Jacksonville Cycling Classic- To NRC or Not to NRC

A field of just under fifty riders lined up for the Women’s Criterium at the Jacksonville Cycling Classic including four Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings riders Shannon Hutchison-Krupat, Julie Granger, Lee Anne Asbury and Kristin Sanders. From the gun, Cheerwine was the aggressor throwing off the first attack on the first lap with Laura Van Guilder, which Shannon easily covered. A second attack came shortly after on lap two, again from Cheerwine, which established a small gap. Kristin jumped across to represent Aaron’s in the breakaway group of four. With Cheerwine’s strong sprinter in the break, Kristin did minimal work to aid in its success, knowing that if the break was caught, Shannon was riding comfortably in the bunch and ready to unleash her world-class sprint on the field. Surprisingly, the break away seemed to be gaining ground on the field; each of the strong teams were represented. The chase wasn’t coming and the gap grew slightly lap after lap. Kristin threw in a few attacks in an attempt to drop the faster sprinters with no avail as one rider seemed motivated to keep the break together. Back in the field, Julie, Lee Ann and Shannon did their part in protecting the break and discouraging chasers, even as Cheerwine itself again turned the aggressor and sprinted for prims. On the last lap, going into the third corner, Kristin and two of the riders jumped, racing for the fourth turn. Kristin went through the fourth corner third, gave it all the sprint she had and came across the finish line in third, getting Aaron’s on the podium. In the field sprint, Shannon pulled out all the stops, going third wheel into the third corner and accelerating to dive to the inside into the fourth and shooting through the tiniest of holes. Shannon’s instincts proved to be right on target as she came into the finishing stretch perfectly set up to duel the finish with another one of America’s top sprinters. Shannon again proved to be stronger and smarter as she carried more speed and momentum towards the line and she took the sprint over the field. Julie and Lee Ann finished with the field, safely crossing the line well spent!

Post-race drama: An unfortunate circumstance was uncovered after the finish of the race as the riders gathered and regrouped. Several of the bigger domestic teams were represented at this race chasing the coveted National Race Calendar (NRC) points for their teams. It wasn’t until after the finish that we found out the truth: The Jacksonville Cycling Classic was not an NRC sanctioned race (as it had been promoted), the promoter had known this for quite some time and chose not to “tell” AND we would not be receiving the points we had come to race for- and rightly earned. All of us professional riders felt very deceived and flat-out lied to. A second blow came with the news of the prize list as it, too, had been presented in a very deceiving manner. Unbeknownst to the racers, the mid-race sprint prizes (prims) were taken out of the total prize list, which is absolutely against USCF (national cycling federation who governs our sport) rules. Prize lists may not include prims unless specified, which it was not and, in addition, is extremely uncommon. So, it is with a mixed bag of feelings, both satisfaction in our results and disappointment in this race promoter, that we leave Jacksonville and look forward to our next race in Macon, Georgia…

Special Thank You: Once again, the women of Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings are eternally grateful to for incredibly gracious host family, Scott and Sandra Gross. Thank you to Scott and Sandra for undeniable hospitality and making us feel right at home. The support of host families like the Gross’, we are able to do what we do and in the best of circumstances. We can’t thank you enough!

Final results:
3rd- Kristin Sanders
5th- Shannon Hutchison-Krupat