Team Type 1's Kobzarenko Is Philly's King Of The Mountains

Philadelphia – Valeriy Kobzarenko put Team Type 1 in the spotlight for nearly half of Sunday’s TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship, capping it off with a place on the podium by winning the race’s King of the Mountains crown.

The 32-year-old Ukrainian spent 70 miles in the lead as part of a three-man breakaway that led by nearly eight minutes at one point of the 156-mile (250 km) race. But a concerted chase by eventual race winner André Greipel’s Columbia-Highroad squad brought an end to the trio’s escape inside the final 10 miles.

“I told the guys before the race that we would have to do something out of a breakaway because there are so many great sprinters here,” Team Type 1 Director Vassili Davidenko said. “Valeriy did a great job on the front today. I was hoping they could stay away to the finish but it just didn’t work out.”

Kobzarenko racked up 38 points on the two King of the Mountains (KOM) locations along the 14.4-mile (23 km) course that winds its way through the streets of Philadelphia. The more challenging of the two climbs, the Manayunk Wall, is a brutal half-mile climb featuring a 17-percent grade.

On four of five trips up “The Wall” when Tom Zirbel (Bissell Pro Cycling), Daniel Oss (Liquigas) and Kobzarenko were in the lead, Kobzarenko was either the first or second rider to crest the leg-breaking climb where thousands of fans had gathered to cheer them on.

“I knew I had to go for the points because it could pay off later,” Kobzarenko said.

Indeed it did. When early KOM leader Daniel Holloway (U.S. National Team) dropped out after earning 50 points during his own 70-mile breakaway, Kobarenko needed only to finish the race to win the prize.

The weekend was not entirely positive for Team Type 1, which lost both Shawn Milne and Fabio Calabria to injury. Milne was involved in a pile-up with 800 meters to go and suffered a second-degree separation of his right shoulder, while Calabria didn’t even start after colliding with a cyclist on a bike path during a training ride on Saturday. Both are expected to be out of action several weeks.

Milne’s said his crash happened while he was setting up a lead out for teammate Ken Hanson. The two were among the first 15 riders in the pack at the time.

“A guy in front of me looked over his shoulder and hit Hilton Clarke,” Milne said. “I just remember seeing someone on the ground and going right over them.”

Hanson wound up as Team Type 1’s best finisher in 27th place. Chris Jones was 29th, Moises Aldape 37th, Kobzarenko 41st, Matt Wilson 53rd and Darren Lill finished 55th.

Photos: Courtesy of Casey B. Gibson (www.cbgphoto.com)