Dietrich Wins Two Stages and Takes 2nd Overall at Tour of Ohio, June 20-27

The Fiordifrutta squad continued their winning streak in Ohio, where thanks to two stage wins and a strong time trial, Dietrich took second place in the overall classification to Jelly Belly pro Caleb Manion. Josh Gewirtz, Johs Huseby, Phil Wong, and Dan Cassidy provided top notch support all week, and Mike wrote the following race reports:

Old Man’s Cave Road Race, June 23th

This is the stage of the Tour of Ohio that Fiordifrutta has won 5 years in a row. This year the four man team was a little worried with the loss of Dan Cassidy to a broken collarbone in Stage 1 and the old men on the team (Mills, Peck, Davis) opting to stay home. Josh Gewirtz, the reining OLD man cave champ from 2003, was in attendance so not all hope was lost. Early in the race a break of 10 guys managed to get almost 2 minutes on the field causing worry in the group. They were eventually chased down with 20 miles to go. Huseby, Gewirtz, and Wong all took their turns trying to get a move to stick while Dietrich sat in waiting for the last climb.

One rider was off when the 3k climb arrived, and Dietrich was the first to attack and get a gap. A group of three containing the race leader Caleb Manion bridged across and Dietrich managed to hold on. The 4 worked together until 1k to go when they started to cat and mouse. After beating Curt Davis in a standing start training sprint the week before, Dietrich was confident in his sprinting ability and wanted to slow the other 3 down and then out accelerate them. With 200m to go the now 5 riders (one Sierra Nevada rider bridged) slowed to less than 10mph. Dietrich jumped first and managed to hold on the win. Gewirtz sprinted to 11th and Wong and Huseby finished with the field after a very good days work.

Roscoe Village Road Race, June 24th

Today was the scary downhill finish stage in the Tour of Ohio. Josh, Johs, Phil and I went out with the hopes of just sitting in and taking it easy before the next couple of stages. The race would not allow us to do so however. After 5 miles or so the race broke apart in the headwind leaving groups all over the road. Luckily all four of us were able to make it to the front group which consisted of 25 riders. Josh, Johs, and Phil helped some of the other teams drive the group. Eventually the rest of the field made it back. For the last 30 miles of the race small breaks would form but nothing would stay.

On the KOM, Mike Dietrich, hoping to gain the time bonus and slip into second overall, attacked at the bottom of the climb bringing along 4th place Josh Dillon. The race leader Caleb Manion managed to bridge across but came into difficulty as Josh Gerwitz managed to slow him down a bit. After Caleb made it across the three worked together getting the gap up to 45 seconds. The three ended up sprinting for the win with Dietrich pushing his 53x12 (not the 17 cog as usual) to victory. Phil, Josh, and Johs all did an awesome job blocking to help the break stick.

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.

Hamblen Wins Cox Charities Cycling Classic, June 13th

Jon Hamblen continued to take advantage of his excellent form to win this big-money criterium in Providence, Rhode Island. With ten riders taking the start line for Fiordifrutta, the team’s goal was to be in every move of the race and prevent a field sprinter from taking the victory. Mike Dietrich, Peter Hult, Dan Cassidy, Johs Huseby, Phil Wong and Dan Cassidy all rode aggressively in the first half of the race, but no group was able to stay away from the field. Chris Peck and Josh Gewirtz attacked after one of the bonus sprints and made it into a group of thirteen riders that put 30 seconds on the field by 12 laps to go in the race. Because strong sprinters Jon Page (Hot Tubes), Oscar Pineda (Stelvio Teamware) and Emilito Heredia (TOGA) were not contributing to the efforts of the break, Gewirtz joined them at the back of the break, while Peck contributed to the break’s forward progress.

At this point, Hamblen was itching to try to get across to the break, and with the help of Rob Hult, he was able to ride across the gap during the next two laps. After Hamblen joined the break, an attack by Peck set up a solo move for Hamblen and he jumped away with 9 laps to go. His initial goal was to hold on for one of the biggest bonus sprints in New England history for a total of $853. After taking the cash with 5 laps to go, Hamblen was able to motor onward for the win! Gewirtz was able to outsprint Mark McCormack (Colavita) for 6th, after McCormack made it across to the break on the last lap.

You can see a podium shot here.

Hamblen Wins Ninigrit Criterium, June 12th

Fiordifrutta had another good day racing in New England at the Ninigrit Criterium, part of Pave Production's Cox Charities Rhode Island weekend. The race started fast as usual on the flat and windy 3/4 mile loop at Ninigrit State Park in Kingston, RI. Fiordifrutta's Mike Dietrich launched an attack that could only be followed by Bobby Bailey of the Racksmith/Land Rover team, but would soon be joined by a rider from Marian College and a few laps later by Jon Hamblen. Dietrich and Hamblen worked with the group, winning several primes in the process, before launching a series of attacks that put Hamblen ahead solo.

