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228 victories.....wonder how many were 'assisted'?
Moninger Wins Title
By Buck Ringgold
TIMES RECORD • [email protected]
Scott Moninger has won more races than any other active pro cyclist —
including current six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
After coming up short in two previous Mercy Celebrity Classic
Criterium races, Moninger broke through in a convincing way Sunday to
add to his already impressive win total.
Moninger easily dominated the Men's Pro 1/2 field on the second and
final day of the Criterium, held in downtown Van Buren, and also
enabled him to win the overall Omnium title for the two-day event.
Sunday's win was the 228th in the career for Moninger, a native of
Boulder, Colo., who has been involved in cycling for more than 20
years.
"I started when I was 15 and I'm now 37, so this is my 22nd year of
full-time bike racing," Moninger said. "I've been racing as long as
some of these guys have been alive."
Moninger's first visit to the Mercy Classic came in 2001, where he
finished third. The following year, he finished second. Moninger also
finished third in Saturday's portion of the Criterium, which was run
in Fort Smith.
"I knew going in that I had to step it up a notch and win this thing,"
Moninger said.
So dominating was Moninger's performance that, when he embarked on his
final lap, the race announcer noted that nobody was catching Moninger,
"he's chasing everybody else."
With Moninger having the race in hand, the main suspense would be who
would finish in second. In a very close finish, Alex Candelario of Los
Angeles, Calif., edged Fort Smith native Brice Jones, who won
Saturday's Criterium.
Candelario — a member of the Jelly Belly cycling team — also finished
second in the Omnium and Jones — a teammate of Moninger's on Healthnet
Maaxis — placed third.
Moninger said that the performance of his teammates enabled him to
have a strong race Sunday.
"We've got a great racing team, we had three of our four racers
lapping the field," he said. "I had good form and had a good team and
I wanted to capitalize on that. We also had a good ratio, having three
in the break of eight."
Three of the members of Healthnet Maaxis finished in the top four.
Along with Moninger and Jones, John Lieswyn of Ames, Iowa, came in
fourth.
According to Moninger, he felt that the race was his when he heard the
final few laps being announced.
"When I had four or five laps left to go, I heard that the second and
third place riders were 20 seconds in front of me," he said. "The laps
were about a minute or a minute and a half long, so I knew that I was
in good shape. At that point, I didn't want to get a flat or have a
mechanical problem that may have pushed me off course."
Moninger said that Sunday's win was his last race of the season. He
plans to take the next three months off, then resume training in
January before going back to competitions in February.
In other races Sunday, a pair of Fort Smith natives claimed wins.
Fort Smith native Scott Chapman took first place in the men's Category
5, while Mike Stewart won the men's Category3&Mac218;4.
Two Fort Smith residents also won their respective age groups in the
Junior Boys category. Michael Wiggins was first in the 10-12 age
division, while Jarred Gilker claimed victory in the 17-18 division.
The contents of this site, unless otherwise specified, are copyrighted
by © Stephens Media Group, 2004.
Moninger Wins Title
By Buck Ringgold
TIMES RECORD • [email protected]
Scott Moninger has won more races than any other active pro cyclist —
including current six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
After coming up short in two previous Mercy Celebrity Classic
Criterium races, Moninger broke through in a convincing way Sunday to
add to his already impressive win total.
Moninger easily dominated the Men's Pro 1/2 field on the second and
final day of the Criterium, held in downtown Van Buren, and also
enabled him to win the overall Omnium title for the two-day event.
Sunday's win was the 228th in the career for Moninger, a native of
Boulder, Colo., who has been involved in cycling for more than 20
years.
"I started when I was 15 and I'm now 37, so this is my 22nd year of
full-time bike racing," Moninger said. "I've been racing as long as
some of these guys have been alive."
Moninger's first visit to the Mercy Classic came in 2001, where he
finished third. The following year, he finished second. Moninger also
finished third in Saturday's portion of the Criterium, which was run
in Fort Smith.
"I knew going in that I had to step it up a notch and win this thing,"
Moninger said.
So dominating was Moninger's performance that, when he embarked on his
final lap, the race announcer noted that nobody was catching Moninger,
"he's chasing everybody else."
With Moninger having the race in hand, the main suspense would be who
would finish in second. In a very close finish, Alex Candelario of Los
Angeles, Calif., edged Fort Smith native Brice Jones, who won
Saturday's Criterium.
Candelario — a member of the Jelly Belly cycling team — also finished
second in the Omnium and Jones — a teammate of Moninger's on Healthnet
Maaxis — placed third.
Moninger said that the performance of his teammates enabled him to
have a strong race Sunday.
"We've got a great racing team, we had three of our four racers
lapping the field," he said. "I had good form and had a good team and
I wanted to capitalize on that. We also had a good ratio, having three
in the break of eight."
Three of the members of Healthnet Maaxis finished in the top four.
Along with Moninger and Jones, John Lieswyn of Ames, Iowa, came in
fourth.
According to Moninger, he felt that the race was his when he heard the
final few laps being announced.
"When I had four or five laps left to go, I heard that the second and
third place riders were 20 seconds in front of me," he said. "The laps
were about a minute or a minute and a half long, so I knew that I was
in good shape. At that point, I didn't want to get a flat or have a
mechanical problem that may have pushed me off course."
Moninger said that Sunday's win was his last race of the season. He
plans to take the next three months off, then resume training in
January before going back to competitions in February.
In other races Sunday, a pair of Fort Smith natives claimed wins.
Fort Smith native Scott Chapman took first place in the men's Category
5, while Mike Stewart won the men's Category3&Mac218;4.
Two Fort Smith residents also won their respective age groups in the
Junior Boys category. Michael Wiggins was first in the 10-12 age
division, while Jarred Gilker claimed victory in the 17-18 division.
The contents of this site, unless otherwise specified, are copyrighted
by © Stephens Media Group, 2004.
