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Pendlebury victorious in final charge

Bishop Nash/The Herald-Dispatch

First-place finisher Jeff Pendlebury, center, is flanked on the podium by second-place finisher Paul Martin, left, and third-place finisher Patrick O'Donnel following the McDonaldÕs Tri-State Criterium cycling race Saturday, June 1, 2013, in Huntington.

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June 01, 2013 @ 11:00 PM

DAVID WALSH

The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON — Spectators lined up along 3rd Avenue at Pullman Square watching the finish of the feature race in the McDonald's Tri-State Criterium and must have been wondering where Jeff Pendlebury came from.

For nearly the entire Mens CAT 1/2/3 race, Pendlebury a Fredericksburg, Ohio, cyclist for Team Panther p/b found himself back in the pack trying to run down John Heffner of CAT Racing, Paul Martin of Panther p/b and Patrick O'Donnell of Texas Roadhouse Racing.

Those three riders broke from the pack early and there were times when they passed the start/finish line, their lead was 22 seconds over the field.

In the final two laps, everything changed. The leaders slowed a bit and Pendlebury and the pursuers made a final charge. Coming off the final turn, Pendlebury went to the front in a full sprint and held off Martin and O'Donnell to get the victory and the top spot on the awards podium.

"With five to 10 laps left I got excited," Pendlebury said. "I knew I had a good shot the last lap. Things were lined up. I got on (Martin's) wheel and used my speed. I went inside and gave it all I had."

Pendlebury got a big ovation from the crowd while he, Martin and O'Donnell posed for photos on the awards stand.

Last October, Pendlebury appeared to be through racing when he got hit by a car in Berlin, Ohio. He was in intensive care for eight days.

"I'm very fortunate to be sitting here," Pendlebury said. "There are times I get frustrated by my times, but I think about what happened and I get over it."

Team racing and strategy is important in cycling and it was evident in the feature race. Panther p/b riders among the top 30 finishers will split money from a $4,000 purse.

"I'm surprised I came back," Pendlebury said. "With two laps to go I was this close. I can't do it without them (team)."

Martin, who is from North Royalton, Ohio, said he wasn't willing to let Heffner, who dropped to 36th, and O'Donnell get a free pass to a possible win.

"I didn't want to give them a free ride," Martin said. "I slowed up. I knew he (Pendlebury) would be there. I knew he had good legs. This is big for Jeff. It will get him going in the right direction."

O'Donnell told the crowd the moves he made late didn't work.

"In the end, we played cat and mouse too soon," the Lexington, Ky., rider said. "I knew we had numbers and horsepower. The goal was to race hard."

In the Women's 1/2/3 race, Jenette Williams of Jeff's Bike Shop in Huntington came back from a crash to win thanks to an all-out sprint down the final homestretch. The Proctorville, Ohio, resident finished second in the 2012 race.

Williams and a rider collided earlier in the race and headed to the pit area to make repairs. She took advantage of the free lap and came back strong.

"That happens," Williams said. "There was plenty of racing left."

Williams said encouragement from Jeff's Bike Shop teammate Staci Joy provided the incentive.

"I thought I might not get back in," Williams said. "The plan I had went out the window. Staci gave me encouragement to go on. The adrenalin was going, too. Staci and I set things up well. I couldn't have done it without her."

Down the stretch, Williams held off runner-up Stephanie DeBreslin of Team Ghisallo and Joy, who took third.

"On the backside, I got on her (Joy's) wheel in a draft," Williams said. "I could conserve energy. Off the last turn, I did a slingshot off her (Joy) and that did it. It feels good to be a hometown winner."

Williams, who played basketball at Marshall University, gave a lot of credit to Jeff's Bike Shop owner Jeff Joy, the race director.

"Jeff's done so much for this event," she said.

Jeff's Bike Shop rider David Mullins also relied on an all-out sprint coming off the final turn to win the Men's CAT 4/5. George Collins of Champion City Cycling was second.

"I had a scouting report before the race," said Mullins, who's the manager at Jeff's Bike Shop. "It's like NASCAR. You sit and then the slingshot. With a lap to go, I thought someone else would jump. No one would go. I said I have to go early. I drove hard through the corners. I pushed hard. On the last corner, I passed the (police) motorcycle."

In the 40-minute Men's CAT 3/4 event Ian McShane of Clarksville Schwinn Racing used a strong kick at the end to win. He's only 15 and it was his second straight win. He won last week in Iowa.

"I had a lot of help," he said of his Clarksville Schwinn teammates. "The first 20 I sat in there. We'd rotate to the front and slow others down. I was OK with the draft. I didn't want to chase."

McShane said his strength working the corners paid off in the end.

"With three laps to go, I set things up," he said. "With one to go, in the third corner, I used the draft and got a slingshot to the front. I like cornering. I drilled it at the end. I looked back and saw the gap. I didn't realize it was a large as it was."

In the Public Safety race, the Marshall University Police team took the top four spots. Britt Arthur crossed the line first followed by Greg Pickens, Bobby Minnix and Scott Ballou.

"Bob and Scott pulled the first four or five laps," Arthur said. "Greg pulled the last one. We got separation and I finished it off."

After the awards ceremony, the race announcer informed the crowd there would be a fourth McDonald's Tri-State Criterium next June.