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Fulton
Flyers Devo Announces 2006 Cross Team
Atlanta, GA - The Fulton Flyers Development
Team announces their 2006 cyclo-cross team. Season objectives include the Georgia
Cross Series, the North Carolina UCI events, Georgia State Championships.
The team’s primary goal is the National Championships to be held in Providence, RI. Team
Director Lamar Mauney is the ‘cross coach, and is very excited to have a deep and talented pool of riders this year.
The team will race on Blue Competition Cycles CX5.5 and CX6.5 frames, Panaracer tires, Neuvation
wheels and Tifosi eyewear. The team is preparing using Joe Friel's UltraFit methods (Cyclist's Training Bible)
and TrainingPeaks.com.
2006
Fulton Flyers Development Cyclo-Cross Team
Kyle Cochran
– Junior 15-16
Ty Magner
– Junior 15-16
Oscar Clark
– Junior 17-18
Carla Swart – U23
Jafer Beizer – U23
Thom Shaffer
– U23
Lamar Mauney
– Coach and Masters 45+
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| Ann Turner wins Silver in U23 Espoir Women Road Race! |
Fulton
Flyers Devo Team Summer 2006 Update
USA Cycling National
Road Championships – Seven Springs, PA - July 6 - 9
Our Nationals
campaign was a success again this year! Our squad consisted of:
Alex Wechsler:
Women 15-16
Rose Mauney:
Women 15-16
Ann Turner:
U23 Women
Kyle Cochran:
Men 15-16
Ty Magner:
Men 15-16
Chris Hong:
Men 17-18
Oscar Clark:
Men 17-18
The highlights
were Ann Turner’s road race 2nd place (silver medal!), Rose’s road race 7th place, and Ty’s
road race 10th (resulting in Ty’s invitation to USA Cycling’s
Development Camp in Colorado Springs). All of our riders performed well in racing
and conduct. Our host hotel, Holiday Inn Express in Scottsdale/Mt. Pleasant,
gave positive comments on the latter.
The Time
Trial was held in a beautiful park with extremely challenging roads – such that most riders opted for road bikes with
aero bars instead of time trial machines. The Criterium was held on the Jennerstown
Speedway, utilizing two banked turns and infield chicanes – tight racing that resulted in both Ann and Alex hitting
the tarmac. Both escaped serious injury (though Ann required four stitches in
the chin), and rebounded for the Road Race.
The road
races were held on very challenging roads, with long climbs and fast descents. I
checked Ty’s speedometer after his race and it displayed a maximum speed of 64 mph!
The U23 Women raced with Elite women (Ann was 2nd in U23 and 31st in Elite), most of whom were
professionals! The Junior Men 15-16 and 17-18 fields were 125 riders strong and
very aggressive from the start. The Junior Women 15-16 raced the “short
course” within the Seven Springs resort, with the same 1k climb to the finish as the long course.
Notes: Ann
and Ty raced Nationals for the first time; Chris raced in his third Nationals and last as a Junior; this was the second trip
to Nationals for Alex, Kyle and Oscar, and the fifth for Rose, the “veteran junior” of the team.
Georgia Games July 8-9
As a native
South African, Carla Swart is not eligible for U.S. Nationals, so she unleashed on the Women 4 here, winning the Criterium
and 3rd in the Road Race. She made her signature move in the Criterium
500 meters from the finish line, leaving the others in her jet-wash. With Dutch
heritage, I think she is related to Jan Raas, the famous Dutch professional that won classics and the World Championships
with similar moves. Carla has earned running and cycling scholarships for 2006-2007
at Lees-McRae College in Boone, NC.
Our junior
men Brian Ceballos and Justin Murray took top spots as well, with 2nd and 4th in the Road Race and 2nd and 3rd in the Criterium.
Union City Omnium June 24-25
Taking top
places at Union City is starting to be a real tradition for
our team! This year we opted to race “category” (instead of junior)
events. The big news was Jafer Beizer’s victory in the Men Pro-Am Road
Race, and Carla Swart’s “double” in the Criterium and Road Race.
