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AT&T DSL was down most of the day. 

Appears fixed now, so will get the daily updates posted soon.

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2010 Circuit of Sauk (Sauk County Wisconsin)

Wind was the story of the day with gusts of 25 to 30mph making a tough course even tougher. If you didn't have the legs today, there was no way to hide in the pack and fake it - you were done. The 15 mile loop is fairly hilly with long rollers and one 'wall' that's too early in the lap to really be a deciding factor in the finish, but steep enough to thin out the pack quickly. As slow as the climbs were, the descents were screaming fast with that wind at your back, some as long as 1.2 miles. This fairly new course to the Wisconsin Cycling Association's calendar is arguably one of the most scenic, being held in a very rural area in southwestern Wisconsin, the nearest town being six miles away.

Early results include: Jr 10-14 Everett Jones (Baraboo Sharks), Women 4 Vanessa Curtis (Unatt), Masters 3/4 Jeff Melcher (Team Extreme), Men 4/5 Tony Damhoff (Unatt), 2nd Alex Ochowicz (Unatt), 3rd Andrew Tegge (Team Wheel & Sprocket)

The Men's Cat. 3 race was the only one that pretty much stayed together until the end, with a small bunch sprint being won by Brandon Meinke (Pegasus), 2nd Brian Abraham (Fisher Midwest), 3rd Mark Norton (Team Wisconsin), then Liam Donaghue and Eric Blankinship both from IL. 



The Women Pro 1/2/3 race was heavily split up by the course and it came down to a small bunch  sprint taken by Kelly Hess (Kenda), 2nd Rachel Roessingh (IS Corp), 3rd Antonia Leal (Planet Bike) , then Meshberg, Wentworth, and Spittlehouse from Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
 


Masters 4/5 was won by Jonathon Lang (Hampshire), 2nd William Pankonin (XXX), 3rd Matthew Bennett (Unatt).

Masters 1/2/3 was taken by (surprize!) Chris Halverson (IS Corp) who solo'd the last lap and a half. 

Jr. 15-18 winner unknown! (Baraboo Sharks)(#494) who took the three up sprint over Patrick Diamond (Gear Grinder). A well earned 3rd went to Lionel Rocheleau (Gear Grinder) who came from way back, pretty much out of sight of the leaders, and bridged up to contest the sprint.  

In the Pro 1/2 event, Jordan Roessingh (IS Corp) and Cole House (BMC) led the field the first of five times up the 'wall' in their 80 mile race. For much of the race, however, it was a three man break comprised of Jordan Roessingh (IS Corp),  Frank Dierking (Team Wisconsin), and Ryan Freund (Verizon/ABD) who built up over a minute lead at it's maximum. Several small chase groups developed and they managed to close that gap down to a mere 20 seconds over the last 30 miles (2 laps). So close, but not close enough. The last time up the wall, Jordan looked relatively fresh as Dierking was glued to his wheel, but it was just too much for Ryan Freund, however, who lost contact on this move, eventually getting caught by the first chase group, and rolling in 7th. Dave Moyer (XXX) just nipped Tristin Bentzler (RVCC) by inches for third place.  Chris Padfield (ReCycling) was 9th, Dewey Dickey (Mercy/Specialized) 10th, John Acker (Wheel & Sprocket) 12th, Luke Seemann (XXX) ... well, he finished.  For the win, it was all Jordan Roessingh (IS Corp) over Frank Dierking (Team Wisconsin) in the side by side drag race to the line.

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WISPORT - DAR’S TIME TRIAL - FESTIVAL OF THE WHEEL

WILLARD, WISC. -- Brett Whyte pulled it off by a slim margin Saturday in the usually windy (and this year was no exception) Dar's Midwest Time Trial Championships in north central Wisconsin.

 

The Brone's Bike Shop team rider edged out Elmer Colyer (Big Ring Flyers) by one second to claim the men's title in the 16.2 mile time trial that is part of the WiSport Series of races.

 

Whyte won with a time of 36:57. 

