June 25, 2004 - A Win for Mills

Mills Wins Cyclonauts Road Race, June 19th

In Monson Massachusetts, Donny Mills took the win from a three man breakaway group containing Matthew Svatek (Matthis Brothers/Sharper Image) and Bobby Bailey (Racksmith/Land Rover). The trio escaped from the larger breakaway group with ten miles to go and worked well together to the base of the finishing climb. From there Mills escaped and Svatek bided his time behind Bailey to jump away for second.

The day started out with three Fiordifrutta riders on the line: Mills, Rob Hult and Jon Hamblen. The pace was high from the start and moves were coming and going. By mile 12, Hamblin had moved clear in a group of five and looked to be going away for good. A strong chase by ECV brought the move back. A counterattack was thrown in by Hult who gained an advantage with another rider from the Racksmith/Land Rover team. The pair was eventually brought back, and another blow was dealt by Mills. This move dragged 8 riders off the front, including strongmen Bailey and Svatek. The pace was high and the group looked good to go to the finish. With 15 miles remaining a second group, containing race favorite Hamblen and teammate Hult, joined the leaders up front. With attacks going and all eyes on Hamblen, the winning trio made their escape. Hamblen was able to beat the rest up the finishing climb to take fourth on the day, which was his lowest finish in a month.

Shawn Milne and Phil Wong Interviewed on Racelistings.com

There are great interviews now posted on racelistings.com with Fiordifrutta stars Milne and Wong. Milne talks about his top amateur finish at the Tour of CT and his aspirations to race full time in Europe, while Wong details his 2nd place ride up Mt Washington last summer. Go here and then click on Racers Zone on the far left of the page. Then scroll down to the Riders to Watch section. Wong’s interview can be found in the archives.