Other great
rides this weekend:
Thomas Brown
5th place in the Men Pro-Am Criterium. Thomas is racing well with
the “big boys”, and is always a threat in Criterium sprints.
Ann Turner
2ndd place in the Women Pro-Am Criterium, 4th in Time Trial and 3rd in Road Race (after riding
in a horrific thunderstorm); 2nd in the Omnium. This was Ann’s
first race since she broke her clavicle this spring. Look out U23 Women at Nationals
– Ann is on her way!
The Cat
4 Women “clan” on the team – Alex, Carla and Rose – endured 40 minutes of thunderstorm in the Road
Race, then placed 2nd, 1st and 5th respectively. Their
Crit results were equally impressive – 4th, 1st and 2nd respectively – plus Alex
and Rose took 1st and 3rd in the Omnium! Next stop for
them is Junior Nationals!
Ty Magner
(Cat 3) – an impressive 2nd in the Omnium after 2nd in Road Race and Criterium. Riding in support was Oscar Clark (Cat 3), 9th Omnium, 6th
Road Race, and 7th Criterium. These guys
are ready for Nationals!
Thom Shaffer
(Cat 4) and Kyle Cochran, 6th and 14th respectively in Cat 4 Road Race.
Both of these riders are moving on to Category 3, and Kyle to Juniors Nationals as well.
Dahlonega Omnium – Time Trial, Circuit Race, Three Gap Road
Race June 10-11
A big weekend
for the team, and a break-through weekend for Jafer Beizer as he moves into Pro-Am racing this month. Jafer infiltrated the final breakaway, then took advantage of his climbing ability on the final five mile
trek up Woody’s Gap to take second in the prestigious Dahlonega Three Gap Road Race – a grueling two laps of the
infamous three gap course (including two trips up Wolfpen and Neel’s Gaps, and three up Woody’s – ouch!).
Ann Turner
was on fire in the Women Pro-Am Road Race, chasing back to the leaders after two flats.
In great position to tackle Woody’s Gap, she was thwarted when a motorcycle accident (not race related) resulted
in a truncated race (finish determined by positions over Neel’s Gap). So,
we have to wait to see what damage this young lady can wreak on the Pro-Am field in the mountains.
Carla
Swart showed class and potential taking 10th in the Women Pro-Am Circuit Race. Rose
Mauney as well in 18th place – a great result for a 14 year old! The
short but steep 20% climb up Rock Pile Road presented
the biggest challenge and shattered the field.
Young gun
Ty Magner (Cat 3, racing age 15) competed in all three events, with 7th in the Circuit and 6th in Road
Race. Oscar Clark (Cat 3, racing age 17) placed 26th in the Circuit
Race.
Thom Shaffer
(Cat 4) showed his prowess in the mountains as well, finishing 6th in circuit race and 2nd in the Three
Gap Road Race; team mate Kyle Cochran (Cat 4, racing age 16) was close by in 27th in the circuit race.
Early Spring Campaign Report
5-14-06
NCAA National Collegiate Championships, Lawrence, KS - the Fulton Flyers' Thomas Brown
finished 11th in the Men's Div II Road Race and 14th in the Criterium. Both days were contested by over 150 riders vying
for the championship.
Superweek update - Jafer Beizer is now Category 2 after a successful spring campaign.
He and Thomas Brown (also Cat 2) plan to compete in the Pro-1-2 International Cycling Festival (Superweek)
to be held mid-July in the Milwaukee, WI area.
5-11-06
The early spring campaign closed with similar results and team fitness as
last year – other teams took their share of these early races, but Flyers emerged with fitness on the upswing. Also Flyers this spring joined the fray that is competitive collegiate
cycling (more on this below).