It was Brone's win on the women's side too with TT powerhouse Joan Carlson scoring the overall win with a time of 40:47

 

Full results from the event can be found here: http://www.wisport.org/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=56

 

The WiSport Series continues May 15 with a time trial in Rib Falls, Wisc.: http://www.wisport.org/2010/pdf/2010%20Ribfalls%20.pdf 

 

Report by Nate Phelps

 

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Cat. 3's in the news?

Okay, this is for real. Springfield, IL's newspaper the State Journal - Register (a real newspaper) has an article (very short) in their sports section about local Cat. 3's changing teams! Check it: 

CHICAGO — Burnham Racing, an elite cycling development program based in Chicago, announced the additions of  Springfield’s Christopher Curran and Nicholas Ramirez to its Category 3 roster.

Curran and Ramirez finished first and second, respectively, in the 2009 USA Cycling Illinois Cat 3 Road Race Championship, last September in Willow Springs. They are currently competing for the Illinois State University cycling club on the collegiate calendar and will line up with Burnham Racing for events throughout the summer.
 “We’re thrilled that Chris and Nick are coming on board for the upcoming summer campaign,” said Eric Goodwin, Burnham Racing’s Managing Director. “We had no choice but to notice their results last fall and we assumed we would have to go head-to-head with them this year."

Burnham Racing Team.

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Euro Pro Connection #8

Switzerland's Tour of Romandie continues today with a twisty 23.4km time trial in the town of Moudon. Wisconsin's Matthew Busche (Radio Shack) had stated that he's been feeling more comfortable on his TT bike but finished this stage in 133rd (beating Mark Cavendish by 16 seconds!). Illinois' Christian Vande Velde (Garmin - Transitions) put in a smoking 15th place, 1:14 behind the winner. We finally get some photos of these two riders, from stage 2. Busche seen here riding behind Sergio Paulinho.

Over in the Tour of Korea, Jelly Belly's Michael Friedman continues to lead the overall after 7 stages. While listed as a resident of PA, he does have family in the Chicago area and so get's recognition here!

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Get Well Brad Sohner!

You may or may not know him by name, but you know his voice ... one of the strong announcing voices of 10 Speed Productions who are at the finish line of every Superweek and Tour of America's Dairyland stage. Brad unfortunately broke his arm in a bike wreck recently, but is otherwise doing fine and fully plans on being trackside at ToAD and Superweek again this summer. (seen here at Shorewood with super fast South African Jay Thompson, then with the MTN team). Heal fast Brad ... we love your work!

10 Speed Productions will also be at the finish line of next month's Collegiate Nationals in Madison this May 7, 8, and 9th.

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Artie Miller Memorial Bicycle Race - Belleville (St.Louis)

Add this one to the calendar for this weekend:


Artie Miller Memorial Race - Belleville, IL Sunday May 2, 2010 presented by Velo Force Racing Team and Big Shark of St. Louis. $1,999 in cash and prizes, Course Description: A 6+ turn technical criterium circuit with an uphill finish along the historic streets of Downtown Belleville.

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Odds and Endz

Okay, so there's not much new going on here in the Midwest, so can I go National for a bit?


Tour of the Gila - Did you see that Team Radio Shack is going with a retro kit? Using logos from the 60's.

Then there's this whole thing at the Dana Point GP in California with Rahsaan Bahati: “Going into the turn 6, Jake Keough saw me underneath him and he did a couple chops, OK, no problem, to protect the inside,” said Bahati. “He came underneath and out of the straightaway he saw me on his hip, looked at me, turned right, right, right until I went down. It was so blatant. That’s why I was so upset."  Since they will be racing in the Midwest, we owe it to ourselves to know what's going on.

But did you see the video? Bahati got *CHOPPED!* big time, and HE got fined? Can't wait to see those guys race here!

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Season Opens at Rochester Hills Velodrome this Saturday

The first velodrome to open here in the Midwest, Rochester Hills , in Michigan, begins their summer schedule this Saturday, May 1st at 10am.


Here is their weekly schedule as posted on their web page:


Monday
10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.   ~ Open Riding (for season & day pass holders)
5:30 p.m. - ½ hour before park closing  ~ Young Riders Night for junior riders, basic instruction & practice.

