Zach Bell wins the Thompson Bucks County Classic

Last Saturday, Zach Bell soloed away from a select group to win the UCI 1.2 Thompson Bucks County Classic in Doylestown and New Hope, Pennsylvania. It was a strong way to end his and his team’s 2014 campaign. Bell finished almost a minute ahead of Steven Leece (Jamis-Hagens Berman) and Jesse Anthony of Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies.

The 160-km road race featured six laps of a challenging 22.4-km course. The race started in Doylestown and finished in New Hope. The winding and tight roads proved to be a challenge for the large field and with the poor weather conditions the race quickly became a day of attrition. The entire day featured many failed attacks and break away attempts. It wasn’t until about the 112-km mark that the winning break-away finally established itself. Five riders broke free, Marc de Marr (United Health Care), Kevin Gottleib (Airgas Cycling), Bell, Leece and Anthony. The peloton chased the move to avail. After all the KOM’s were completed and break-away reached the circuits where Bell made his move for the win. No one was able to follow and Bell was able to hold his lead to the finish.

Full results can be found at USA Cycling. Bell finished 8th overall in the NRC rankings for 2014.