June 29, 2009 (Louisville, Ky.) – The USA Cycling Masters National Championships continued on Monday with day two of road racing in Louisville’s Cherokee Park where nearly 300 competitors gunned for eight national titles in the older master men’s categories as well as the 30-34 “baby master” division. Racing will continue on Tuesday with the 35-49 men’s age divisions competing for the final three road racing national titles of 2009.

Racing began in the early morning hours and to the delight of Monday morning’s spectators in Louisville’s Cherokee Park, every racer in the 65-69 category went extremely hard the 35-mile contest. In the end it was Tom Weil (Naperville, Ill./ADB) winning the pack finish in a time of 1:37:49 just ahead of Richard Martin (Attleboro, Mass./Masters Velo) who finished just a hair off Weil’s wheel.

The 70-74 men’s road race was a much different story with multiple-time national and world champion and Franz Hammer (Seattle, Wash./First Mortgage) along with two others breaking away in the early going. Hammer however quickly went out on his own, riding to the nearly two-minute solo victory. His two early-race break companions Kenneth Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga./FCC Masters-Toyota Forklift) and William Myers (Oak Creek, Colo./Schwab Cycles) went on to win silver and bronze around two and four minutes later.

Fredric Schmid (Waco, Texas), Pete Murphy (Glastonbury, Conn.) and David Ellefson (Banner Elk, N.C./Veloproject.com) broke away from the other five riders in the 75-79 men’s road race to take first, second and third in close fashion on the uphill finish. Link Lindquist (Foothill Ranch, Calif./Sho-air) rode the 35-mile race in 1:43:06 to take the 80+ national title.

Of the more than 40 starters in the 60-64 men’s road race, three riders quickly set themselves apart. Kenny Fuller (Corona Del Mar, Calif./Simple Green-Cycles Veloce), Ken Louder (Salt Lake City, Utah/FFKR-SBO-Tour of Utah and David Hixson (Knoxville, Tenn./Team Grand Fondo-Bianchi) rode away to finish nearly three minutes up on the rest of the field in the 35-mile affair with Fuller collecting no less than his 36th Stars-and-Stripes.

The men’s 55-59 event was a story of four riders, including three Amgen Giant teammates. With the group mostly intact mid-race, Wayne Stetina (Mission Viejo, Calif./Amgen Giant Masters), David LeDuc (N.C./Mercy Cycling Team), Thomas Doughty (Aurora, Ill./Amgen Giant Masters) and Kent Bostick (Knoxville, Tenn./Amgen Giant Masters) made a break. With the horse power of that accomplished group the national title was certain to be decided amongst that lead group. The three Amgen Giant riders worked together with LeDuc, but in the end it was 2007 national champion and former Olympian, Stetina who sprinted to another title.

After a mid-race crash took out several of the leaders in the huge 50-54 men’s field, Keith Ketterer (Camarillo, Calif./Amgen Giant Masters) decided to make a break. Terry Duran (Birmingham, Ala./Tri Star-BBC) and Gerald Finken (Moorhead, Minn./Great Plains Cycling Club) also jumped on the opportunity, but one-by-one fell off Ketterer’s torrid pace as another Amgen Giant rider rolled to the gold.

“In order to win you have to risk losing,” stated Ketterer of his decision.

The longest race of this year’s USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships, the men’s 30-34 road race took just over two and a half hours for the victors to complete the 65-mile affair. It took Joshua Frick (Bethesda, Md./Clean Currents p/b Don Beyer) only seconds however to make an attack, firing out of the gate and turning some heads by holding his lead mid-way through the 13-lap affair. The group did however all soon come back together before the winning break of seven established themselves with six laps remaining. Mathew Davis (Shreveport, La./Team Lasport), Mike Olheiser (Huntsville, Ala./Marx and Bensdorf Realtors), Eneas Freyre (Norwalk, Conn./Target Training), Sam Krieg (Pocatello, Idaho/Ice Rocky Mtn. Surgery), Daniel Quinlan (Salem, Ohio/Carbon Racing), Jonathan Jacob (Evansville, Ind./Texas Roadhouse) and Tom Burke (Kentwood, Mich./Lathrup Industries-Giant Bicycles) got away and, despite an avid chase by a small group of another seven riders, were able to build a four-minute lead. Coming to the line it was Davis who was able to outkick his breakaway comrades and bring home the Stars-and-Stripes by the narrowest of margins.

