Air Force's Sean Cahill Captured the U.S. Military National Road Race Championship

Champion, Pennsylvania (22 May 2003) -- Senior Airman Sean Cahill of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was the first military finisher in the U.S. Elite National Road Race Championships and was crowned U.S. Military National Road Race Champion for 2003. Air Force Special Agent Trent Hornus from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, finished second followed by Petty Officer Second Class Steve Mlujeak, Coast Guard athlete from Air Station Detroit, Michigan.

The road race course was four laps of a 44.5km loop through the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania. Described as the most difficult course in national championship history, the 178km race included more than 12,000 feet of climbing. A four-mile descent saw riders reaching a scary 65mph! Due to the challenging terrain of the course, race officials predicted the enormous spread of the peleton and set a standard that riders in excess of 120% of the leading time would be told to complete the race after three laps and they would be placed accordingly. The race would be ripped apart as only 87 of the 140 starters would even finish and only 57 would complete the entire four laps.

As the peleton completed the first lap, Armed Forces athlete ENS Garrett Wonders with one other rider would take their chance and break away from the peleton. The remainder of the Armed Forces Team rode perfectly on the front of the group disrupting the speed to help Wonders in his escape. The lead held for a lap and a half and at one point was up to three and a half minutes. During this second lap, the Armed Forces Team lost one of it's road race and climbing specialists when Marine Major Kent Wheeler flatted and an obvious miscommunication caused the neutral support vehicle to pass him by without providing him a new wheel. Wheeler's race was finished.

During the third lap the peleton put the hammer down and the entire look of the race changed. The peleton broke into numerous small groups and when they started the final 44.5km lap, Sean Cahill was in a group of about eight riders that had a two minute lead on the group with Trent Hornus. Small groups and single riders continued to begin their final lap as Steve Mlujeak came through alone just a few minutes behind Hornus. Both Hornus and Mlujeak would later say that few of the non-military riders were interested in chasing on this final lap as they knew they just needed to finish. Both had to do what they could alone. Cahill, on the other hand, knew he was in the lead for the military championship and was with a larger group that was working together. Cahill finished the race in 5 hours, 14 minutes and 2 seconds. This was enough to give him 30th place overall and the U.S. Military National Road Race Championship.

Later, Cahill would remember the end of the race, "as I was suffering in the cold rain up the final climb towards the finish line after racing for over 5 hours, I was smiling and thinking to myself, this time last year I was down at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba working 12-14 hour days in the blazing Caribbean sun and now I am about to win the U.S. Military National Road Race Championship - what a difference a year makes!" Cahill is also the current Massachusetts State Champion.

Both Hornus and Mlujeak finished the race alone as they moved up from rider to rider and group to group trying to minimize their time deficit and secure their position in the military championship. At that time, they didn't know that their fellow Armed Forces Team riders were finished by the referees after three laps. Hornus followed Cahill by nearly five minutes to the finish and Mlujeak was another four and a half minutes behind.

Complete U.S. Military National Road Race Championship Results are:
1. SrA Sean Cahill - Air Force - Air National Guard, Milford, MA 5:14:02
2. SA Trent Hornus - Air Force - Ramstein Air Base, Germany 5:18:55
3. PO2 Steve Mlujeak - Coast Guard - Air Station Detroit, MI 5:23:29
4. ENS Peter Penzell -Navy - Naval Academy, MD
5. MSgt Lee Slater - Air Force - McGuire Air Force Base, NJ
6. ENS Garrett Wonders - Navy - Naval Weapons Station Charleston, SC
7. Major John Law - Marines - Stewart ANG Base, NY
8. Capt Eric Obergfell - Air Force - Randolph Air Force Base, TX
Major Kent Wheeler - Marines - Quantico, VA DNF - Mechanical

Armed Forces Cycling Team Coach, Klaus Wolf, was very happy with today's results. According to Wolf, "Everyone fought for his place in today's race. This course was very difficult and no one gave up. We need fighters for our upcoming Military World Championship and today showed me a lot about these athletes." Wolf is a German employed with the U.S. Army at the General Support Center Europe in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

According to Armed Forces Cycling Manager Debra Ponzio "It's unfortunate we won't be able to consider Cahill for our team that will compete at the Military World Championship in September. He and his wife have a child due in early September so we certainly understand his priorities. Sean would certainly be an asset to our team and we hope to make him a part of the program beginning next year."

Although a women's category was offered, no military women entered this event.

The U.S. Military National Criterium Championship will be held on Sunday in Bound Brook, New Jersey, as a part of the Tour of Somerville weekend. The Military National Criterium Championship will be open to both category-one and -two cyclists.

Eight category-one military cyclists were selected to represent the Armed Forces in this event - they are Mlujeak, Wheeler, Hornus, Penzell, Wonders, Law, Obergfell, and Slater. They represented the U.S. Armed Forces at the Elite and Military National Time Trial and will compete later this week at the Hills of Somerset Road Race, the Military National Criterium Championship and the Tour of Somerville. These events are a part of the selection process for the Military World Championship that will be held in September in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Category-one cyclists who are active duty or members of the reserve or national guard may apply for selection to the U.S. Armed Forces Team. Application deadline is 28 June 2003.

The 2003 U.S. Armed Forces Cycling Team is sponsored by Verge (www.vergesport.com), AT&T (www.att.com and www.att.com/mil), and Psycho Lube (www.psycholube.com). For more information about the team, sponsorship, or to add your email address to the Armed Forces Cycling email list, write to team manager, Debra Ponzio at debra.ponzio@sembach.af.mil.