Hushvod Claims Marin-Roubaix Trophy

The home crowd in San Rafael, who, after waiting for hours at the stadium in the freezing rain, got exactly what they had hoped for: a win by home town hero Ken Hushvod in an epic edition of the Marin-Roubaix.  With a fearsome attack on the last lap of the velodrome which left main protagonist Jonas Lodewick behind, Hushvod held off the Italian, Dario Fredericcio in the final sprint to apparently take the win in front of his home town fans.  Lodewick  was able to hold off a hard charging Jimmy Robinski at the line to hold on to a podium placing.

In a stunning twist of events however, race commissaires have ruled that, due to two seperate incidents during the race that saw Hushvod cut the Pave sector #1 at Pauw Kloof as well as accept  illegal mechanical assistance from Markus Clijisters to repair a puncture at the foot of the Lincolnberg, while Hushvod would retain his victory trophy, he would receive no points for the victory.  The victory is a bittersweet one for Hushvod as this ruling will all but eliminate him from the overall Marin World Cup competition.

Fredericcio filed a complaint petition directly following the finish with PHRO President Joos Litvalk requesting relegation of Hushvod for the violations and that victory be awarded to him as a result.  In a statement issued by the PHRO press secretary, Litvalk stated that, "While there is some question about the advantage gained by Hushvod's violations, there is no doubt that Fredericcio had every oppurtunity to claim victory in the finale.  While PHRO supports his claim that Hushvod did indeed incur two seperate violations, Fredericcio  has no one to blame for his runner up position but himself."

While obviously dissapointed with PHRO's somewhat unsympathatic decision in the matter, a typically philosophical Fredericcio was at peace with the outcome.  "I cannot say I agree totally with Litvalk's decision but I still have hope for the overall.  I believe the events were pretty clear cut but I am not suprised by the lack of courage shown by the commissaires.  Hushvod is like a god in this region and perhaps his relegation would have resulted in riots which would be good for no one.  I will prepare for San Raflaanderrs and look to secure victory in the overall."

Hushvod however express indignance with Fredericcio's claim.  "The course was poorly marked on the approach to Pauw Kloof and the front group was following Clijisters.  If anyone is to blame it is him.  That is why he gave me a wheel at the foot of the Lincolnberg; he felt he owed it to me and at that point, his race was finished.  I commend Fredericcio on a tremendious performance but if he expects to win a PHRO race, he's going to have to learn to come around someone at the finish.  One does not win a classic with a pen and paper."

How the race unfolded:

The promised foul weather was holding at bay as the peloton rolled out from the start but the fireworks were soon begun as the cagey veteran Stijn Cherry attacked from kilometer 1, pullling the Russian, Jimmi Robinski  with him.  Robinski then immedietly countered Cherry and held off the group to claim the 1st hot spot sprint.  With a lead group having a sizable gap at the sprint point, Markus Clijisters continued to push the pace on the approach to the 1st pave section at Pauw Kloof.  While Jonas Lodewick was pushing the pace, creating a few minor seperations, it was grupo compacto leading into the next sector at Camp Chinois where again, with a show of impressive power Lodewick again attempted to create a selection.  Showing good form early was Van von Simeon who seems to be coming into his own this season as well as Hushvod and Fredericcio.  The group of four rolled through the 2nd sprint point without contesting it with full points going to Lodewick.  Several attempts were made over the following few sectors to break up the lead group but at the entrance of the Railroad d'Arenberg it was all together again.

In the Railroad d'Arenberg Lodewick once again went to the front with a massive effort that shattered the group and created what would end up being the final grouping for the finale.  Included in the group were Lodewith, Fredericcio, Hushvod and a suffering Robinski.  Despite a strong early effort, Clijisters and wiley veteran Stijn Cherry were out of contention after offering assistance to Hushvod who had punctured on the Railroad.  Van von Simeon was just off the back of the leaders when he suffered what looked to be a massive implosion, likely due to his early efforts.  He went backwards up the Lincolnberg as quickly as the front group was going up.  His day was finished and he climbed into the team car, opting to save his energy for next weeks San Raflaanderrs.

The front group of Lodewith, Fredericcio, Hushvod and Robinski arrived at the finishing stadium together it looked to be a 4-up sprint for the finish line.  However, with a couragiously strong move heading into the back stretch of the velodrome, Hushvod attacked hard with only Fredericcio able to hold his wheel and with a tremendious effort was able to hold on to the finish.  Lodewick  was able to out sprint Robinski for 3rd, rounding out the podium.  Clijisters and Cherry rolled in nearly a minute back for 5th and 6th respectivly.

Results:

Placing	Rider	Elapsed Time	Gap
1	Ken Hushvod	1:48:26	-
2	Dario Fredericcio		-
3	Jonas Lodewick		+ 00:05
4	Jimmi Robinski		-
5	Markus Clijsters		+ 01:22
6	Stign Cherry		+ 01:25
7	Van Von Simeon		DNF

Overall MWC Series Standings:

Place	Rider	GP Ken Hushvod	Marin-Roubaix	Total Points
1	Jonas Lodewick	1000	250	1250
2	Dario Fredericcio	500	500	1000
3	Ken Hushvod	250	-	250
4	Markus Clijsters	125	100	225
5	Stijn Cherry	75	75	150
6	Jimmi Robinski	0	125	125
7	Van Von Simeon	100	0	100
8	R.A. Von Schmidt	25	0	25