June 4, 2004 - Win for Davis

Davis-Dietrich 1-2 at Wachusett Circuit Race, May 29

Nine Fiordifrutta riders contested this new race held near Fitchburg, Massachusetts on a windy 3 mile circuit. The team wasted no time in getting down to business by sending Curt Davis and Mike Dietrich away in a three man group on the first of 19 laps. The second and third groups also jumped away in the first few laps with Johs Huseby and Phil Wong in the second, and Dan Cassidy and Chris Peck in the third. None of these groups would ever combine in the sixty mile race, and Davis and Dietrich dropped their breakaway partner to finish one-two. Davis decided to take the win stating, “Dietrich got excited and pulled too hard on the hill every time, and thus was too tired to pull much on the rest of the lap. He made me do most of the work so we determined that I should have the victory.” Davis and Dietrich were able to lap the group containing Hamblen, and Davis was overjoyed to finally take back the lap that Hamblen had gained on him in the 2002 Ashburnham Grand Prix.

Hamblen Third at Hartford Criterium, May 30

This flat one kilometer loop around Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford Connecticut saw the Fiordifrutta squad come out in force. The goal was to avoid a field sprint since the team’s ace sprinter Shawn Milne had returned to Europe with the National team. After some initial attacks by Peter Hult and Johs Huseby, a mid race escape that included Jon Hamblen and Mike Dietrich looked promising as the group immediately put 20 seconds on the field. With just eight laps to go, Dietrich sprinted well in his 17 cog to win a $321 prize put up by the large crowd!

But with 3 laps to go, the break’s lead was evaporating, and Josh Gewirtz made it across to the break and put in an attack that saw him out front until 2 to go. The field was still not quite together, and Hamblen put in a last ditch attack with one other rider that saw them jump to a 50 meter lead on the charging field. The Fiordifrutta squad was in a difficult spot because they knew Johs Huseby or Josh Gewirtz could sprint well, but the squad was hesitant to begin that leadout because it could contribute to Hamblen being caught by the field. In a nail biting finish, the duo held that gap until just a few meters to the line, when Hamblen was passed by two large sprinters from the field.