Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

and stay in the hunt for the championship, only one point behind Ermolenko and Manchester. "Things could have gone either way," Venegas said later. "Fortunately, they went in my favor." For Faria, heat 10 would only add insult to injury as he touched the tapes and was disqualified for a second time. "Something went wrong with the mot or in that heat with Billy," said a dejected Fa ria. "In the last heat, Bobby (Schwartz) jerked back. When he jerked back, I went forward. My concentration is gone." Schwartz finally pu t together a strong start in heat 10, coming from the pole and posting his first three-point ride of the event over King, Northrup and Hedden. Hea t 11 was another Ermole nko benefit; the World Champio n again nailed the sta rt and ran uncontes ted to the win after h is main co mpe titio n, Jim Sisemo re, bumped w ith Ad en and wen t down in tu m three on the first lap . Manchester was up for his third ride in heat 12, w hich p rom ised to be interesting as he wo uld face a st rugglingbut-imp roving Hamill, who had the opportu nity to play spoiler. But Manchester was away before the tapes had reached the top of the ga te and he bolted into tu m one with the lead. Hamill went hig h and low in search of the drive to catch th e st reaking Manchester, but the da m age was do ne. Ma nches te r remained perfect. A clash between the National Champion and the World Cha mpion was now inev itable. " I' m p retty co n fiden t tonight, b u t Sam (Ermo len ko) is riding really well and he's the World Champion," Manches ter said. Er molen ko was th ink in g the same thin g. "He (Manches ter) has de fini tely got a n a d va n tage ri din g o n the s ma ller tra ck s ju st as I have o n th e b ig g er tracks," Ermo lenk o said. "But if anyone can try to put him in his place, 111give it my best shot." Schwartz and Hamill continued their drives toward the podium with wins in heats 13 and 14, respectively. The much-anticipa ted s howdown be tw een Manchester and Ermolcnko came in hea t 15, and the crowd was on the edges of their seats in anticipation as the riders lined up for the start. Ermolenko would start in gate two and Manchester in three. Christian was on the pole, and while he wasn't havin g the best night, co uld sti ll be considered a factor. Faria was lined up in gate fou r. Wh en the tapes flew , Er mo len ko and Manchester left the line like the y were riveted togethe r and blast ed in to tu rn one. But just as i t loo ked as th o u gh Ermolenko had esta blishe d an advantage, Manchester hooked up and drove into Ermolenko's rea r wheel, sending both riders to the grou nd in a vicio us hi gh s id e . Er molenko was down for qu ite a whil e as Ma nches ter s tood by , show ing obvious concern. Both riders participated in the restart with Man ch es ter ha vin g the cl ear ad vantage, as it was unclea r what effect th e crash would have on Ermolenko. But Manches te r folde d his h and b y to u ch in g th e tapes a nd drawin g an exclusion. Man chester went from hero to zero, and suddenly found himself in a fight to earn a pod ium position. "That's a bummer of a way to lose," Manchester sa id . " But Sam ro de great tonigh t, and he d eserved it. It was an honor to race against him." Wi th Manchest er gone, Ermolenko still wasn't able to relax. Christian d iced with him for two laps before surrendering the point - and Ermolenko was over the hump. "I'm n o t co unting my chickens before they hatch," Ermolenko said. "But I' m going good, and the bikes are going good . Everything's fine." Venegas survived heat 16 to remain only one point down after King and Hicks crashed, causing yet another restart. Proving that it was nothing more than bad luck and not his lack of talen t that cost him the crown, Manchester opened up the final round with a halfs traightaway win over Werner, King and Hedden in hea t 17. Oxley posted a pop ular win in heat 18, co ming fr om beh in d to pass Bast in the las t corner before the checkered flag. Ermolenko lined up on the pole in heat 19. Standing be tween him a nd the ti tie were Sc hwa r tz in two" H amill in th ree a nd Venegas in four. Vene gas, who was the only rid er with a clear shot at Ermolenko, desperately wanted to beat him and force a run-off for the title. But Venegas tried too hard. When the tapes flew, Ermolenko shot into the lead while Venegas trailed the field into tum one an d then slowed, allowing Schwartz and Ha mill to pass. Ermolenko ran up front for the whole race while Venegas played ca tc h-u p. Wh e n it was o ve r, Ermol enko was the new U.S. Nati on al Cha m pion, maki ng his five-ye ar com eback complete. "1m really ha ppy for all my sponsors and for the public tha t ha s suppo rted me over the years," Ermolenko said. "To bring back the World Championship to them and now back it up w ith a National title; I'm so proud to be an American. I'm sure I've made a footprint in America ag ain , and I hope they'll remember over here now since I've been gone so long ." Faria finally roared to life in event 20, closing the 1993 National Championship with his only win of the nigh t. The fi na l s ta ndings sho wed th a t while Er mo lenko was clea rly on .top w ith 15 po in ts, and Manch ester had secu re d se co nd with 12, H amill a nd Venega s were tied on 11, and a run-off for th ird p lace was in order. Venegas ma y ha ve let the title slip throu gh his fingers, but he wasn 't abo ut to lose his spot on the podium . He controlled the start 'from the outside position and beat Ha mill to sec ure th ird pl ace, his bestever finish in a major meeting. "I had a go od year," Vene ga s said . "Things paid off for us in the runoff. It co ul d ha ve go ne eit her way, b ut I'm proud to be where I am with third ." Ermolenko is the first ove rseas-based rider to win the National Championship since Kelly Mora n won his second title in 1984. Wh ile Moran remained st a teside to defend his title, Ermolen ko will only see limited actio n in the Ll.S. d ur ing his rein, thou gh he hopes to return in De cember for the Cos ta Mes a Fall Cla ssic. In fact, Erinolenko wo n't even be home long enough to properly celebrate his w in. "We have a brunch plann ed at the Qu een Mary on Sund a y, a nd th en straig ht from the re I'm on a plane back to England becau se I'm racing Monday night, " Ermol en ko said. "I've got about Chris Manchester (left) looked strong until he was disqualified in heat 15. Ch ris Manches ter (left) and Sam ErmoIenko discussed business befo re the event. Ch arli e Ven egas (right> joined Sam Ermolenko and Chris Manchest er on the podium. a d ozen meetin gs left over there through the mon th of Octob er . I'll be back as soon as I can ." C\ Results 1. Sam Ennolenk o (15); 2. Chris Man chester (12); 3. Cha rlie Venegas (11); 4. Billy Ha mill (11); 5. Bobby Schwartz (10); 6. (TIE) Gary H icks /Brad Oxley (8); 8. (TIE) Alan Christian/Steve l ucero/Jim Sisem ore {7}; 11. Brent Wern er (6); 12. (TIE) Bart Bast/M;ke Faria (5); 14. (TI E) Jo h n Ad en / Lance King (3); 16. (TIE) Bob b y Hedden/ And y Northrup (1); 18. Robert Pfetzing (0). 11

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