08/09/02 by Team Summit
TEAM SUMMIT TAKES THE TOP SPOT ON THE PODIUM AT MARYSVILLE! THREE PLACE IN THE TOP 20! YEAH, BABY, YEAH!!
Stage 5 in Marysville started like all the others. 52 starters looking at 52 laps on a sub .6 mile course with 6 corners. A technical course with plenty of moon craters and hazards for good measure. Weather was beautiful with dry air and temps in the mid 70's for the 7PM start. On the line for Team Summit were Shawn Adams, Chad Brown, Angelo Catalano, Jim Gilmore, Jim Mullins, and Denis Osowski. After a week of "Le Tour" the guys were used to the regime.
As with almost all these races, getting to the front early and staying there was critical. Of course, that was everybody's idea and lap one was feverishly paced mixed with riders trying to find the right lines through the technical course. Things were very sketchy for the first few laps. In fact, on turn six of lap one, three riders went down....ironically they were in the front. Fortunately, no Team Summit riders were involved and the riders did get the knack of this course. The pace remained high through the entire race as it has in all the Tour of Ohio races and it eventually retired about half the field, however, only one Team Summit rider was claimed today. Plenty of attacks were attempted and only one attack stayed away for any length of time. Jim Gilmore made several moves to bridge onto some of those attacks but nothing was getting away. Gilmore was nonetheless positioned very well and rode aggressively the entire race. As the race progressed Mullins and Osowski had moved themselves to the front joining Gilmore...no small task given the tight course but the pace was starting to slack just a bit inside 15 to go as riders recovered from reeling in the two off the front and having gunned for several prime sprints.
The peleton was mentally preparing for the inevitable pack sprint as riders began to jockey for position with 5 to go. Well positioned Team Summit racers, Gilmore, Mullins, and Osowski were in the top 8 with the lap cards reading 4 to go. Osowski, uncomfortable with his chances in a pack sprint, decided to test the now slowed field, jumping very hard entering turn six. As Osowski time trialed through the start/finish he heard the announcer say he had a gap and as he rounded corner one Osowski saw the back of the pace car and knew with about 1 1/2 miles to go he'd have to keep the pace up and go for it. Team Summit supporters watched as Jim Gilmore and Jim Mullins moved to the front of the peleton and worked to block the field's attempt to reel Osowski in. As Osowski rounded the course and pulled through the start/finish with two laps to go he had put about 8 seconds on the field. The tight course played well to the blocking tactics and Gilmore and Mullins held the field to perfection. Osowski was riding on adrenalin and the cheers of Marysville residents who lined the course. When the bell sounded for the final lap Osowski put his head down and settled deeper into turning his 53/13, determined not to give an inch. On turning corner six into the final straightaway Osowski finally let himself believe he had maintained the 8 seconds giving him the time to "zip and salute" for Team Summit as he crossed the line alone. Gilmore and Mullins made it a complete package placing 8th and 15th respectively. Angelo Catalano and Shawn Adams held their own on a fast technical course where about half of the field were pulled in the first half. Denis Osowski took the top of the podium with the support of Team Summit. The bottle of champagne was sweeter when shared, we only wish the Ted Ingraham Team Director could have been there for his swig from the bottle! Team Summit on the podium....cheering crowd....interviews...champagne...the works! Isn't this why we spend all those hours in the saddle?
There were tons of pictures taken and in a few days they should by up on the Team Columbus website (www.teamcolumbus.org).
On to Groveport!!