November 12, 2003

Hamblen Wins Putney Cyclocross Race, November 9th

In its 13th year, the Putney Cyclocross race is a fixture on the New England cross circuit. The race is held at the West Hill bike shop in Putney, VT, where riders warm up after the race with a cup of cider while taking a look at the in the latest tire offerings in the showroom. This year's race was held on a cold day with clear skies, there was however some icy mud on the course which made the turns slippery for the riders. The race started very fast with Fiordifrutta/Wheelworks team member and Putney native (as well as former West Hill shop employee) Johs Huesby leading the field from the start and into the woods.

Johs had the field strung out quickly and then moved over to let teammate Jon Hamblen attack just before a tight and slippery turn around the back of the shop. Hamblen, taking a cue from teamate Johs who has won the race numerous times, has been training on the Putney course since the first week of September. He was fully prepared for everything the race had to offer, having ridden on it for over 15 hours this season. Jon had spent many days in the past two months practicing the course to learn the fastest line through every turn and how to get down the treacherous drop off in the woods without crashing.

All of that training paid off as he opened a gap on the chasers who struggled in the mud behind, searching for the quickest way to navigate the turns. Meanwhile, Fiordifrutta's Rob Hult sat in the group behind Hamblen, letting Matt Svatek(Sportsbook.com), Jeremy Powers(CycleSmart), and Ryan O'Conner(West Virginia) tire themselves by chasing Hamblen. Hult then attacked the group halfway into the race, easily riding away from them and maintained his gap throughout the race. Hamblen went on to win, with Hult 17 seconds back in second place, and Johs showed a glimpse of returning form with an 8th place finish and a sore thumb from his crash a few weeks ago. The team is looking forward to the CycleSmart UCI race in Northampton Mass this coming weekend.

Hult 2nd at Frank n' Horst Cyclocross, November 8th

The day before the Putney cyclocross, New England's top racers gathered to take on this twisty course in Keene, NH. Johs Huseby and Rob Hult made the front group for Fiordifrutta/Wheelworks, Chris Peck trailed this group for much of the race, and Jon Hamblen stayed home to save his energy for the Putney race. Hult made a strong solo effort early in the race until he was caught and crashed by Matt Svatek (Sportsbook.com), which allowed Huseby to rejoin the pair. Despite attacks by Huseby and Hult, they could not overcome a last lap surge by Svatek, who took the win with Hult in second.