Green Machine Captures the Cat 5 State Championship

Sandy Springs & Union City - Highlights Over a several week period, the powerful cat 5 group of Matt Ragan, John Stowe, Ryan Crabbe, Shane Irvin and Victor laid down a path of destruction. They started in Sandy Springs during the Cycle works race weekend. Ryan stomped out a power sprint that beat the field for the victory in the road race. The following day, Victor nearly pulled off the win, but was nipped and scored a second place finish. A week later at the Union City Road race, John Stowe showed off his power by pulling the field and driving the pace the majority of the race. On the final approach to the finish, John once again with the help of Shane Irvin, laid down the pace and rode several want to be teams off his wheel to continue to dictate the race pace. He took the final corner and wiped himself out to give Ryan a strong leadout. Ryan turned on the after burners and won the State Road Race title. In only his first short season, Ryan has learned the tricks of the finish and used them well. Scott Matty turned in a strong performance at Union City as well with two top ten finishes in the TT and Road race.


Savannah, Georgia - Cyclism - June 16 & 17
The team turn out was limited, but the results were good. Our cat 4 group increased by 3 this week as Matt, John and Ryan all upgraded to category 4 racing. Scott Matty & Steve Murray were the lone Master's from Columbus to make the trip. The weekend was a stage race for the combined time of all events. It began with a team time trial. Each team could have up to 10 riders. With our limited turnout - we were at a disadvantage from the start. Scott & Steve started the day with the odds stacked against them. As C4 racers in the Master's field, most of the riders are more accomplished and experienced than our guys. Even so, the 15 mile course showed that categories are not all telling. Scott and Steve upset several larger teams by taking a podium spot in third. Beating several teams of 5, 6 or 7 riders. They were beaten only by the 500 pound gorilla that is Memorial Health with their stacked squad of super stars and the talented trio in second place that included a former world champion TT rider in David Grice and the current GA state TT champion Doug Pomeranz and a fine cat 2 rider that rounded out their team. The C4 squad were also at a huge disadvantage as the competitive field of 4/5 combined riders was at full force for the weekend. The other teams had up to 10 riders and most had 5 or more. Matt, John & Ryan had a misqueue that took them to the line 40 seconds late - so it was all out from the start. Ryan, who is not a time trialer did his job by driving for all he was worth as long as possible. He rode a little too hard as his vision began to fade to black and he nearly passed out. At that point, he turned it over to John and Matt who laid down the gas and had a top 15 finish. The afternoon crit saw Scott turn in a fine top 15 finish in a strong field. Steve didn't fair as well and was in the top 20. The c4 race was hectic and full of wrecks. Our guys stayed upright and had good finishes in the field.

Sunday brought with it the Circuit Race on Oglethorpe Island. A LeMans style road course on a 2.6 mile loop - created a fun, fast and exciting place to race. Scott and Steve began the day and as usual - Scott's aggressive riding had him jumping to bridge to every break. Steve stayed in the pack and sat on a couple of strong riders to ensure he stayed in position throughout the race. Scott also sat on front and drove the field's speed up a few times when there was a lull in the attacks. Scott did manage to get into several breaks, but none stayed away. With three laps to go, a group of 7 or so managed to gap the field and started to move away. Our guys took turns along with the field taking pulls to bring them back. Steve did a big pull with 2 to go to close on the lead group prior to the end. On the final sprint, Steve had gotten good position and sprinted with the leaders. He finished 4th. Scott ended the weekend 11th overall and Steve was 12th. The 2.5 minute gap from the TTT was the nail in the coffin that could not be overcome. John and Matt rode the c4 circuit and both finished in the top 20.

Currently, John, Matt & Ryan are ranked number 4 in the state and 12th in the nation for Team time trial!!