Abate Defends Cat 3 Cup Jersey from the Front, but Upgrade puts Netzer in the Pants

District Velocity’s Tony Abate did the GamJams Cat 3 Cup leader’s jersey proud by winning the Fort Ritchie Criterium earlier this month and extending his lead in the individual competition. "Free pants are my favorite thing," Tony remarked, calling his Mountain Khakils leader's pants his "go-to for everything now." Tony showed the strength he has displayed all season to whip the field around the technical course.  Second place was taken by Haymarket’s Darion Fleming who has frequently joined Tony in his attenpts to escape this season.  Darion’s Teammate Jose Nunez moved up to second in the individual competiton with a strong third place finish.

Haymarket also made a strong entrance into the team competition with three different riders scoring points so far in the competition, though they have not yet tallied enough points to overtake District Velocity Racing p/b Bicycle Pro Shop who owe all their points to Abate.

Both Abate and Nunez have since upgraded to Cat 2. While they retain their leadership positions at the top of the individual standings, they can accumulate no further Cat 3 Cup points. The leader's jersey passes to Dan Netzer (Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems) going into this weekend's racing.

Cat 3 Cup competition continues this weekend with two separate events on Saturday May 28th - BikeJam in Baltimore, MD and the torturous Tour of Tucker County in West Virginia. The former presents an opportunity for crit specialists to shine on the technical BikeJam course and rack up some individual and team points, while the Tour of Tucker County courts the skinny climber dudes coveting some Pants points.
 
The story so far is:
 
Individual Competition Standings:
 
1. Tony Abate District Velocity Racing p/b Bicycle Pro Shop 32 points
2. Jose Nunez Haymarket Bicycles 16 Points
3. Dan Netzer Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems 15 points
3. Rodney Kauffman Millersville University 15 points
4. Darion         Fleming           Haymarket Bicycles 12 points
4. Callum Ingram GamJams / November Bicycles 12 points
5. Tom Jeffery Richmond Velo Sports 9 points
5. Zachary Rogers GamJams / November Bicycles 9 points
6. Nessim Mezrahi All American Bicycle Club 8 point
7. Brad Dodson Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Company 7 point
8. Evan            Janis    ABRT 6 points
8. Terry Turner Hefler Performance Coaching/CBC 6 points
8. Eric Lundgren Iron City Bikes 6 points
9. Paul Varga   Clean Currents P/B Don Beyer Volvo 5
9.Joe Panella Richmond Velo Sports 5 points
10. Shaw         Fici      Clean Currents P/B Don Beyer Volvo 4 points
10. Frank Cundiff Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems  4 points
10. Patrick McKeegan HPC/List 4 points
11. Brian          Rist      Bike Doctor 3 points
11. John Gray Virginia Beach Wheelmen 3 points
11. Emmett Randel James Madison University 3 points
12. Daniel Villaflor Haymarket Bicycles 2 point
12. Payton       Willie   Unaffiliated 2 points
12. Keith Hower DPS Penn/Cannondale Cycling 2 points
13. Todd          Bickling            Bike Doctor 1 point
13. S Curtis Smith Richmond Velo Sports 1 point
 
 
Team Competition Standings
 
1. District Velocity Racing p/b Bicycle Pro Shop 32 points
2. Haymarket Bicycles 30 points
3. GamJams / November Bicycles 21 points
4. Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems 19 points
5. 4. Richmond Velo Sports 15 points
5. Millersville University 15 points
6. Clean Currents P/B Don Beyer Volvo 9 points
7. All American Bicycle Club 8 points
8. Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Company 7 points
9. Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team 6 points
9. Hefler Performance Coaching/CBC 6 points
9. Iron City Bikes 6 points
10. Bike Doctor 4 points
10. HPC/List 4 points
11. Virginia Beach Wheelmen 3 points
11. James Madison University 3 points
12 .DPS Penn/Cannondale Cycling 2 points