We’re happy to be able to announce that the team will be aiming to continue its successes into the 2011 season, albeit under a new name and new sponsorship.  Please visit our new site, Team GPOA, for further updates!

Claymont Criterium (Claymont DE)
Mike Stubna took a 5th place in the Claymont Criterium in Delaware.

-Mingo Spring Classic (Pittsburgh PA)
Jake Lifson took a 3rd and a 4th in the early spring races.

Jake riding off the front

-Lower Providence Criterium (West Chester PA)
Jared Babik made a hard split, ending up in a 3 man group with Silver Medal USPRO time trial champion Scotty Zwizanski. Babik took 3rd on the day.

Babik and Zwizanski

-Greenbrier Mountain Bike Race (Boonsboro MD)
Stephen Cummings lined up against some of the best Pro mountain bikers on the East Coast and held his own. He managed 5th on the day in the Pro men category. Greenbrier is a part of the USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Series.

Not to shabby for a roadie

Steevo makes the podium

-New Martinsville Road Race (New Martinsville WV)
Stephen Cummings made the trip to wild West Virginia for a brutally hilly and windy road race. He spent most of the day in a two man group and ended up taking second place.

Steevo climbing alone in the final miles of the race

-Aliquippa Circuit Race (Aliquippa PA)
John Rowley braved the 30mph winds and cold weather to make the lead group at the second Aliquippa circuit race. John spent a lot of the race trying to further break up the lead group, and still managed 5th in the final sprint on the day.

John trying to further split up the field

The final weekend of September, Grove City hosted a Month of Mud cyclocross race. The Month of Mud series is a Western Pennsylvania legacy, going back over 20 years. Steevo Cummings took home an exciting sprint WIN after battling with Gerry Pflug for the entire race.

This past weekend, Mike Stubna raced “The Iron Cross – Americas longest cross race,” in central PA.
Mike lasted with the lead group for over 3 hours, but cracked pretty hard in the last hour, losing 13 places. Mike dropped back and settled for a respectable 18th against over 250 starters.

Below Mike is in the lead group alongside multiple time national champion and world’s team member Jeremiah Bishop.

Steevo Cummings headed to Cincinnati for one of the only internationally ranked 3 day cyclocross weekends in the world. Steevo battled against the current American and Danish cyclocross national champions. He finished a very respectable 16th, 21st, and 15th over the three days.
Steevo got a good photo on the Velo News website.

Friday was a very muddy day.

The course required multiple runs, and multiple bike switches to keep the bike clean (notice 2 different bikes between the 2 photos.)

Jared sped to the the prologue win and Bob, Ed, Chris, and Rob worked together seamlessly in the criterium to secure him the overall GC win as well.   Nice work guys!

The IRMC cycling team would like to thank UPMC Sports Medicine and all the race sponsors, Fred B. and all the organizers, the officials, Andy Baechle and the Allegheny County Parks and police, and all our competitors for making this event a big success.

Full results here, and pictures of the team in action below:

At the local Pittsburgh training race at the Washington Blvd oval, the team won several awards.  Jake took first place (most points over the entire season of races at the oval), Jared took second place, Steevo took the “most aggressive rider” award, and the the team as a whole won first place in the team award category.  Although the oval is just a local training race, each week the competition is intense.  Fine teamwork, tight cohesiveness, and individuals working together for the benefit of the team were the primary reasons for these great results.

Further afield from our home base of Pittsburgh, Jake won the field sprint at the Chris Thater Memorial Crit Masters 35+ race, finishing 9th, and Mike posted some nice end of season results by finishing 2nd at the Lehigh Valley Winery Circuit Race and 4th at the Deodate Road Race in Lancaster.  Mike and Bob also participated in the PA State Road Race but came home a bit disappointed, getting caught in a crash during the race.

A big thanks goes to all our sponsors, who supported us all year long, and who we are proud to reward with these and other great results this year.  We couldn’t have done it without their continued support, and we are proud to continue to represent them in competitive venues each week.

As fall approaches, most of the team are now either getting geared up for cyclocross, transitioning over to running or another sport for cross-training purposes, or just taking a bit of a break for now.   So, we’ll see you out there sometime soon, either at the races or riding or training, until the snow hits!

Saturday was Grandview in Lancaster PA.  Jake and Mike lined up in field of maybe 50 guys including Kyle Wamsley and a few fast track guys in from TTown.  It was a fantastic course in a shady neighborhood and lots of enthusiastic fans and residents lining the streets.  6 corners – and what made them interesting was the fact that potholes and bumps made it difficult to take the best line.  Everybody hit some of the holes at least once I’m sure.  With all the turns and tight corners, it was a great course for a breakaway, and everybody knew it, so the racing was very aggressive.   Jake made what looked to be the race winning break about halfway through the race, but the field still had some energy left and a hard chase ensued.  On the catch, Wamsley attacked immediately and another break rolled off, this time for good.  The rest of the field basically imploded.  Mike got into a small chase group and finished 11th, Jake finished right behind in 16th.  Full results here.

