Monday, July 04, 2011

Jordan Cullen takes 2nd in the Cat 1/2 Northfield Crit

The winning 5-man break formed late in the race.
The finishing Sprint
Northfield Cat 1/2 Podium (L-R) Dylan Knutson - 3rd, Pat Lemieux - 1st, Jordan Cullen - 2nd



We made the 7 hour drive home from Lawrence, KS this morning to make the annual Northfield Crit was well worth it. A great event, not to be missed. Jordan's Grandma, Papa, and Carla met us there to watch.

The Cat 1/2 race was fast and furious, with move after move. Some looked like they would stick, only to be brought back. Jordan and his MBRC/Flanders team were very aggressive.

The winning move came with less than 10 laps to go, when Dylan Knutson attacked on the finishing stretch, and was quickly joined by Pat Lemieux, and Dan Casper. A short time later, Jordan Cullen bridged up. Finally, Flanders teammate Michael Woell bridged the gap making them 5 strong.

The gap to the field was never huge, between 10-15 seconds as the laps ticked by, and Grand Performance led the chase at the front of the field.

On the final lap, Jordan led up the climb, then Woell attacked. Lemieux gave chase, with Jordan on his wheel, followed by Knutson, then Casper. They went into the final turn in that order. Lemieux easily won the slightly downhill, tailwind sprint. Jordan and his 52x14 junior gearing could hold Pat's wheel, but couldn't come around. Dylan Knutson finished 3rd, Woell 4th, Casper 5th. Gregg Brandt won the field sprint for 6th.

Flanders teammates: Adam Gorski was 9th, Toby Henkels 10th, and Merrill Lutsky 11th. Great job MBRC!

Is it a coincidence that the top 3 (Pat, Jordan, and Dylan) had all raced at the Tour of Lawrence, and made the 7 hour drive this morning?

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