Spectator-friendly Pro Race brings Tour de France and Olympic Athletes to Washington, DC
(Washington, DC September 21, 2008) The inaugural ING DIRECT Capital Criterium powered by CycleLife drew record crowds and some of the world's top athletes to downtown, Washington. 100 cyclists competed in the pro event on a fast 8 corner, 1km circuit in the shadow of the capitol. The ING DIRECT Capital Criterium featured a $51,000 purse with a $10,000 first prize. Featured riders included Tour de France participants from the Garmin-Chipotle team highlighted by the recent Tour of Missouri winner Christian VandeVelde ; Rock Racing's National Champions Raashan Bahati and Fred Rodriguez; HealthNet pb Maxxis' Karl Menzies; Toyota United was represented by Hilton Clarke and Domenique Rollin.
"From world-class cyclists and a challenging competition to tens of thousands of spectators, the ING DIRECT Capital Criterium powered by CycleLife exceeded expectations with one of the most exciting events of the season," said Mark Sommers, race director. "We are honored to have the support of Major Fenty and the city of Washington who was instrumental in making the event happen and securing our place on the city's event calendar for many years to come."
Under cloudless skies and low humidity it was a perfect day for cycling. The event kicked off with the Masters 35+ event of 43 riders, followed by the Category 1/2/3 Elite men.
Hundreds of kid's of all ages turned out in their orange ING DIRECT jerseys and helmets to race the same course as the pros.
As the crowds continued to build the pros lined up at 11:30 anxious to vie for the $51,000 on the line. The racing started out at a blistering pace of almost 30 miles per hour. Initial laps saw attacks by Domenique Rollin from Toyota United, Christian VandeVelde of Garmin-Chipotle and Rock's Raashan Bahati.
Tom Soladay of Time Pro Racing made several attempts to break away with success and was able to stay away for 10 laps until he was swallowed up by Christian VandeVelde and company.
The remainder of the race was punctuated with numerous attempts at additional breakaways but the pack tenaciously held its grip on anyone who attempted to get away.
It promised to be an explosive sprint contested by all in the field. Hilton Clarke of Toyota United narrowly beat the field as Freddy Rodriguez of Rock Racing spoiled a 1-2 finish of Toyota United taking second place relegating Domenique Rollin to third.
Texas Roadhouse took the $2,500 team prize.
The top winners of the ING DIRECT Capital Criterium include:
Men's 35+
1 Ramon Benitez (IMMEDIATE MORTGAGE - ARTEMIS EL): 38.46
2 Mark Warno (IMMEDIATE MORTGAGE - ARTEMIS EL): 0.01
3 Nima Ebrahimnejad (Trail's End Cycling Company): 0.24
Category 1/2/3
1 Todd Hipp (Battley Harley-Davidson/ Sonoma): 57.02
2 Jake Lifson (Indiana Regional Medical Center): 0.01
3 David Osborne (IMMEDIATE MORTGAGE-ARTEMIS ELIT)
Pro Men's/Elite
1 Hilton Clarke (Toyota United): 56.44
2 Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing): 0.01
3 Domenique Rollin (Toyota United)
4 Ken Hanson (Cal Giant Strawberries)
5 Emile Abraham (Team Type 1)
6 Ricardo Escuala (Successful Living)
7 Geraldo Fernandez (ING Direct Racing)
8 Stephan Kincaid (Rite Aid pb Shebell & Shebell)
9 Paul Martin (Texas Roadhouse)
10 Karl Menzies (Healthnet pb Maxxis)
The ING DIRECT Capital Criterium powered by CycleLife was run carbon neutral. This is significant because the carbon emissions attributed to the event's organization are offset through the generous donation of renewable energy credits by local metropolitan green energy broker Clean Currents. Information on the event can be obtained from www.capitalcriterium.com
About ING DIRECT:
ING DIRECT, the nation's largest direct bank and third largest thrift, is dedicated to inspiring Americans to become a nation of savers. Since its inception in 2000, more than 7.1 million Americans have entrusted their savings with ING DIRECT, building the bank to $79 billion in assets. For more information on ING DIRECT, or to learn more about the bank's high-value products, including the Orange Savings Account, Electronic Orange, Orange CDs and the Orange Mortgage, visit www.ingdirect.com or call 1-800-ING DIRECT.
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