Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Kenosha Velosport #3
WISCONSIN: Kenosha - Kenosha Velosport Training Race #3 - A little cooler today with a change in the wind to more off Lake Michigan, but still a fairly good turnout. Organizers had music and an announcer this week, so that added to the vibe. Racing was aggressive in all categories. The only crash that was known of was in the Masters 30+ when 5 riders went down in the final turn of their race. No one was killed despite a nice set of skid marks left on the road and some pedal digs in the cement. Three riders broke away in the Cat. 5 race but never got the final bell, so they never sprinted. The Cat. 4 race simply blew apart from a fast pace from the get go. The once friendly Men's Cat. 1/2/3 race became a more serious Men's *PRO* 1/2/3 event when Chad Hartley (Kenda Pro Cycling) showed up at the start.
Class is in session, let the schooling begin!
Delay for 'registration', not sure what that was about but after about a 25 minute delay, the race begins and it was quickly evident that Chad Hartley (Kenda Pro Cycling) was present and the little Cat 1/2/3 race suddenly became a *PRO* Cat 1/2/3 event!
There were a number of surges off the front early, but nothing really developing.
Hartley simply riding tempo on the front, keeping every
thing in check and quickly the original group of 27 riders was split in half.
10 minutes in : 2 off off the front Hartley and one other /1 chaser /1 chaser / main group of 14 / 9 in the 'laughing group'.
15 minutes in: the two leaders have lapped the 9 back markers and the main group of 14 have
essentially sat up.
20 minutes, individual riders are trying to get away from the main group, hard pulls on the front
are met with shrugs by those behind. No two riders are able to work together. Their overall pace is slow.
The lead pair continue to gain time. Harley is spinning a low gear, riding on the hoods.
25 minutes. Still no cooperation in the main group and they are within sight of the lead pair.
27 minutes - the field is caught, Hartley blows through the peloton, picking up a Team Mack rider glued to his wheel.
38 minutes - 3 laps to go ... time to roll ... Hartley opens it up, dropping Team Mac.
Field now has a rotation going on the point but it's much too late. Hartley easily takes the win.
Class dismissed!
Results not yet available on line, but Tom Thiesen (The Tom-inator) (Big Ring Flyers) picks up 3rd today, and got 2nd last week. Ka-ching!
Read more...
2012 Barry Roubaix, Ripon Spring Classic, Iowa Spring Classic
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| Photo: Derek Graham |
| Place | No. | Name | Team | Age | Time | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mike Anderson | North Country Cycle Sport | 23 | 2:51:05 | 21.7 |
| 2 | 154 | Brian Matter | Gear Grinder/bontrager | 34 | 2:51:08 | 21.7 |
| 3 | 270 | Nathaniel Williams | Bissell Abg Nuvo | 30 | 2:51:57 | 21.6 |
| 4 | 3 | Shawn Adams | Carbon Racing | 37 | 2:52:39 | 21.5 |
| 5 | 26 | Steve Broglio | Lathrup Industries/giant Bicycles | 37 | 2:52:39 | 21.5 |
| 6 | 118 | Dan Korienek | Leadout Racing/kentwood Cycling And | 39 | 2:57:30 | 21.0 |
| 7 | 151 | Ernesto Marenchin* | Carbon Racing | 40 | 2:57:31 | 21.0 |
| 8 | 272 | Adam York | Cleveland Clinic Sports Health | 26 | 2:57:32 | 21.0 |
| 9 | 221 | Michael Simonson | Rbs Mtb Team | 32 | 2:57:37 | 20.9 |
| 10 | 139 | Matthew Light | Alderfer Bergen Racing For Riley | 24 | 2:58:24 | 20.9 |
From Kolo t.c.:
The Elite 62 mile racers took the gun first. A neutral start was not, according to a few, all that neutral, and the power men took off quick on Gun Lake Road. After some distance, Mike Anderson (North Country Cycle Sport) broke about ten meters in front of the leading pack, dangling there to be joined shortly by Brian Matter (GearGrinder/Bontrager). The two took advantage of the rough, muddy roads to forge out a fragile lead. As Mike Anderson noted in a post-race interview, the pair worked together to keep clear of a large chasing pack. While Anderson and Matter practiced their two-man time trial off the front, a group of about 10 or 15 could not organize. As Einstein Racing’s Jorden Wakeley put it later via Facebook, “No one wanted to play nice and try bridging back to the leaders.”
In the finale, Mike Anderson took off as he and Matter made the turn into the mile-long drag to the line. He shook Matter about 300 meters from the and coasted in to a huge victory. Matter cruised in three seconds back. Third place was seized by Nate Williams (BISSELL AVG Nuvo), with Shawn Adams (Carbon Racing) and Steve Brolio (Lathrup Industries/Giant Bicycles) rounding out the podium places. (A special nod to last week’s There Will Be Blood champion Dan Korienek (Leadout Racing) who slipped in sixth).