“We worked really well together until about the last 10 miles and then you could tell it was going to come down to a sprint finish,” explained Olheiser.

The final day of road racing will take place on Tuesday beginning at 8:00 a.m. in Louisville’s Cherokee Park featuring the 35-39, 40-44 and 45-49 men. Click here for a full schedule.

For full results, click http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-1879 and to view photos from the event, click http://www.usacycling.org/gallery/album364.

Check out video from the event on our You Tube page, HERE.



USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships
Louisville, Kentucky
June 28-July 4, 2009

Day Two

30-34 Men’s Road Race
1. Mathew Davis (Shreveport, La./Team Lasport) 2:31:59.3
2. Mike Olheiser (Huntsville, Ala./Marx and Bensdorf Realtors) 2:31:59.6
3. Eneas Freyre (Norwalk, Conn./Target Training) 2:32:01
4. Sam Krieg (Pocatello, Idaho/Ice Rocky Mtn. Surgery) 2:32:02
5. Daniel Quinlan (Salem, Ohio/Carbon Racing) 2:32:02

50-54 Men’s Road Race
1. Keith Ketterer (Camarillo, Calif./Amgen Giant Masters) 1:34:48
2. Terry Duran (Birmingham, Ala./Tri Star-BBC) 1:35:19
3. Gerald Finken (Moorhead, Minn./Great Plains Cycling Club) 1:35:23
4. Paul VanKooten (Chattanooga, Tenn./SCV) 1:35:51
5. Henry Schnepf (Newport Beach, Calif.) 1:35:51

55-59 Men’s Road Race
1. Wayne Stetina (Mission Viejo, Calif./Amgen Giant Masters) 1:37:15
2. David LeDuc (N.C./Mercy Cycling Team) 1:37:25
3. Thomas Doughty (Aurora, Ill./Amgen Giant Masters) 1:37:29
4. Kent Bostick (Knoxville, Tenn./Amgen Giant Masters) 1:37:29
5. Stan Watkins (Bloomington, Ill./Vision Quest Coaching) 1:39:10

60-64 Men’s Road Race
1. Kenny Fuller (Corona Del Mar, Calif./Simple Green-Cycles Veloce) 1:29:28
2. Ken Louder (Salt Lake City, Utah/FFKR-SBO-Tour of Utah) 1:29:59
3. David Hixson (Knoxville, Tenn./Team Grand Fondo-Bianchi) 1:30:35
4. Horacio Ahumada (White Plains, N.Y.) 1:33:00
5. Butch Holt (Matthews, N.C./Carolina Bicycle Company) 1:33:01

65-69 Men’s Road Race
1. Tom Weil (Naperville, Ill./ABD) 1:37:49
2. Richard Martin (Attleboro, Mass./Masters Velo) 1:37:49
3. Barry Free (Lebanon,Pa./Era Cycling) 1:37:50
4. David Burnett (Norwich, Conn./Mystic Velo-MCRA) 1:37:50
5. Gary Carr (Mascoutah, Ill./Michelob Ultra-Big Shark Racing) 1:37:52

70-74 Men’s Road Race
1. Franz Hammer (Seattle, Wash./First Mortgage) 1:20:25
2. Kenneth Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga./FCC Masters-Toyota Forklift) 1:22:21
3. William Myers (Oak Creek, Colo./Schwab Cycles) 1:24:44
4. Joe Douglas (Lawrence, Kan./Free State Racing ) 1:28:08
5. Robert Burns (Marengo, Ill./Team Mack) 1:28:20

75-79 Men’s Road Race
1. Fredric Schmid (Waco, Texas) 1:28:23
2. Pete Murphy (Glastonbury, Conn.) 1:28:30
3. David Ellefson (Banner Elk, N.C./Veloproject.com) 1:28:39
4. Antoon Huyghe (Detroit, Mich./Cadieux BC Team) 1:37:37
5. Thomas Orourke (W. Bloomfield, Mich.) 1:43:39

80+ Men’s Road Race
1. Link Lindquist (Foothill Ranch, Calif./Sho-air)1:43:06