Sunday, Liberty crit in Malvern PA.  Office park crit.  The course is used for a weekly training ride, so lots of local riders were there, including a large contingent from Alliance.  The wind and the non-selective nature of the course made it seem predestined for a field sprint.  Unfortunately, we definitely didn’t play our cards right in the end and ended up empty handed.  Next time!  Full results here.

Mike on the climb at Mt Nebo.

On July 12, 3 members of the IRMC squad lined up for the Renfrew Ras in Butler county. The 80 mile road race took about four hours to complete. The heat and distance again lead to a 50% attrition rate, leaving few finishers on the day.
Steevo was able to grab 3rd place, and first place King of the Mountain.

Ed racing at Renfrew.

A whittled down pack with Steevo grabbing King of the Mountain points.

3rd man on the podium.

Also, young Nathan Clair managed to ride his way into the emergency room this month with a broken wrist. Our wishes for a speedy recovery Nate!

Steevo also raced the elite mountain bike race on Sunday. He and another racer got away from the field early in the race. They built their lead up to 7 minutes by the end of the 2 hour race. Steevo attacked his partner with about 3 miles to go and built a good gap on his rival before being reeled in on the last descent.

It is rare that a mountain bike race comes down to a sprint finish, however Steevo was on the losing end of this, finishing 2nd.

Steevo goes solo on the climb with a few miles to go.

Steevo getting 2nd in the sprint.

Thanks to fotoreg.com for the pictures!

The first event was an “introduction to bicycle racing” clinic that was held at the Washington Blvd oval. Stephen Cummings of IRMC helped lead the clinic, and helped lead on the bike skills drills for new riders. The clinic was well attended with 30 participants, who were interested in racing for their first time. Stephen was one of a few elite racers who donated their time for the event.

Racing!
There were two races held in the region Sunday afternoon.
IRMC’s Chris Cioccio took 3rd overall in the Presque Isle Time Trial in Erie, PA.

3 Chris Cioccio Indiana Regional Medical Center 26:52.10 27.9mph

Yes, Chris went almost 28 mph for almost 27 minutes.

The Fort Cherry road race outside of Pittsburgh PA went well for the team as well. IRMC is one of 4 teams that help promote the race. This means we helped with logistics, volunteers, officials, and helped bring people to the race itself.

On top of these efforts, IRMC placed 3 riders inside of the top 10 with 3rd, 4th and 10th place. The Elite men’s field was surprised to have 2008 Olympian and Protour racer Mike Friedman appear for the event. The team raced aggressively, placing multiple teammates in several moves during the early parts of the race.

Steevo trying to break things up early in the race.

John makes it into “The Move,” which included Protour rider Mike Friedman.

Jake attacked the field to initiate the second group.

A very exhausted John finishing 3rd in the lead group.

Bob winning the 2nd group finish for 4th place.

Steevo winning the 3rd group on the road.

Ed finishing after a long day in the saddle doing lots of work for the success of the team.

We will start with the Riverview Grand Prix in beautiful downtown Oakmont, PA. The race was a .75 mile lap which started and finished on Main St, in front of the historic Oaks theater.

IRMC showed how to race as a team, with contstant attacks, and a victory. Jared Babik was off the front solo for 20 laps! John Rowley was solo for the final few laps before being reeled in, and Jake Lifson took the sprint finish. IRMC also took all but a single “preme,” which is a mid race sprint for cash or prizes.
Lining up at the back of the field in Oakmont PA.

Jake taking the win on the cobbled finishing stretch.

This race was the day after racing in Lancaster county PA. Jake, Mike Stubna, and Ed Krall raced against stacked fields. There were plenty of heavy hitters in town for the Philidelphia Cycling Classic the following day.
Jake in a strung out (fast) field.

Mike Stubna also racing well.

Ed Krall at the front of the field with 1 lap to go.

The previous weekend, IRMC sent 3 racers to West Virginia to contest a part of the West Virginia Road Racing series. Velonews magazine categorized the race as one of the top 10 hardest races in America. IRMC again raced well as a team, putting two racers into the top 10, with John Rowley coming in 6th and Stephen Cummings holding on for 10th.

The racers rolling out in a neutral start. This was also the finish, on top of a 6 mile climb.

John sitting 2nd wheel up the final climb. This is after 5 miles of climbing.