Charlotte, NC (August 4, 2007) With his performance on Saturday evening, 22-year old Jesse Anthony showed his coach, American racing legend, Mark McCormack that he listens well. For the past several weeks in conversations about racing strategy, McCormack has told Anthony, “Attack to win – don’t just attack.”

With five laps remaining in the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Mark Walters of the Kodak Gallery Pro Cycling Team was caught by a field that had worked very hard to reel in his repeated efforts to break away – and stay away for the victory. Sensing a momentary lull in the field’s motivation and inspired by Walters’ repeated efforts, Anthony heeded his coach’s advice. Only one rider, Frank Pipp, reacted quickly enough to join Anthony’s move.

In a few short laps, the duo had nearly 30-seconds on the field. “We were really balanced in the breakaway,” Anthony explained. “When Frank pulled I suffered and after the race he told me that when I was pulling he was suffering. Essentially, we were both killing each other!”

In the end, Pipp got the better of Anthony who let his determination to stay away from the field force his hand. After the race, Anthony conceded, “I got a little nervous. I didn’t know how big a gap we had on the field and I didn’t want to let it go to a field sprint. I basically ended up leading Frank out for the finish. Sometimes if you want to win, you have to be willing to lose. I couldn’t have lost to a nicer guy than Frankie!”

Looking back on the race, team director Robin Zellner shared his thoughts, “This is a really big race and the Kodak Gallery Team was the main protagonist. Mark Walters was on fire, Josh Thornton put in some really solid efforts at the front, Cody O’Reilly and Dan Timmerman rode very well and Jesse made the move that defined the race. I’m very proud of our team. We came to race and all of our guys showed what the Kodak Gallery Team is made of.”

photo credit:: JoE Silva - VeloNews.com