LOMBARD 2nd IN HAWAII EVENT

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PRESS RELEASE – Guam eye doctor Peter Lombard rode to an impressive 2nd place finish at “Dick Evans Memorial Road Race”, held on the island of Oahu, HI on September 1st, 2013.  He finished the 112 mile race with a time of five hours, 14 minutes, and 57 seconds in the Mens Open Division, just 16 seconds behind the first place finisher Daniel Cobley, a visiting cyclist from California.  Over 100 riders participated in this year’s race.

Former Guam resident and sibling Chiyo Lombard Husslein repeated as the female champion, taking 1st place in the Womens Open division,  with a blistering time of 5:20:23, placing 19th overall, over 45 minutes faster than the next female finisher, and a mere five minutes behind the leading male riders.

A large peleton formed over the first 2-3 hours of racing.  A few brave riders tried to break away along the route through the North Shore and windward coast, but the brisk trade winds prevented any attacks from holding.  The last hour of racing saw fatigue affecting the peleton, and the lead group slimmed down to just a dozen riders with 15 miles to go.  There were 5 riders remaining in the lead group as they started the final climb of the day to Mokapu’u Lookout, where the eventual winner Cobley pulled away.  Lombard chased Cobley with three other riders after the climb, but by the final right turn with a mile left in the race, Cobley was in the clear.  Lombard tactfully pulled away from the remaining riders, putting in a strong final push to secure 2nd place by about 10 seconds over the 3rd place finisher, Jason Smith of Hawai’i.

Lombard out-raced Hawaii’s best amateur riders, which he sees as a positive sign of progression since recovering from both knee and shoulder surgery this past year, and helps him gauge his fitness against off-island competition.  Also a Navy Lieutenant Commander and Naval Hospital Guam ophthalmologist, Lombard was disappointed that he couldn’t represent Guam at the Pacific Island Championships in Papua New Guinea in August.  But he hopes to have a strong showing at the East Asian Games in China this October with the rest of the GNOC athlete contingent.

The Dick Evans is Hawai’i’s oldest and largest road cycling race, contested by Hawaii’s best as well as top amateurs and pros from California, Japan and elsewhere.  This 112 mile race was once combined with the Honolulu Marathon and Waikiki Roughwater Swim to become the first ever “Ironman” triathlon competition, and roughly follows the perimeter of Oahu.

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