Watch more video of Barry Roubaix: The Killer Gravel Road Race on thom.cyclingdirt.org
Watch more video of Barry Roubaix: The Killer Gravel Road Race on thom.cyclingdirt.org
which have become integral in the Illinois cycling scene. Promotor Ric Damn of Ripon College has plenty of experience putting on the Wisconsin State Criterium Championship and stages of ICC Superweek, so the potential is there.
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| Photos: Team Big Ring Flyers |
Next up on the racing calendar is the final day of the Kenosha Velosport Training Series later today as well as the Kent Park Classic in Iowa, followed by the Gaper Block Crits in Chicago and the ever popular Burnam Racing's Spring Super Criterium in South Beloit, IL not to mention the Waterford Hills training series in Michigan and the MSU "Get Tough" RR and TT also featuring sections of nasty gravel roads!
IOWA: Colfax - Iowa Spring Classic - RESULTS - Not much news out of this one, but the course looks killer!
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| Photo: Bike Iowa.Com |
Read more...
Friday, March 23, 2012
Misc. Pix
Vuelta Mexico?
Photo: Amantes del Ciclismo
Stemper at Redlands prologue
Photo: Deb Tracey
Stemper at Redlands
Photo: Deb Tacey
Read more...
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Stemper in for Redlands
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| Photo: Peloton-Pix |
One of the team’s most successful riders from 2011 and strong 2012 hopeful, Bobby Sweeting, has been diagnosed with a concussion, following an incident at the previous week’s San Dimas Stage Race. As a result, the team physician, Dr. Jason Brayley, has recommended he not start the Redlands Stage 1 ITT slated for today, and Bobby concurred. Jim Stemper got the late call and made a last minute trip to Redlands yesterday evening to fill the vacancy.
...
While not the avid time trialist that Bobby is, Stemper is no stranger to high ITT results and hard efforts. Jim has placed highly in many important races against the clock in 2011, and put on a forty minute solo display last week at the USA Crits Old Pueblo Criterium last week, nearly winning the event. Despite being caught by his own teammates with less than a full lap remaining, his efforts were the perfect set up for the team’s victory and a ticket into the USA Crits Laps Leader jersey. Jim also had the same fate in 2011 at Redlands, nearly winning the penultimate stage with a breakaway attempt that was captured with less than eight hundred meters remaining. The 2010 Tour of America’s Dairyland overall winner will have all of the necessary horsepower needed to support the team’s GC threats Phil Gaimon, Nathan English and Andy Jacques-Maynes in any capacity. Read more...
Busche, Kenosha Onboard Video
WISCONSIN: Kenosha - check out week 2's on board video from Mike3215able. New graphics added showing power output and speed. Final lap starts ~29:00
Read more...
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Kenosha, Vuelta Mexico
Short on time = short post. Will try to update daily all this week to keep up with the events as they come across the news desk.
WISCONSIN: Kenosha - RESULTS are posted for week #2 of the Kenosha Velosport training series. They are listed according to category rather than order of finish, so it's a little confusing for the 1/2/3 race that had Category 3 juniors beating Cat. 2 masters with a few Cat 2 women thrown into the mix.
Read more...
Monday, March 19, 2012
Kenosha Training Race #2
A quick report on this week's racing in Kenosha, and then will catch up on other news later.
WISCONSIN: Kenosha - Kenosha Velosport Training Races, week 2 - Another day of fantastic weather and a good turnout for some early season racing. All of the categories featured aggressive tactics with the best probably being in the Cat. 1/2/3 which featured the powerhouse IS CORP junior development squad taking the top 3 places. Nate Labecki, 1st, Kaleb Koch 2nd and Kevin Lindlau 3rd (Fixie the dog did not race). Full results are not available online yet.
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| Photo: Jay Labecki |
Here's a bunch of videos from Kenosha. The first being of the cat. 5 finish where we find John Dondero (Bens Cyclery) on the front of the field leading into the final 100 meters. Last week he got dropped, so imagine our surprise!
Masters 40+, 30+
Cat. 5, 4, 3/2/1
On board video from last week.
Read more...
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Kenosha #1 Results, Race stories
WISCONSIN: Kenosha - Kenosha Velosport #1 - RESULTS
Tom Thiesen (Big Ring Flyers) gives us his perspective on his race with the 2's:
No matter how many numbers you look at during training over the winter, the first race of the year always serves as a reality check or calibration of expectations. It also marked my first race on my new team, Big Ring Flyers. I knew I'd been training right, so I was hoping to prove that to myself. Due to a crash in the previous race, and low turnout, the 3s were combined with the 1/2s. The course was 1km on a wide open industrial park with only two real turns.
