US Open Championships - Symmetrics Wins on Ritchey

Svein Tuft won the innaugural US Open Championships in Richmond, Virginia, atop Ritchey handlebar, stem, seatpost and saddle, as well as our new Ritchey WCS carbon fork. Tuft dropped his breakaway companion, Slipstream's Pat McCarty, on the final steep, cobbled climb, riding away to a victory that was broadcast live on NBC across the US and Canada.


Photo © Casey B Gibson

The race began in below-freezing temperatures. Despite the weather, which initially delayed the start, racing was heated and fast from the get-go. Winds were so strong, though, that none of the early breakaways stayed away. "It was unbelievable," Kevin Field, Symmetrics team manager for the event said. "I've been to lots of bike races in my day but yesterday was truly epic. The wind was brutal but the breaks kept coming. But we fought to get in every move because we knew that if we got to the cobbled circuits we had a strong enough team to make the winning move."

The eventual winner, Svein Tuft, had been designated by Symmetrics team management as leader for the race and was a favorite to win, based on his overall victory at the Tour of Cuba, as well as his win at the Redlands Classic time trial. "I had a great ride for the first 90km or so," Tuft said. "The guys were great. I rode near the front and kept an eye on things while our team was vigilant in making sure nothing got away that didn't have a yellow and black jersey. I couldn't have done it without them."

When the third to last lap came, it was American Patrick McCarty who attacked solo. Tuft bridged to McCarty and did the majority of work until they established a gap. "Pat was getting tired, I could see that," Tuft said. "But I knew he could still give me a rest with short pulls, so we worked together. We were all getting tired from the day."

Tuft's SRM wattage meter showed that the Langley, BC rider averaged 415 watts for the final hour.

When Tuft hit the final climb, he was able to ride away from McCarty: "I was giving it all up the final climb and with the remaining kilometeres to the finish. I knew that was it, and this was my chance."

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