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Crafty McCormack outfoxes field at Cox Charities Cycling Classic
by Peter Pezzelli

PROVIDENCE — (Sunday, June 13) Digging deep into the wellspring of pedaling power still residing in his legs, Frank McCormack burst through the final corner of the race and took a dazzling sprint down memory lane to claim victory in the 4th Annual Cox Charities Cycling Classic.

It was a stunning reprise of the former Saturn star’s glory days.

“There were a few times when I thought I was going to have a heart attack out there!” joked a clearly elated McCormack after returning to the finish line to collect his laurels. “Thankfully, I was able to call up a lot of good memories going into the last lap and that’s what got me to the finish.”

Though his business affairs and duties as director for Team Colavita/Sutter Home limit his training and racing these days, the former U.S. Pro champion showed his younger competitors that he hasn’t forgotten how to win. Still it was a surprising victory, especially when considering that at the start of the day he had been expected to play a supporting role for brother Mark. Fresh off his recent win at the Tour of Connecticut, the younger McCormack had rolled into Providence as the pre-race favorite.

“We came into the race with a very simple plan,” Frank later explained. “We just had to stay near the front and try to figure out the race as early as we could.”

After that it would be a matter of watching and waiting for the moment of truth.

It was a muggy, overcast day when the race first got under way, but a gentle southwest breeze puffing across Waterfront Park kept the peloton reasonably cool as it wound its way past the steps of the Rhode Island State House.

The early action saw a flurry of brief efforts at the front, but no serious threats to break away from the field. With $10,000 worth of prizes on the line and an almost non-stop succession of prime laps, the pack was not about to let anyone get away easily while there were spoils still to be taken. Riders featuring prominently in the initial stages of the race included Lawence Perera (FiordiFrutta), CCB/Volkswagen riders Amos Brumble and Conor Coffey, Justin Spinelli (Target Raining), and Jason Beerman (Champion System).

While animating the pace of the race, none were able put together a concerted effort to mount a breakaway threat. In a portent of things to come, it soon became clear that whenever a group of riders tried to slip off the front of the peloton, a McCormack brother would inevitably be there, tagging along.

The first real breakaway came with fifteen laps to go when Conor Hurley (Boston Scientific) attacked and was soon joined by Coffey of CCB/Volkswagen. The two Conors swiftly established a twenty second gap, but that was as wide their lead would grow. Hurley attacked again, leaving Coffey to rejoin the field. It was a brave effort and the twenty-five year old Vermont native would ride another three laps on his solo break until the hammer went down and the hard-driving pack finally reeled him back in with ten laps left to race.

To no one’s surprise, the ensuing lap saw Mark McCormack comfortably installed in fourth position. Most eyes at the front were now glued to his jersey, watching to catch his next move, but as the field churned past the start/finish line like a freight train, it was his brother Frank who managed to slip off the front with seven other riders.

The eight escapees included Peter Brennan (Trek/VW), Dan Cassidy (Louis Garneau), Toby Walch (Mechanical Services/Cycle Mania), Timothy Unkert, Perera, Beerman, and Hurley who made a remarkably quick recovery from his solo effort.

With one of their own in the late break, the Louis Garneau boys swarmed to the front to take control of the field and put the breaks on the freight train before it had a chance to overtake the leaders. The tactic worked and by the time field responded, the group of eight had gone clear. A pileup with two laps to go left the pack in chaos, ending any hope of catching them.

Now it was time for Frank McCormack to work his magic of old.

“I knew I would be the fastest through the last corner,” McCormack recalled of the bell lap. “After that it was just a question of keeping the speed up when we hit the hill before the finish.”

With cheering spectators standing four deep all along the final two hundred meters, McCormack turned on the afterburner and never looked back. From that point on, everyone else in the break was racing for second place while McCormack easily cruised home with arms raised.

When the cheers subsided and the dust finally settled, the cagey vet waxed philosophical while he savored his victory.

“It’s not always the strongest guy who wins,” the victor explained. “Sometimes it’s about being smart.”

And it helps, he might have added, to have the heart of a champion.

Race Results (PDF)