Blaine, Minn – Four-time world champion Franco Marvulli (Assos-Skoda), secured the overall endurance victory in the 2011 MN Fixed Gear Classic on Sunday at the National Sports Center Velodrome, outpacing Dan Harm (Broadmark Capital) and defending champion Colton Barrett (Kelly Benefits Strategies-OptumHealth).

Marvulli’s resounding victory in the Tempo Race and close second place finish in the Madison with partner Ryan Sabga (Black Dog Pro Cycling) secured the victory for the Swiss Six-Day specialist in the kick-off event of the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival.

Michael Blatchford (Project London 2012) lead a 1-2-3 podium finish for his Project London 2012 team in the men’s sprint omnium. The trio’s two-second margin in the Team Sprint secured the win for Blatchford with teammates Kevin Mansker and Daniel Walker rounding out the podium.

Megan Hottman (Primal/MapMyRide) finished second in the first ever Women’s Madison at the MN Fixed Gear Classic and carried her strong results from Saturday’s marathon day (a result of a mid-session rain postponement on Friday) to the top of the podium of the Women’s Endurance Omnium.

National champion Cristin Walker (Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic) convincingly secured the women’s sprint omnium with victories in each of the four events, including a team sprint win with second place finisher Maddie Godby (Encompass Racing).

Sunday’s Men’s Competition

In the Men’s Handicap final, Walker overcame a 30-meter deficit and a hard-charging Blatchford to secure victory with a well-executed bike throw at the line. The race was marred by a crash in the second lap that sent defending sprint omnium champion Matthew Baranoski (Pure Energy Racing) to the deck as the tightly-packed peloton jostled for position. Baranoski walked away from the crash, but missed the Team Sprint and a chance for a return to the podium

The Tempo Race was vintage Marvulli, as the Swiss rider collected several second place points, working in tandem with first Harm, then Barrett, before taking laps himself. His 11 points nearly doubled his next closest rivals in a race that saw all but one competitor collect sprint points.

Project London 2012 sent a clear statement of their intent to represent the US in the Olympic Team Sprint. In a decorated field of sprint teams, Blatchford, Mansker and Walker bested their nearest competitors by over 2 seconds, dominating the field with a 48.07 time under cool, breezy skies.

US Six-Day racers Dan Harm and Zak Kovalcik (Diamond Law Cycling) marked Marvulli and Sabga from the beginning of the 100-lap Madison, taking several early points sprints as traffic in the field interrupted Marvulli and Sabga’s exchanges in the first two bell laps. As a field of five leading teams solidified, Harm/Kovalcik and Marvulli/Sabga traded sprint wins through the finish, but the early sprints proved insurmountable for the Swiss/American duo and Harm/Kovalcik maintained their winning ways in US Madison competition.

Sunday’s Women’s Competition

Sprint specialist Cristin Walker beat a large field in the Handicap final as she overcame a 30-meter gap from scratch, edging Kim Edwards (CVC/Subaru of New England) at the line.

The Women’s Tempo field saw Valerie Brostrom (Bouledogue Tout Noir) narrowly defeat Hottman. The women finished in a tie with eight points each after 12 laps with the victory decided by Brostrom’s hard sprint in the final lap. Jennifer Triplett (Broadmark Capital) took third, finishing just off the top two with seven points.

Walker and Godby dominated the Team Sprint competition, winning by a comfortable 4 seconds, establishing a time of 36.36 seconds that no team could match. The pair executed flawlessly, with Walker taking the second lap in a perfectly-timed exchange on the home straight.

The MN Fixed Gear Classic hosted a Women’s Madison for the first time in event history as four teams took to the line. Triplett and Brostrom, both experienced Madison riders plotted well-timed attacks gaining two laps on the field. Hottman and Godby captured second place points in key sprints to finish second.

The Nature Valley Bicycle Festival continues with the Nature Valley Grand Prix on Wednesday, June 15 in St. Paul, MN.