It’s been a while since I had a chance to post, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been shooting. There has just been a lot going on.
The Historic Marietta Criterium is always a fun race to shoot. Tucked in along the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, PA, Marietta is a great little town with many old stone and brick buildings lining the course.
They always get a quality field with many international riders coming from the Valley Preferred Cycling Center to get some extra racing in over the summer. This year, Rally Pro Cycling’s Robin Carpenter made the trip up from Philadelphia to race, along with Skyline’s David Dawson, hometown rider Jake Sitler (CCB Foundation), and many of the top locals.
Locals Andrew Wulfkuhl (CS Velo) and Jamie Clinton were the first to go off the front, but Carpenter and Sitler made the move that stuck. The pair worked together as Dawson and others tried to bridge the gap, but were unsuccessful.
A puncture in the last third of the race saw Sitler swap bikes and use a free lap to stay with Carpenter at the front of the race. Unfortunately, an untimely mechanical brought Sitler back into the pits for a cyclocross style bike swap with no free laps left and forced him to try and chase back on to Carpenter’s wheel. He was never able to catch the Rally rider, and the field eventually pulled Sitler back, and continued to chase the leader.
With one to go, Jared Babik (Team GPOA) took advantage of confusion as the bell rang for one to go and made a move away from the field. Carpenter was able to easily coast across the line for the win, but behind, Babik rode hard to cross the line in second, just ahead of Dawson, who took the field sprint.
Click the link below for the full gallery. Print pictures can be ordered through the link, with digital downloads still just $1.
