Fiordifrutta continued its winning ways in September, and attached are some great photos from Mike Cody winning the final stage of the Green Mountain Stage Race.

Cody Wins York Beach Criterium, September 15th

Cody writes: Have you ever had some much caffeine you couldn't sit still? Well I did before the crit that evening and evidently it paid off. An impromptu combine by other locals fell through as no break would stick through the 30 laps on the ocean front course. In the end it came down to a field sprint, but not one with a sprint to the line, rather one with a sprint to the last corner. Down the back straight, Ted King was lead out by his brother Robbie. Cody jumped them both and took the last corner with a bike length on the competition and extended it to two lengths by the line to win over Adam Myerson and Ted King. Thank god for Michelin Pro Grip tires...it’s like riding on rails.

White Wins Northfield Cyclocross, September 10th

At his season opening big win down at the NJ fair White relied on his “crit” fitness to hold onto to the win. Northfield was another story, and coming off a R/R period he saw the race as an early training opportunity. Matt White and Johannes Huseby lined up mid pack, where they hopefully won’t need to line up for the rest of the season once the coveted UCI point accumulation begins, which will likely put our star riders on the front row.

The pace was kept civil for a couple laps, a long line of riders stretching single file around the course with Huseby and White somewhere in the middle. By the third lap the front group had formed including professional rider Adam Hodges Myerson from the Nerac squad, Matt Kraus the yoga man, Johs, and White of Fiordifrutta. Huseby and White attacked the group, but the Nerac rider was on fire, he had the answer to every attack. Finally Myerson slipped on an off camber section, and forced a dismount. White capitalized, pulling away from the group.

Moments later Huseby was out of the race with a double flat. White had assumed the Viking would forge the gap as he so often did, and the two would spend the last third of the race in TTT situation. Huseby was out, and it was up to White to take on the NE cross legend that is the “Hodge”. It was easy, Adam got tired, the gap opened to 30 or 40 second in about a lap, and White rolled through in victory, now riding an undefeated cross season with TWO wins.

Miller 11th in Univest Grand Prix, September 9th

A six man Fiordifrutta squad raced in Souderton, PA at this invitational UCI race that included most of the nation’s top professional teams. Michael Cody was active in the opening 70 miles, and picked up a win and a second place finish at some of the intermediate sprints. As the race begin 35 miles of circuits back in Souderton, Dan Timmerman and Buck Miller both made the front group and went on the attack.

Miller stayed at the front for a fine 11th place finish, while in the next group back the team rode to make sure that Cody made the time cut since he had a number of points in the sprint competition. But unfortunately the points win was not to be, as although Cody tied Mike Friedman (TIAA-CREF) on points, the tie was broken based on the last sprint of the day which put Cody in second. The overall race was won by Shawn Milne (Navigators) who spent two seasons riding for Fiordifrutta in 2002 and 2003.

Cody 11th in Univest Criterium, September 10th

Cody writes: Empty legs and a cloudy head had me in a daze for the crit on sunday. My sole motivation was to try to redeem my tie in the sprint competition for such a great effort my teammates put in during the road race. Buck was smoked from an unbelievable performance in the road race Saturday, while Dan, Jamey, and Cory with tired from their efforts the day before. Unfortunately I didn't have the legs to race off the front, so I tail-gunned for 50 of 55 laps. In the end I was able to get up there for the field sprint in 6th, with a 5 riders off the front for 11th place.

White Wins First Cross Race of the Year, NJ State Fair, August 11th

Matt White and Mike Cody traveled down to the NJ fair to race under the lights on a short cyclocross track. They took first and third in the event sandwiching Jelly Belly’s Jeremy Powers. You can read a full report here and check out some pictures. There is also a great video on the newenglandcross.com site, and you may have to download Quicktime to view it, but it is totally worth it.

Cody Wins Final Stage of Green Mountain with Miller in 6th Overall, September 1-4

The Green Mountain Stage Race in northern Vermont took its traditional spot on the calendar with four days of racing over Labor Day weekend. The 7 mile hill climb prologue saw the return to racing for team manager Curt Davis as he took the top spot for the team in 7th place. The next day’s circuit race marked the second year in a row that this stage had no effect on the overall ranking. Last year, ambulances on the course and yellow line violations caused officials to nullify the stage, while this year a crash on the first descent due to a police officer who U-turned in front of the field saw the riders stop in protest.

Saturday’s queen stage was 100 miles with three significant climbs, with rain coming down heavily for much of the day. Fiordifrutta was active in the event with Buck Miller and guest rider Cory Burns spending time off the front of the peleton. On the final climb, Miller finished 6th with Burns not far behind in 16th. Sunday’s criterium was the perfect venue for a home town performance by Michael Cody, and he delivered with a solo bridge up to the breakaway in the final laps. Cody out-sprinted the group for the win and you can see video of all the stages at www.ultrasport.tv