(scroll down for race reports)
Upcoming Events for the Devo Flyers:
May 27-29: Georgia Cup continues with a three day event in
Savannah Georgia
– including a Team Time Trial. www.georgiacup.com
June 2 – 4: Metro Atlanta Points Series (MAPS) competition for Juniors. Friday is “Juniors
Under the Stars” at the Dick Lane Velodrome (34 degrees of banking and no brakes).
A Criterium and circuit race round out the weekend. Flyers lead Junior
Girls 16-18 and 13-15 classes.
June 10-11: Dahlonega Georgia Cup.
The 2005 road race covered three “gaps”, and the same is expected this year. Not a weekend for the faint of fitness! www.georgiacup.com
July 5 – 9:
July 8-9: Georgia Games. Road race and Criterium. Last year Flyers won the Junior Men, Women Cat 4 and Men Cat 3 events – wow! www.georgiagames.org
Recent Events Reports:
Frazier Cycling Classic, Lawrenceville, GA June 3 & 4
Bump and Grind, Pelham, AL June 4
FFCC rider Jafer Beizer battled it out at the 12th annual Bump and Grind
mountain bike race in the Expert 19-29 class. His first mtb race in over a year proved to be a success. After
two grueling 17 mile laps with more than 1,000 feet of climbing per lap, he was able to bring it home for third place.
Junior national champ Michael Cummings bested him for first.
Sunny King Criterium, Anniston, AL - May 6
Devo sent a three man Elite team over for this Cat 2/3 criterium, and put
all of them into the top 21 (out of 65 competitors). The team rode the front
hard keeping it together for the sprint, where Flyers took 7th, 17th and 21st – against
some very experienced guys! Go Flyers!
Historic Roswell Criterium, Roswell, GA - April 30
Five turns and full gas action. Flyers
rode well in all events, and capped the day off with an outstanding 3rd place in the Men 2/3 race – again,
the result of some hard riding up front by Devo. In the Men 4/5 race, again Flyers
helped keep the pack on the rivet, as well as in the Men 3/4 race. The girls
rode the Women 3/4 with a bit of bad luck at the start, but all three finished on the lead lap, never giving up despite a
50% dropout rate in this fast paced race. Crowds lined the entire course, making
this an exciting day for the riders and spectators.
Twilight Criterium (and Greenway races), Athens, GA – April 29
A fine morning of racing that resulted in five Flyers making the evening
“Finals” event. Devo Junior men reduced the field through aggressive
racing, and put two riders into the Finals. Again in the Men 4, Men 3 and Men
2 events Flyers stayed up front to make the Finals. Our girls finished up front
in the Women 4 and Junior Girls races, though one became the team’s only crash casualty of the day.
Gainesville Omnium, Gainesville, GA
Georgia Cup Round 2. Two Flyers finished well in Cat 3 omnium (Chris Hong 5 th and Jafer Beizer
3 rd). Oscar Clark, Justin Murray, and Ty Magner rode hard for the team to make this weekend a success.
Thomas Brown placed 11th in Pro on the fastest Criterium course this year.
In the OpenWomen road race, Ann Turner was ready add to her 5th place in the Criterium when a crash took her down and out with a broken clavicle. Carla Swart (7th) and Rose Mauney (13th) missed the crash and
finished well in their first “open” event with the “big girls”- both impressive in their climbing.
Thom Shaffer 9th and Kyle Cochran 26th in Men 4, and
Trey Bailey 21st in Men 5 – all good rides in very competitive event.
Now for those Crazy College Kids….
Ann Turner, Thom Shaffer (both University of Georgia) and Thomas Brown ( Emory University) took the plunge into Collegiate Cycling this spring (racing actually started in February). All three did quite well, with Ann winning four races (and is unfortunately missing Collegiate Nationals
due to her injury at the Gainesville Road Race). Thomas Brown is heading to Collegiate
Nationals in Lawrence, Kansas week
of May 8. Jafer Beizer is also now in college ( Georgia College & State University), but has concentrated on USCF racing this spring.
2006 USCF Junior National Road Championships Seven Springs, PA.
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