Hamblen soon lapped the field and had teammate Johs Huesby to pull him away from the bunch and bridge up to the chase group which contained Pete Hult. Hult and Huseby put in tremendous pulls before Hult flatted. Dietrich lapped the field as well and had to duel with his two breakaway companions for second place, while Huseby helped Hamblen ride further up the road to secure the win after 30 miles of racing.

Hamblen and Dietrich Take 4th and 6th at Elite Nationals, June 16th

The Fiordifrutta squad sent an optimistic seven-man team to the Elite National Road Race Championships in Redlands, CA. With numerous top-five placings over the last few years, the team’s goal was to put the winner’s stars and stripes jersey on the shoulders of one of its riders. In the first 2 miles of the 90-mile race, Fiordifrutta sent Chris Peck up the road in the early break of five including Evan Elken (Broadmark Capital.), John Osguthorpe (Ogden One), John Hunt (Village Peddler) and Steve Tilford. The gap to the leaders hovered around one minute with Phil Wong doing a fantastic job of covering attacks and discouraging attempts to bridge to the leaders.

With 60 miles to go, Curt Davis got a free ride up to the leading group with Chris Walker (Labor Power). The front group then swelled to fifteen, as Jon Hamblen and Mike Dietrich were able to get on with 40 miles left to race. But the race victory for Fiordifrutta was not to be, as Hamblen made a valiant but unsuccessful effort to catch an attack by Walker, Elken and Bill Innes (GS Lombardi Sports).

The 85 degree heat and over 10,000 feet of climbing had taken their toll, and only 30 riders were able to finish on the same 10 mile lap as the leaders. Hamblen ended up chasing for the final twenty miles with Hunt, and Dietrich marked the next group on the road. Hamblen was able to out sprint Hunt for fourth, and Dietrich escaped from his group on the final climb to take sixth.

You can read full race accounts with pictures on the major race coverage sites including Velonews and cyclingnews.com

Hamblen Wins Lake Auburn Road Race, June 5

Auburn, Maine - The Fiordifrutta team lined up with seven riders for this short but difficult road race with Pete and Rob Hult, Dan Cassidy, Phil Wong, Josh Gewirtz, Mike Dietrich, and Jon Hamblen. The team was ready to battle on the streets of greater Auburn and defend Don Mills’s honor as the King of All Maine Racing, although Donny couldn't make it to the race due to work. At the team’s pre-race meeting the decision was made to attack early and often in an attempt to soften up the field. The course suited this aggressive type of riding due to its many short but steep climbs, lack of flat ground, and relatively short 66 mile length.

The boys started the first of six laps with a barrage of attacks, which though only half hearted, did their job of spoiling some fresh legs in the field. Near the end of the lap a group of about ten riders formed off the front, it included Phil Wong, Rob Hult, Dan Cassidy, and Jon Hamblen. The Fiordifrutta squad was put in charge of the pulling by the other teams who were not yet interested in riding away from the field, so the boys started to attack the break to avoid being stuck with all the work. Phil Wong countered moves by Cassidy, Hult, and Hamblen, riding off solo to a 1'30 gap. The chase group grew in size over the next lap and a half to become a large twenty man pack, including two more Fiordifrutta riders, Pete Hult and Josh Gewirtz. Meanwhile, Mike Dietrich corralled the main pack a few minutes in arrears of the leaders.

Near the end of the third lap, Pete Hult launched a viscous attack and was followed by Trek's Nat Faulkner who was followed by Jon. The three rode just ahead of the field for several miles until Pete suddenly came up with a very funny new joke and decided to slow down and wait for his brother so he could share the humor with him. Jon continued on and caught up with Phil then the two FDF boys dropped Nat on a hill. A bit later, Phil too came up with a great joke but, because Hamblen was constantly out of breath and not looking interested, Phil decided to wait for the group.

Meanwhile, in the main field, Dietrich launched off and bridged to the break-eton. This became the main group on the road and included all of the Fiordifrutta team riders, minus one. Hamblen continued to ride hard off the front, fueled by a fear of being caught, due to the incorrect time splits he was receiving. The main group spent the remainder of the race attacking and counter attacking each other until finally a small group with Dietrich, P. Hult, and a few others got away. Jon rode in for the win and 8 minutes later Mike sprinted to a 3rd place finish, while Dan and Pete rolled in for 6th and 7th.

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.