- Statesboro, GA -
Results
Sitting in second in the DII SECCC polls after the first race of the season, Elizabeth Lee, Kevin Roberts and Austin Sholly as well as club advisor Loren Sumner made the trip from Macon to Statesboro for the annual 'Battle of the Boro.' Mid-February's tuneup in southeast Georgia proved to be a tough ride for all three riders over the weekend, battling sizable fields with little to no help.
Saturday's criterium around the eight turn course was a wild one for all three racers. Austin Sholly garnered a 21st place finish in the Men's C criterium in a large field that featured nearly 30 racers. Elizabeth Lee followed Sholly's result up with a tough 6th place finish in a fast group up front in her race while Kevin Roberts managed a 6th place finish in the competitive Men's B race.
Roberts' electrifying race started when he broke away with six other riders two laps into the event, tapping on the gas to pull away for a 1st and 3rd place finish in two points primes. His tank nearly went empty though when a King College rider counterattacked, dropping Roberts in no-man's land, between the lead pack and chase group. The chase group eventually caught up with the junior from Dacula, but Roberts showed off his leg strength at the finish, taking the field sprint to finish 6th.
Sunday's 44 mile road race got off to a very cold start in the rural community of Rocky Ford, better known for its lack of civilization and busted-up roads more than anything else. Elizabeth Lee had quite a task in her field of four riders - three were racing for the uber-competitive Mars Hill College, leaving Lee playing a 3-on-1 game for most of the morning. Despite being outnumbered, Lee kicked to a 3rd place finish in the Women's A sprint to cap a great weekend.
Austin Sholly would continue to refine his road race tactics in the large Men's C field, taking 22nd on the blustery day while Kevin Roberts notched another top-10 finish for his early 2011 season.
"At the start of the second lap, I worked together with a rider from College of Charleston to try and attack in efforts to break up the group a little," said Roberts. "We worked hard and made a gap form twice, but soon thereafter, the participants in the break would sit up and let the stragglers catch up. The race quickly simmered down and turned into a Sunday group ride," he added.
Roberts got stuck out front for the final few minutes of the race, limiting his ability to surprise the field at the end, but would settle in for an 8th place finish, his fifth SECCC top-10 finish of the 2011 season.
SECCC action takes a two-week hiatus until Florida State hosts the third race of the 2011 road season February 26-27 in Tallahasse, FL.
