The winners on the podium: Matt Defenbach (Trexlertown) 2nd place, Bobby Lea (Pure Energy Cycling) the winner by a hair (no pun to Matt), Al Borogh (BH Garnue) 3rd place. (Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
The event brought in a huge crowd-many of them placed friendly bets.(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
Matt Defenbach is off and rolling as the crowd packs the Parkside Lounge.(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
Trexlertown’s Matt Defenbach puts it all on the line.(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
Olympian Bobby Lea warms up for London and helps benefit other young riders.(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
Somebody has the sponsor in his back pocket!(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
Bobby Lea takes direction from his spotter.(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
The host with the most, Mr. Floyd Landis(Image credit: Marco Quezada/nyvelocity.com)
US Olympian Bobby Lea took to the rollers in New York at the Drink Floyd- Roller Race Benefit ,Thursday, to help raise funds for the CRCA Junior Development Program. Lea, who competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, emerged victorious in an evening of roller racing in downtown New York, beating local track rider Matt Diefenbach in a thrilling final.
The event, organised by nyvelocity.com raised close to $1,000 dollars and attracted a number of high profile guests including Floyd Landis, Slipstream Sports owner Doug Ellis and Tour of Battenkill organiser, Dieter Drake.
“It was a fun night for a great cause, and we're very grateful for Floyd coming out and supporting it, as well as Bobby Lea and all the other racers,” said Andy Shen from nyvelocity.com.
Competitors set down 500 meter time trials before competing in a set of head-to-heads. Losers from the heats had the chance to through a repechage before the semi-finals and final. You can make further donations for the development team, here.
A thrilling semi final between Bobby Lea and Alexander Barouh
Local rider, Brian Sullivan, of CRCA/Setanta, was a first time roller racer
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
