Local Grand Prix Results

The story of the 5th Annual Mount Holly-to-Smithville Grand Prix Bike Race was more who didn’t win than who did win.

Marty Nothstein, a native of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania who won a gold medal for the U.S. in the Olympics, came to Mount Holly with one thing in mind – to win his first road race ever.

He was in first or second position after each of the first eight laps of the 10-lap, 92-mile race. But at the end, Nothstein and the other 157 riders watched as Melita Heredia edged Bobby Lea by a bike’s length for the $2,500 first prize and the coveted trophy that goes along with winning what has become the premier long, flat, fast bike race on the East Coast. The winning time was 3 hours, 8 minutes, 51 seconds.

“I jumped (made a move),’’ Heredia, from the Dominican Republic who was riding for Toga/CRCA, said with help from an interpreter. “The Navigators (Nothstein’s team) were not charging, and I was thinking I could get to the breakaway. I thought I could do it.’’

Heredia was a distant 12th – and not part of the breakaway (lead) group after the seventh lap on the 12-mile course. It was then that he realized going into the final three laps on the narrow twisting 2.5-mile course through the streets of Mount Holly that he could challenge.

Sprinting down Mill Street, around the turn and up the hill on High Street, Heredia had closed the gap and was only two bike-lengths behind Nothstein entering Lap Eight.

With a burst of speed, he passed Nothstein to take his first lead before turning onto Evergreen Avenue and up the steepest hill on the course. Heredia never relinquished that lead.

Nineteen-year-old Bobby Lea of Team Fuji mounted the only serious challenge to Heredia, moving into second place entering the final lap, but he just didn’t have enough to catch the winner at the finish.

Nothstein had converted from track racing to road racing two years ago, lost 35 pounds but had yet to win a race on the road. He finished seventh last year in his first trip to Mount Holly. He was determined to change that on Saturday.

“The trouble started early, with about four laps to go, the breakaway started to deteriorate,’’ said a disappointed Nothstein. “Some guys just came here not prepared to work."

“I got tired at the end, I had a teammate (Kirk O’Bee, 8th) up the road so I was not obligated to work anymore,’’ Nothstein said after finishing out of the money in 44th place.

With racers from 16 countries and teams from 10 states represented, this was the most competitive Mount Holly-to-Smithville Grand Prix. The riders agreed it now is on the calendar of most of the top riders in the country.

“This victory was very important to me,’’ Heredia said. “I started training in December for this. Almost every cyclist in New York gets ready for this for Mount Holly is the pinnacle for us. I thought I could win here and I am proud to represent New York.’’

“This was my second time here and it was awesome,’’ Nothstein said. “You get to compete against the best riders in the world.’’

“We heard about this race, that it favors the sprinters,’’ Lea said. “It is flat and fast and long. I’m not good on hills. This was great. “We’ll definitely be back.’’

The 12-mile course begins in downtown Mount Holly and heads into the open rural areas of Westampton, Springfield and past Smithville Park in Eastampton before returning to Mount Holly.

The first year for that course was the 2nd Annual Grand Prix in 2000. Riders completed seven laps for a total of 84 miles. The past two years, the race was extended to 96 miles by completing eight laps.

This year, riders completed seven laps of the 12-mile course, then three laps on the 2.5-mile course for a total of 92 miles. The new arrangement drew favorable reaction.

There was an event-record $10,000 purse. The top 20 finishers earned prize money, as well as the top three in the sprint competition, sponsored by Fuji Bikes. Nothstein ($250), Heredia ($150) and Mike Sayers ($100) finished first, second and third, respectively, in the sprint.

The event is arranged by the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Greater Mount Holly Business and Professional Association and the Evesham Cycling Club.

Corporate sponsors include NFL Films; Sovereign Bank; Waste Management; Camp, Dresser and McKee Engineering; and NJ Cure Insurance.

NOTES: Bobby Lea received the Under-23 Award . . . Nothstein was selected Most Aggressive Rider by race officials . . . Defending champ Victor Ripinski did not enter . . .2000 Grand Prix champion Roosevelt Martes, riding for G.S. Mengoni of New York, finished fifth on Saturday . . . Jonathan Erdelyi of OFOTO/Lombardi Sports, won the inaugural Grand Prix in 1999 when it was a 60-mile race. He did not place in the top 75.

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Author: Press Release-Ralph Shrom