Jean DePlacido
BEVERLY — A breakaway group of four very fast riders fought it out on the final lap of the Elite Men's Race with Ben Zawacki of Weare, N.H., edging out fellow New Hampshire rider Robbie King of Brentwood and Beverly's Shawn Milne to win the inaugural Gran Prix of Beverly before a large crowd last night.
"Milne had opened up a real gap, but I came around him with two turns to go," said Zawacki, who finished the 27.4 miles in 56:41. "The four guys in our group were all pulling the last four or five laps, but on the final one I got aggressive. I raced at Salem (in the Witches Cup the night before), and let's just say I tried but didn't do as well as I wanted to. It was great to pull it out tonight.
"I just love this course. There were two corners - the first turn and next to last - that were really tight. You felt like you were on a motorcycle on both. I'll definitely be back next year."
The podium finishers for both the Men's Elite and Open Women's Races were in agreement that the course Beverly's Tim Johnson designed. while demanding and challenging, was also fun to ride. Johnson, the US National Cyclocross champion in both 2001 and 2007, was the first rider in the pack group and fifth overall.
"I wanted to have a good run in front of all these great fans that came out to support us," said Johnson. "You need to be a sprinter to lead the pack and I'm not a big guy so it's unusual for me to do it with such a big group (77 started). This course is so different from Salem, which is a big circle. Here there are very sharp corners, and I think it took the people who rode both races about half way through to get used to it. That first corner is more than 90 degrees so it's not an easy one."
Johnson was rooting for his training partner Milne, who got edged out at the end.
"With a lap to go I thought I'd get a good jump on the others, but I got played at the end," said Milne, a former Gloucester High track star. "Zawacki took me outside, and (King) went inside. What a great course this is; not too easy, but not so crazy there are all kinds of accidents. I love that it's through downtown; right down the street from where I live."
Rebecca Wallons of Woburn, winner of the Witches Cup, took first in her third straight race, going 18 miles in 42:55. She put a burst on at the end to beat second place finisher Lyne Bessette of Beverly.
"I kept my momentum on the last turn and went as hard as I could," said Wellons, one of five members of the NEBC Cycle Loft team. "This course may be my favorite one of the whole year."
Bessette, a two time member of the Canadian Olympic team and Johnson's wife, said she loved the crowd, who was so supportive of everybody, but especially the Beverly riders.
"We ride here all the time, and now everybody knows who we are," said Bessette. "It's great to have a race where we live, and the crowds were tremendous all around the course, not just on Cabot Street.
"The red girls (NEBC) were pretty strong, and I was all alone here. It doesn't look like teamwork, but it is, and they worked well together. It's like NASCAR when you're in that pack. I chased everything and it was good to have a chance to win at the finish line. If you have form and are strong you want to get away from the field. Maybe next year I'll have a team, and we'll have more women (17 starters) once they find out what a nice technical course we have here."
GRAN PRIX RESULTS
PRO MEN
Place Name City
1.Ben ZawackiWeare, NH (56:41)
2. Robbie KingBrentwood, NH
3. Shawn MilneBeverly
4. Ryan FlemingPortsmouth, NH
5. Tim Johnson Beverly
6. Jerome TownsendPrinceton
7. Adam MyersonDorchester
8. Ward SolarWakefield
9. Ciaran ManganBrighton
10. Dylan McNicholasStratham, NH
11. William DuganBurlington, VT
12. Jesse AnthonyBeverly
13. Tobi SchultzeFoxboro
14. Colin JaskiewiczUpper Montclair, NJ
15. Patrick GoguenHopedale
16. Jeremy DurrinFitchburg
17. Kurt SchmidMarblehead
18. J. Alain FerryBoston
19. Kevin WolfsonCambridge
20. Brad WarrenFitchburg
OPEN WOMEN
PlaceNameCity
1.Rebecca WallonsWoburn (42:55)
2.Lyne BessetteBeverly
3.Amy McGuireUnknown
4.Nicole FreedmanJamaica Plain
5. Debony DiehlJackson, NH
6. Danielle RuaneWebster, NH
7. Maryann MartinezWaterbury Center, VT.
8. Sara Bresniek-ZocchiArlington
9. Lenore ImhofNew Jersey
10. Clara KellyBoxford