My plan was to sit in for the first half to get the feel for the pack. For the second half, if I had anything left, I would chase or attack aggressively. The race started pretty comfortably. No one wanted to pull the field into the big headwind, so a strong solo flyer went off that stayed for several laps. It was a good effort, but a single rider in that wind would have been very hard pressed to stay off for the whole race, even if the field was not exactly drilling it. Meanwhile though, I felt very comfortable in the pack, managing to stay in the first 5 wheels. The race came back together just before the midway point, and I knew that would be my opportunity.
At the halfway mark, I chose to attack at the last corner, since there is a slight rise coming out of the corner, which would probably make it hard for the whole field to react. My attack wasn't exactly earth shattering, being maybe 700w for 20 seconds, but I was allowed to roll off the front. When I looked back and didn't see anyone with me, I sat up. I didn't like the idea of soloing for the rest of the race, and figured I'd try again in a few laps. When I got caught, the first thing I heard was "We got a gap". I didn't realize that the riders that had come up were not the field, but just two riders bridging. Bingo! We traded pulls smoothly for a few laps, putting some time into the field. One rider dropped, and then we were two. I think our gap increased to a maximum of 15 seconds. The two of us settled into a rhythm of half a lap each. Every few laps, I would look behind me when I was on the back. I saw a four person chase, but couldn't tell where the field was. We might have a chance! With two to go, my break mate faded, and the chase was closing. I figured I could hold them off for two laps because it looked like I still had about 5 seconds. When I came around again for the bell lap, the lap card said "2" again! No bell! wtf! 
Ok, two more laps again. On the next lap, one rider bridged up to me moving very fast. He looked strong, but he was burning lots of energy. I figured if I could hang on, maybe I could out-sprint him at the finish. But then he sat up. What?
"It's over".
The officials never showed me the final lap. At least I got second for my efforts. And overall, I'm pretty happy. I've never considered myself a good break rider, but I did pretty well at it.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
New Officials in IL, Old Capitol Criterium, Waterford Hills Spring Series, Ashley James, Snow Bike Racing, Kenosha video
Illinois:Chicago - From the Illinois Cycling Association - New Officials in Illinois
The ICA would like to congratulate and welcome our newest group of officials. This past Saturday, the ICA held an introductory officials seminar and we welcome 6 new officials to the group. The seminar went over basics of officiating and was followed by an open book exam at the end of the day.
Officials are the backbone of a bicycle race, and often the first representatives of USA Cycling that a rider meets. As these officials begin their experiences as new officials and start to grow and work local events, please acknowledge this first step with welcoming congratulations.
The following are the newest members of the officiating group in Illinois:
Bill Barnes (IL) w/ xXx Racing
Chris Jensen (IL) w/ Robots p/b <3
Bob Murray (IN) w/ Beverly Bike VeePak
Nick Puaca (IL) w/ Gray Goat
Sue Semaszczuk (IL) w/ PSIMET Racing
Ted Schweitzer (IL) w/ The Q-Factor
Registration for the 2 day , 3 stage, omnium series May 5-6 is now open. A total of $10,000 in prizes is offered.
MICHIGAN: Detroit - Waterford Hills Spring Training Series - Road racing in Michigan begins March 31st at the Waterford Hills auto racing circuit northwest of Detroit. Races are put on by the Flying Rhino Cycling Club.
WISCONSIN: Milwaukee - Jay Labecki posts on his blog that Pro cyclist Chad Hartley was recently in town and rode with the IS CORP juniors giving them tips and helpful hints.
HOLLAND: Drenthe - Wisconsin native Ashley James posts on her blog about her first race of the year ... the Ronde Van Drenthe, a UCI race in Holland. Well worth a read, here's a quick exerpt:"I pinned my first number of the year. The race atmosphere was already engulfing- Euro-pop-trash-techno stretched over crackled speakers, hundreds of girls rolled around in foreign kits (big girls, small girls, girls with ripped legs, girls that might not be girls) a man shouted in dutch over a loud speaker. The nerves set in early, but nerves can be a good thing, right?
sweet baby jeebus!
My teammates are superstars- Olympic long listers, previous & current national champions. The race was filled with badasses. (baddassi?) And then there was me. A girl from Wisconsin with admittedly big dream, but permanently inked with chain grease everywhere but on my actual chain."
Read more...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Kenosha #1, Newsreel #5, Prelim. Superweek Schedule,
Wisconsin: Kenosha - The first road race of the season is in the books! Sunshine and warm weather brought out a good sized crowd and some very animated racing. No results available yet. Check this week's newsreel for some video footage.
Racing continues on the next two Sundays. The course is just west of Kenosha ... half way between Milwaukee and Chicago. Flyer: http://www.ambikerace.com/2012/flyers/KV_2012_flyer.pdf
The preliminary Superweek schedule is out. Subject to change, although, any way you slice it, it's still 2 weeks of high speed bike racing!
http://www.internationalcycling.com/?q=schedule
Read more...
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