed late in the 50 mile criterium.

"I just came off the back of winning Superweek and Elk Grove. I'm on fire at the moment and I feel great," said Cantwell. "This is the eighth time I've won in the last two or three weeks, so I feel good. It's been an exciting year for Fly V Australia, we love racing here in America."

Runner-up Jacob Keough was well-placed on the finishing straight, but couldn't match the finishing speed of Cantwell. "When we came around the last corner I was on Jonny's wheel and we went up the right gutter," said Keough. "He had a guy that was able to give him a lane on the right, a normal sprint situation, so when he went on the right I had to balk a little bit and just didn't quite have the room. Once I got the run he already had a gap.

"I like my sprints pretty punchy, but this [uphill] finishing straight wears on you lap after lap. Still, I had a good kick and it's looking good for the end of the season."

Keough was one of the last riders to reach the race winning split which coalesced at eight laps to go following a reshuffling of the lead from the remnants of an earlier 12-man break. "I bridged across with a couple of guys and the group grew a bit at the end there. I was feeling good, but a little isolated. Fly V had a couple of guys, hats off to them for doing a good sprint for Jonny."

Bevin's Bissell Pro Cycling Team put in a massive turn at the front in the race finale for the 19-year-old neo-pro, but the New Zealander couldn't fend off the finishing kick of Cantwell and Keough. "It was an awesome train by the boys, it was just a shame I couldn't finish it off," said Bevin. "The team was well represented in the break, we had three fast guys there.

"Dan Holloway did an amazing job when we came through with a half-lap to go. Frank [Pipp] took me through the last corner and opened it up and I jumped in front with 250 metres to go. It was hard and I didn't really get a run at it and I felt the guys coming up. I had guys all over me and I just held it through to the line. Cantwell was a league above, and Jake got second."

The 2010 season is Bevin's first in the Senior ranks as well as his inaugural stint in the United States. "I'm just out of the Juniors so it's a bit of a step up from where I've come. I've really enjoyed it, especially a city like Charlotte with the crowds out and the money down - it's one helluva race."

Clayton Barrows (AXA Equitable Cycling Team / CRCA), leader of the USA Crits series, remained atop the standings but Isaac Howes (Team Mountain Khakis f/b Jittery Joes) reduced his lead to four points with two races remaining. Howes's teammate Mark Hekman moved into third place in the series, 336 points behind Barrows.

Action heats up as the sun goes down

The men's Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium, both the seventh of 10 events in the USA Crits series and the 20th of 23 events in the US's National Racing Calendar, offered up a $50,000 total purse to the men's peloton and the racing was fierce from the gun on the 1.25 mile circuit in uptown Charlotte.

Chaos struck, however, at the very beginning of the third lap as a massive crash occurred midway in the peloton. Crowd fencing on the right and another line of fencing to the left splitting Tryon Street for out-and-back racing on the barbell shaped course prevented riders from maneuvering around the first fallen riders, creating a large pileup which forced the trailing riders to come to a complete stop. While scores of riders made their way to the pits for a free lap, Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) and Luca Damiani (Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder) leapt off the front of the temporarily diminished peloton for three laps.

When the two escapees were caught, $500 primes inspired solo efforts from Andrew Crater (Aerocat Cycling Team) and Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) but both were brought back into the peloton, albeit not before each picked up some well-earned cash.

On the 11th of 40 laps the evening's first threatening breakaway formed comprised of Annibal Borrajo and Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Homes p/b Colavita), Daniel Holloway and Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling), Jonathan Clarke and Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthCare p/b Maxxis), Aaron Kemps and Zach Davies (Fly V Australia), Lisban Quintero (CRCA/Foundation), Jim Stemper (Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder), Mark Hekman (Team Mountain Khakis f/b Jittery Joes) and Aldo Ino Ilesic (Team Type 1).

With representatives of all the powerhouse squads up the road, a concerted chase effort was slow to come which enabled the 12-man break to reach its maximum advantage of 52 seconds six laps later. A concerted chase from Aerocat Cycling Team for five laps saw the escapees' lead drop to 25 seconds and a $1,000 prime inspired attacks within the break for the race's largest lap prize. Daniel Holloway claimed the cash at the conclusion of the 24th lap and drew out six members of the escape: Wren, Quintero, Stemper, Hekman, Clarke and Davies.

Over the next several laps the leading septet's lead continued to decrease when a major re-shuffling occurred beginning with 10 laps remaining. As the peloton began to fracture under the intense chase a 22 rider split developed containing Luis Amaran and Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home p/b Colavita), Patrick Bevin, Daniel Holloway and Frank Pipp (Bissell Pro Cycling), Lisban Quintero (CRCA/Foundation), Alessandro Bazzana, Zach Davies and Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia), Luca Damiani, Chad Hartley, Jim Stemper, Christopher Monteleone and Scottie Weiss (Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder), Mark Hekman (Team Mountain Khakis f/b Jittery Joes), Daniel Holt (Team Type 1), Jonathan Clarke, Matthew Crane, Jacob Keough and Brad White (UnitedHealthCare p/b Maxxis), Ryan Dewald (Mainline - BiKyle/MazurCoaching) and Josfany Falcon (Bahati Foundation).

At six laps to go the escape held a 36 second lead over a greatly diminished peloton, but over the closing laps their lead steadily decreased to 12 seconds when White won $500 for the race's final prime with one lap remaining.

Bissell Pro Cycling came to the fore on the last lap and held the first three positions passing the finish line in the opposite direction on North Tryon Street. The team led through the final four corners and back onto the gradual ascent of South Tryon street for their sprinter Patrick Bevin, but Cantwell timed his surge to perfection to pick up the $12,500 check for first place.

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