Hamblen Wins Yarmouth Clam Festival Race, July 18th

For most New England bike racers this is the highlight of the summer. The town of Yarmouth, Maine, has put on the best bike race this side of the Atlantic for the past nineteen years. Run in conjunction with the Clam Festival the race attracts a large crowd of spectators and a full field of Pro and amateur racers, making for an exiting event. The race was fast from the start as riders tried to escape the field and pick up the primes that are available on each one of the race’s ten laps. On several laps breaks hovered just off the front of the field but were caught after the finish line every time as riders slowed following the sprint

With three and a half laps to go Phil Wong was up the road in a move with Jon Page (Hot Tubes) and several others, and then Hamblen and Matt Svatek (Sharper Image – Mathis Brothers) bridged across. The group had twenty seconds on the field and looked good until most of the riders started sitting on going into the prime sprint. At that time Page and Hamblen took off while Wong sat up and took the group backwards. Over the next three laps the two former teammates worked extremely hard to hold their thirty second gap over the field, Page thinking about the money needed for his soon to be born baby and Hamblen about his upcoming wedding. In the end Page eased up before the line to let Jon Hamblen take his fourth Clam Fest win.

Hamblen 2nd at North Jersey Classic, July 11th

Park Ridge, NJ – This 19th edition of one of the hardest criteriums in America saw a top-caliber field battling it for the $7000 prize list. With the 20% climb devastating the field, Fiordifrutta was proud to put six of riders in the top twenty with Hamblen 2nd, Wong 7th, Milne 11th, Hult 15th, Dietrich 16th, and Peck 19th.

You can read a full race report at racelistings.com

You can also read a race report including an interview with Hamblen from the local paper, The Record.

Strong Riding at Fitchburg Allows Fiordifrutta to Put Four Riders in the Top Twenty, July 2-5th

Fitchburg, MA – The 45th annual Fitchburg Longsjo Classic saw top riders from around the nation converge on central Massachusetts in hopes of garnering some National Racing Calendar points and a share of the $18,000 men’s prize list. Friday’s time trial saw Jon Hamblen and Mike Dietrich put in solid riders against the clock for 15th and 19th spots respectively. Saturday’s 75 mile circuit ended in a field sprint, but Peter Hult, Phil Wong spent time off the front representing Fiordifrutta.

Sunday’s queen stage was 100 miles with a climb to the top of Wachusett Mountain Ski Area for the finish. Hamblen took advantage of the battle between the Navigators and Colavita pro teams, and was able to ride aggressively for the last third of the race, ending up in 4th spot on the day. Hult, Dietrich, and Wong all climbed well at the finish for 13th, 14th, and 21st places. Monday’s criterium did not see many changes in the overall classification, and Josh Gewirtz jumped into many moves to make his mark on the race. The Fiordifrutta boys ended up in 5th, 13th, 14th, and 19th spots in the overall classification, making it known once again that they are the premier amateur team in the nation.

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.