Tuesday
10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. ~ Open Riding for season holders.
5:30 p.m. - ½ hour before park closing  ~ Elite Rider Training Session, high intensity efforts.

Wednesday
10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. ~ Open Riding for season holders.
5:30 p.m. - ½ hour before park closing  ~ Race Training

Thursday
10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.  ~ Open Riding for season holders.
6:00 p.m. - ½ hour before park closing  ~ New Rider "Track 101" Velodrome Intro Riding Class
(Open riding is also available but "Track 101" riders take precedence.)

Friday
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.   ~ Open Riding (for season & day pass holders)
5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ~ Warm Up for NAS-TRACK Madison Racers (June - August)
7:30 p.m. ~ NAS-TRACK Madison Racing League Races

Saturday
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.  ~ "Track 101" - Velodrome Intro Riding Class
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.  ~ Development Races - Scratch, Points, Madison Training
4:00 p.m. - ½ hour before park closing  ~ Open Riding (for season & day pass holders)  


Sunday
10:00 a.m. - ½ hour before park closing  ~ Open Riding for season holders.
  
Remember that this is a 200 meter wooden track with banking of 44 degrees in the turns. NPR did a short story on this velodrome which you can listen to here.


The Rochester Hills Velodrome is located just north of Detroit.


View Larger Map

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Weekend Ahead - May 1 & 2

OKay, there's a lot of racing offered up this coming weekend, May 1 & 2, 2010. Let's take a look.

Marty Road Race - Marty, MN Saturday May 1, Northwest of the Twin Cities, put on by the Loon State Cyclists. 16 mile loop with chip timing.

Circuit of Sauk - Reedsburg, WI Saturday May 1, West of Baraboo put on by the Baraboo Sharks Racing Team. A 15 mile scenic loop with one significant climb, otherwise rolling through the beautiful pastures of western Wisconsin.

Vernon Hills GP -Vernon Hills, IL Sunday May 2, North suburb of Chicago, put on by RDS cycling. Flat, one mile criterium with 4 corners. Part of the Illinois Cycling Cup.

Grand Dad's Bluff Hill Climb TT - LaCrosse, WI Saturday May 1. Part of the LaCrosse Fitness Festival. 2.5 mile TT with 600 ft of climbing. See video below.

LaCrosse Fitness Festival Criterium - LaCrosse, WI Sunday May 2. presented by the LaCrosse Velo Club. Nifty city criterium course right on the Mississippi River.

Dar's Midwest Festival of the Wheel TT - Willard, WI Saturday May 1. WISPORT  16 mile loop.

Kenosha Business Park Criterium - Kenosha, WI Sunday May 2. ABR Fast 1.2 mile criterium part of the IL / WI Rider of the Year (ROTY) Competition.

Fat & Skinny Tire Fest RR - Winona Lake, IN Saturday May 1. presented by KCV Cycling. 8.8 mile laps with good prize money. Check out ALL the cycling fun at the official website: FatAndSkinnyTireFest.Com

Villiage Road Criterium - Winona Lake, IN Sunday May 2.  Day two of the Fat and Skinny Tire Fest. 0.55 mile long, fast criterium loop with good prize money!

Kokomo Time Trial Series #1 - Kokomo, IN Sunday May 2. Presented by the Break-Away Bicycle Club. 40k for Men, 20k for Women. Out and back - course record: 50:51 (sounds fast!)

Georgetown Road Race - Georgetown, OH Sunday May 2. presented by Big Dave's Sports. 12 mile loop with one small climb. #6 of the Ohio Spring Race Series.

Lastly, the mountain bike racing is also beginning this weekend in both Iowa and Wisconsin.

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Wednesday Fixie Fix #6

Surface NYC made a trip to Velodrome in Kissena Park

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Weekend Final Results - April 24 & 25, 2010

All the weekend results are now posted. Good, now we can get on with our lives!

