Melito Heredia waited as long as he could before making the winning move at the Univest Grand Prix on Saturday in Souderton, Pennsylvania. With seven laps to go on a grueling 5km circuit, he could wait no more. Heredia, racing for GS Gotham-Toga attacked a breakaway group of 11 riders and rode the rest of the way by himself.

"I was thinking about that moment when I was going to attack," Heredia, said after the race. "I know it was early, but it doesn’t matter if it was 10 laps to go. I was just waiting for that moment when my body felt ready."

The Univest Grand Prix begins with a 57-mile loop through the hilly Pennsylvania countryside, before returning to the town of Souderton for 11 technical circuits. The UCI-ranked race is designed to showcase up-and-coming talent in the U.S. and mimic European-style racing. Teams from France, Poland, Holland, and Germany are brought over to contest the event.

Over the first KOM at only 17 miles into the 100-mile race, a group of 13 riders escaped. That group included Heredia, Renaud Pioline (France-Alderfer Auction Company), Wouter Mol (Holland-Yum Yum Bake Shops-Wolf Block), Krzysztof Mermer and Tadeusz Korzeniewski (Poland-Doylestown Hospital), Garrett Peltonen (Advantage Benefits-Endeavor), David Clinger (Helen’s RPM), Pete Lopinto and Dominique Perras (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada), Anthony Colby (Target Training), Dan Bowman and Blake Caldwell (TIAA-Cref), and Alvar Tardaguila (UPMC-ACT).

With most of the major teams represented the peloton slowed and the break gained a maximum advantage of two minutes and 15 seconds. The pack seemed content to let the break ride smoothly up ahead and wait for the finishing circuits where the action traditionally heats up. As the circuits approached, the gap was down to a mere 30 seconds.

The hard, grinding climb on the circuit whittled the break down to eight riders. Frank Pipp (Advantage Benefits-Endeavor), Michael Lange (TIAA-Cref), Dan Greenfield (Louis Garneau), and Amos Brumble (CCB-Volkswagen-Time) bridged up from the pack. Shortly after that group formed, Heredia took a flyer through the start finish line and gained a quick 15-second lead.

The chase group came close to catching Heredia on several occasions. Perras led the chase early, but blew a tire coming through a corner. With three laps to go Brumble and Tardaguila broke from the chase group and closed to within 20 seconds of Heredia. But the duo wasn’t able to finish him off.

"Neither of us could do it ourselves." Brumble said. "We got really close, but we just couldn’t do it."

Unseasonable heat and humidity increased the race’s rate of attrition and by the final laps the field was scattered across the course in small groups. But Heredia, who was wearing the jersey of his native Dominican Republic, saved enough strength to finish the job.

"He doubted himself a little bit," Toga team manager Koqui Fung said, "but with two laps to go I told him to put on the afterburners and that was it."

Results
1. Melito Heredia, GS Gotham-Toga, 100mi in 3:52:44
2. Alvaro Tardaguila, UPMC-ACT, at 0:49
3. Amos Brumble, CCB-Volkswagen-Time, at 0:53
4. Krzysztof Mermer, Poland-Doylestown Hospital, at 0:59
5. Anthony Colby, TargeTraining, at 0:59
6. Dan Greenfield, Louis Garneau, at 1:00
7. Dan Bowman, TIAA-CREF, same time
8. Garrett Peltonen, Advantage Benefits-Endeavour, at 1:01
9. Gregor Willwohl, Germany-Etta Mae's Antiques, at 1:22
10. Bobby Lea Northwestern Mortgage-Fuji, s.t.

Best Climber: Krystof Mermer (Poland-Doylestown Hospital)
Liedy's Premium Prok Products Best Sprinter: Karl Menzies (Advantage Benefits-Endeavor)
Bergey's Dealerships First American: Amos Brumble (CCB-Volkswagen-Time)
Clemen's Family Markets Young Rider Award: Dan Bowman (TIAA-CREF)
The Intelligencer Most Aggressive Rider Award: Melito Heredia