July 1, 2004 - Hamblen Wins Again

Jon Hamblen posted his fourth win for the month of June at the Exeter Criterium, making an amazing team total of 7 wins in June!

Hamblen Sprints to Exeter Criterium Win, June 29th

Exeter, NH, home of Donny Mills and the training grounds of Jon Hamblen, hosted a very important race for the Fiordifrutta boys. The return of the Exeter Criterium, a New England favorite, has been awaited for some nine years. The course travels past Mills' house, which is on the last corner and was the Fiordifrutta BBQ headquarters for the day, being run by Don's wife Susan.

Before the start both NH riders vowed that one of them would have to win the race on this day... provided they were not beaten by one of the big name Pro's who showed up for this Fitchburg warm-up race. On the start line several fast riders had Don, Jon, Mike Dietrich, Rob Hult, and Pete Hult worried. Victor Rapinski (Navigators) and Mike Jones (Healthnet) had just ridden very well at the GP Beauce in Quebec. National Cyclocross Champion Jon Page (Hot Tubes) was also sure to be a threat in the 30 mile hilly and bumpy Criterium, and Mathis Bro's had sent criterium experts Adam Myerson and Matt Svatek.

The race started very fast with Hamblen's usual first meter attack. The attacks continued for another two laps until a fifteen man group formed off the front. From that group five riders went clear: Page, Jones, Yasuhiro Yamamoto (Nippon Hodo), and Fiordifrutta’s Dietrich and Hamblen. With four close friends and one Japanese Pro rider, the group worked very well together, putting serious time into the field. Each rider did all they could for the break, pushing themselves to the maximum and not sprinting for the big money primes (which they agreed to split).

With 10 laps to go the five breakaway companions lapped the field to applause from the enormous and loud crowd that had formed in downtown Exeter. The remaining laps were led by Fiordifrutta and Hot Tubes riders, each trying to lead out their man in the sprint. With one lap to go Ripinski was in front leading out Page who had Hamblen and Jones on his wheel. Page, sure to win, jumped hard with 250 meters to go, only to have his rear wheel break two spokes and lose his chain all at once in the middle of the sprint! Hamblen sprinted in for the win ahead of the field followed closely by Jones and then Dietrich who took third. Rob Hult finished up a respectable 12th on the day after some hard work late in the race.

Fiordifrutta Squad Takes 4th and 5th at VeryFine Grand Prix, June 27th

The VeryFine GP circuit race, held in the town of Littleton, MA, had its most brutal edition of the race to date. From the gun, roommates and local residents from nearby Carlisle, Matt Svatek (Mathis Brothers presented by Sharper Image) and Jon Hamblen (Fiordifrutta), rode off the front of the seven lap 80 mile race. The two riders were in a hurry to get back home for Matt's birthday/engagement party and wasted no time in an effort to finish the race quickly.

For two laps they rode alone until they were joined by a group of some 15 riders that included Mark McCormack (Colavita), Jon Page (HotTubes), and the Hult brothers (Fiordifrutta). Soon after being caught, Hamblen launched an attack on the course’s 2.5 mile climb. McCormack, Page, Larry Perrera (Mathis Bro's), and Al Donahue joined Jon on the decent, making a five man front group that would stay off the remainder of the race.

All but Donahue contributed to the effort of staying ahead of the 10 rider chase group. The four riders pushing the pace were riding extremely hard and content to let Donahue sit on, as he often does in very hard races. They expected him to be a non-contender in the finish, as in the past he had respected the work done by the guys giving him a free ride and not sprinted. With three laps remaining Perrera cracked and was dropped on the hill, and Donahue began to take short pulls on the flat part of the course. On the last lap Hamblen attacked halfway up the climb, winning the final KOM points at the top and securing his win of the Redbones BBQ KOM competition.

Jon had 20 seconds on the other three riders and flew down the hill to the flat/rolling section before the finish. But McCormack chased hard and brought the group up to Hamblen with 500 meters to go. At the 200 meter to go mark, the fresh legged Donahue jumped and barely held off Page for the win, and the worn out McCormack finished just ahead of Jon, who had to settle for 4th on the day. Behind, a group containing Adam Myerson, Perrera, Svatek, the Hults, and some others, fought for 5th place. In the end Pete Hult took a solo flier and the 5th place cash.