• Ken Woods Memorial Road Race - Canon Falls, MN
• Goosetown Racing Time Trial - Iowa City, IA
• Iowa City Road Race - Iowa City, IA
• Old Capitol Criterium - Iowa City, IA
• Big Shark Tour of St. Louis - St. Louis, MO
• Whitnall Park Spring Criterium - Hales Corners, WI
• Fitchburg Fast and Furious - Fitchburg, WI
• ABR Single Bong TT - Kansasville, WI
• WiSport Pedal For Proceeds RR - Whitewater, WI
• Willow Time Trial - New Boston, MI
• Spring Valley RR - Waynesville, OH
• Races at the Lake - Munroe Falls, OH
• Vandervorts Corner RR - Dayton, OH

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Power To The Peloton

What kind of power does it take to ride away from a P/1/2 field? 632 watts according to the Verizon U25 team who was kind enough to share some power data from the Leland Kermesse in Illinois two weeks ago as Ryan Freund and John Meyers did a two up TT for 70 miles, winning the difficult gravel race in grand fashion. So, if you can push 3.9 watts per Kg for 3 1/2 hours, then maybe you can join them in their next winning move!

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The Euro Pro Connection #7

Today is the Prologue of the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland. Midwestern riders on the start list are Matt Busche (Radio Shack) and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin - Transitions). Matt just completed the 258km Liege-Bastogne-Liege in Belgium, looking for THE break but didn't make the cut when it mattered. "I began the day looking for the early break. With the race starting on a gentle climb, it suited my ability to hopefully get in. I was unfortunately not part of the right mix of guys though, and missed the break. I remember seeing them go away though, knowing that was likely the break, but my legs were not so good and I couldn't/didn't make the jump because I was trying to recover from a previous effort. The break was gone and I was sentenced to spend the rest of the day in the field." You can follow the Tour de Romandie daily over on Cycling Fans.

At this past Saturday's Whitnall Park race, BMC's Cole House showed up. Oneida, Wisconsin's BMC rider (2007 Wisconsin State Road Champion) competed for the US National Team in Belgium's Triptyque des Monts ed Chateaux (Hills and Castles of Triptyque). Held not far from the Tour of Flanders, USA's Talor Phinney went on to get 2nd overall, but Cole had a different experience as blogged by Ben King. Cole states: “I followed Phinney through a corner. I guess he didn’t learn his lesson in the time trial, because he pedaled through it and washed out. My fork snapped, and the support vehicles were caught behind Nate’s crash. That was the end of my race. Phinney kept going.”

Recently, Cycling news did an article on Cole House which is great reading. Currently aged 22, this is his last year riding U23 and hopes to go full Professional next year. 

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Monday Motorpacing #3

Oui, c'est une bonne formation à motorpace derrière un Derny!

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Weekend Review - April 24 & 25 - early report

With cold rain covering much of the region, this was one springtime weekend to be remembered for a while. Soggy shoes and embrocation were the norm. Even up in Minnesota, at the Ken Woods Memorial Road Race, they got rain in the morning. Field sizes seemed moderate but most fields drew riders in from surrounding states.  In the Pro 1/2, Grand Stay Hotels put 4 riders into the top 5, Pat Lemieux took the Collegiate A race, and Leah Prudhomme won the Women's Pro 1/2 event. You can find many great photos from there at SkinnySki.Com.
Moving down to Iowa and the Old Capitol Criterium weekend, Steve Tillford has a nice write up of what went down in the Pro 1/2 road race on Saturday (official results are not yet online) and in the 33rd Old Capitol Criterium on Sunday, Pat Lemieux took the win with a nice solo effort. 

At the Big Shark Tour of St. Louis Saturday morning there was the Carondolet Circuit race in the morning (photos) and the Big Bottom Time Trial in the afternoon. The TT had to be stopped half way due to lightning, hail, and tornado warnings.
Despite the conditions, Don Lowe took the opening TT with a blistering average speed of 29.775 mph. 

