Weekend Recap - Sunday June 13

A quick review now of the action seen across southeastern Wisconsin, then later, a fuller report on what happened across other parts of the Midwest. Here in WI there were three events, in three disciplines, all held within a 30 miles circle - a TT, some track racing, and a criterium.

Sunday morning brought a fairly large number of riders to the Kansasville, WI area for the Bong and a Half 30k Time Trial presented by ABR. Riders appeared to be an even mixture of roadies and triathletes that sped around a lap and a half of the very slightly rolling loop surrounding the Bong Recreation Area. It's a popular loop for TT's that features good pavement and long straights for maximum pain production. Results are not available at this time but should be available on the ABR site soon.

Upon completion of that event, Peloton Star headed over to Kenosha to check out the State of Iowa Track Championships held on the historic Washington Park Velodrome. It was now late morning and the sun had finally begun to shine on the riders as they were competing in the match sprint part of the competition. Rider numbers were low, but their enthusiasm was high as they seemed to really be enjoying their time on the banking. (Who wouldn't?!) Not all the riders were from Iowa as a number of WI and IL teams were represented. A few of the pairs tried to set the record for the slowest lap times during their heats, but their track stands weren't quite up to the task. However, once they got on top of that fixed gear, the speeds the demonstrated were impressive. They would have a fine showing on the regular Tuesday night racing days.

From there, it was back on the road over to Burlington, WI to experience the first annual Burlington Classic Criterium presented by RDS Cycling. This was a new course - 8 turns on a 0.8 mile loop that started just off downtown Burlington and wound through a quiet residential area that had mostly smooth, fast pavement and a slight rise through the first set of turns. RDS Cycling puts on good races and treats riders well. The course was well marshaled, safe, and decorated with flags and flowers. Vendors were present to provide food and drink. The race announcer was former Pro cyclist Kenny Labbe who's just as comfortable talking about bike racing as he was competing with the US Postal Service Team. Podium ceremonies were top notch being held immediately after each race and riders being presented with flowers after a quick interview. (some being presented with bottles of wine as well!). It's a shame that rider participation was low. So low, in fact, that races had to be combined to come up with minimal sized fields.

None the less, when you pay your money to race, you race whoever shows up, and you race to win! The Women's Open race was won by Whitney Gaggioli (Amore Vita) who had placed second in the WI State RR, 10th in Saturday's rain soaked Criterium Championship, and was happy that other women showed up to race so that she didn't have to race against the men's Pro 1/2/3 field! Second place was Kim White (Geargrinder) who also raced in Saturday's Criterium Championship but also did the Elkhart Lake triathlon that morning. Third place was Flatlandia's Kimberly Gialdini who just upgraded to Cat. 3 on Saturday. Earlier this season, she won the Whitnal Spring Classic and got second at Fox River Grove.

Well, nobody races harder than the Pro 1/2 men, and this day's race had them pushed to the limit. The field was a combo of Masters 1/2/3, Cat. 3, and Pro 1/2/3 (yes, registration was that low) but as with any Pro 1/2/3 race, they started like they were shot out of a canon and never let up until the end. Perhaps it was the knowing that a line of thunderstorms and rain was rapidly approaching that aided that motivation, it's hard to tell, but about 20 minutes into their race, the sky opened up, and it POURED. By then, Team Geargrinder had already stomped their boots down and determined at least which team was going to win as Ryan White and Ben Damhoff put at least one lap on all the other riders. Together they crossed the finish line, with Damhoff being awarded the win by White, making it his second win in two days as he had also won the Pro 1/2 race in Saturday's Sherman Park Criterium held in Chicago.

While it is a shame that participation was low in this year's Burlington Classic, the riders that did show all came away with a positive experience and the RDS promoters will take that to the bank as they prepare to return next year.