New London, CT

More Connecticut criterium racing was in store for Kenda/Raleigh riders Colin Murphy and Mukunda Feldman on Sunday the 22nd of June. This time it was a brand new race with a big prize list in the hometown of Jelly Belly Professional Cyclist Jeremy Powers. The course was right on the ocean and, even though there weren’t any whales to be seen, there was a great offshore breeze that tempered the heat.

Right from the gun the race was aggressive with several of the New York City riders staying for the whole weekend and pushing the pace. Immediately the race was strung out as riders powered up the hill on the finishing straight and bombed through the twisty decent. With average speeds in the first half of the race approaching 30 miles per hour nothing stayed clear for long. Finally just after the halfway mark, Rite Aid rider Robbie King and Hot Tubes’ Gavin Mannion broke clear and dangled just in front of the field. As the two worked to increase their lead riders launched attacks to try and get the right mix together for a chase. Finally it was Jeremy Powers who blasted off the front in pursuit. He was quickly joined by Team Fuji’s Mark McCormack and a Mengoni rider. As the trio worked to pull back the leaders Nerac’s Alec Donahue and a Team United rider rode across to the chasers.

With laps running out and a hot chase coming, Mannion and King managed to lap the shrunken field and get some well needed shelter from the wind. With one lap to go it was the young Hot Tubes team that lined it up at the front to lead it out for Mannion, but he was no match for King who easily took the win, with Kenda/Raleigh’s own Mukunda Feldman taking the field sprint for 8th spot.