Here in Wisconsin, it was time to pretend you were Belgian again as the temperatures never got out of the 40's and the water never stopped running through your toes. Fresh from his own cycling trip from Belgium, Luke Seemann (ChicagoBikeRacing.Com) gives an excellent report on conditions in Hales Corners: "As soon as I stopped riding, I started trembling with cold. I was soaked, and my feet felt like bricks. Quickly I headed to the car and cranked up the heat." No strangers to this type of weather, Cole House (BMC) was present to show everyone how it's done across the pond as well as IS Corp's Tristan Schouten (raced UCI level 'cross in Belgium) who took this day's Pro race as well as Sunday's Fast and Furious race on Sunday in Fitchburg. Of course Schouten lives in Sheboygan, right on Lake Michigan, and it's always cold there anyway.  Andrew Zens of Chicago's Team Spidermonkey also shares his race stories.
No results coming out of Michigan or Ohio just yet, so let's wrap this up with a little video from our WiSport friends who share their experiences from Saturday:

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Volunteers needed for Collegiate Nationals

Wisconsin Cycling is announcing that volunteers are needed:

On May 7 though the 9 the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be hosting Collegiate Cycling Nationals here in Madison, Wisconsin. There will be over 500 top collegiate racers from around the country coming to Madison to participate in this event. Right now they still need volunteer help to make this event a success. Volunteers will get a free T-shirt!
Times help is needed are as follows:
Road Race at Blue Mounds State Park
Friday May 7th 7am to noon
Friday May 7th 11:45 to 4:30pm
** 100 Volunteers on Friday are needed to make the event a success
Those who volunteer for both shifts on Friday will be provided with food and refreshments!
Criterium on the Capitol Square in Madison
Saturday May 8th 2:45 to 8pm
Team Time Trial at Trek in Waterloo
Sunday May 9th 7:30 to 10:30am (Please be aware that this is Mother's Day.) 

Please contact Yvonne Schumacher at yschumacher@wisc.edu if you are willing to help or if you have any questions. 

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Cutter's Win!

From the Indiana Daily Student:

The Cutters take their fourth win in a row after a 30 minute rain delay in the 60th running of the Little 500 bicycle race, at Indiana University. On Friday, Teter won the women's edition of the race.


Elsewhere, word has it that in Iowa, at the 33rd Annual Old Capitol Criterium Weekend, a rider hit a deer! Wha? Hopefully more details on that later.


In Whitewater, Wisconsin,  Nate Phelps reports:  Christan Griego battled wind and rain to ride to a solo victory Saturday in the Pedal for Proceeds RR in Whitewater, Wisc. Griego (Brones) held off the field for about 19 of the 24 miles of the race to capture the victory by about a minute over the chasing field. Julie Phelps (Big Ring Flyers) took the women's win. Wind, rain, mud and manure were the elements (and the fashion worn home by all) during the day -- typical weather for this weekend of racing.  The WiSport series (www.wisport.org) continues next weekend with Dar's Midwest Time Trial Championships in Willard, Wisc.

Lastly for now, in Hales Corners more racers fought the rain and cold in the Whitnall Spring Criterium. Photos and results from that event later, but here's some 'sights and sounds' from today's Pro 1/2 race.

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Little 500 Bicycle Race - Listen on-line today and tomorrow!

WIUX Radio will be broadcasting from today's Women's race and tomorrow's men's race in Bloomington, IN.

Kappa Kappa Gamma has the pole in this afternoon's 100 lap, 25 mile race where there is a 70% chance of rain. The Cutters have the pole for Saturday's 200 lap, 50 mile, men's event. 

Note that those times are Eastern time! You may also have to set your firewall to allow the audio stream to connect.

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The Euro Pro Connection #6

You may not be able to pronounce it, but the Eyjafjallajokull volcano kept Matt Busche (Radio Shack) from racing in the Flesch Wallone this past week. He is on the start list for Sunday's 96th running of Liege-Bastogne-Liege however. Good luck Flip!


Sadly, that's about all the news there is to report from our midwest Euro Pros. Here is an interesting read about Team Radio Shack's 'service course' though: "We have two team buses, twelve team cars - six race cars and six soigneurs cars - two big mechanical trucks, two small trucks, two private cars, two VIP vans, one camper and a lot of bikes," he told Cyclingnews, adding with a grin, "If this volcano doesn't clear up, we'll probably have two ferries."

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