Race Report - Whitewater Road Race

As the first Wisport race of the year got underway, rain made a grand appearance along with the Brone’s Cycling Team. The race started 20 minutes late due to lightning however this did not damper anyone’s spirits. The Brone’s team picked up where they left off the 2008 season sending repeated attacks and using team members to mark the peloton’s advances. About 5 miles into the 25 mile race a group of 8 broke away, I tried to cover the gap but had no help from the rest of the field, the 8 got away. The main field pressed on with a number of attacks coming from random participants. I stayed at the front of the main field knowing that with the rain, to finish at the front of the main field I would have to be the first one into the right hand corner to sprint up the hill to the finish. The rain kept falling with multiple down pours making cornering sketchy. The race went quick, so quick that I didn’t even realize where we were when the field picked up the pace nearing the finish. I looked around and noticed that I was about 10 wheels back and boxed in with about 400 yards to the right-hander before the finish. Everyone was jockeying for position and a gap opened up and I sprinted to the front, took a flyer into the corner and found myself sprinting up the hill to the finish in the lead of the main field. A Brone’s team member marked my sprint up the hill and beat me by about half a wheel. Because of all the rain and water being kicked-up from the road, my timing chip didn’t work. I didn’t notice this until results were read, however I was able to validate my finishing place with the official and got the results corrected. Overall I finished in 10^th place. Next race I have to make sure I place myself within the field to be able to react to repeated attacks and stay on Mark Brone’s wheel. Next race – May 2^nd, the Baraboo road race which will bring large hills, burning lungs and legs, and hopefully no flats this year!

GDVC #1 & #2 Race Report

First off, great job to all those Team Extreme riders who raced Saturday and Sunday at the Gregg Bednorski #1 / #2 crits. Team Extreme is poised to be a “power house” in the WCA this year.

Only in Wisconsin can we expect to have a 20 to 30 degree temperature change from one day to the next but Team Extreme had a strong presence both days in a number of races. As far as the Cat 4 race went on Saturday, a team member and I gave the season a jump start as we were able to test our legs and lungs after a long winter of training. We went to the front pretty early in the race. I was feeling pretty good out front but soon realized that being in the front was too much work. I managed to move back in the pack but quickly rolled to the front a number of times up the quick and short climbs. By the time the bell lap came around we were crushing the pedals at a very fast pace. I took some advice from another member of our team to go for the sprint on the left side of the field after the final corner. This worked well as I was able to sprint up to the finish past a hand full of individuals to place 7^th. I was pretty stoked and I can say that I actually enjoyed the pain and suffering we doled out for 35 minutes.

Sundays Cat 4 race included many of the same individuals that raced Saturday with just a few less bodies, about 15 less. The race started pretty slow but a number of breakaways occurred that tried to break up the field. One such breakaway was very successful as a rider from Beans & Barley went out on a 5 lap flier. As the rest of us in the field expected, that individual tired due to hanging out along in the headwind up the hill on the eastern side of the course. Just like Saturday’s race I was out front for a number of laps (I need to let someone else do the dirty work). Of course at the bell lap the pace whipped up and I found myself boxed in on the hill. Two riders went off the front and the field reacted too late to catch them. At the top of the hill I slowed to the back of the field in order to move to the right side of the group. I sprinted past half the field before the final corner and continued the sprint to the finish to place 4^th.

Overall a good weekend of racing.

Can’t wait for next weekend. Great work Blue Train!

Incredible Wheel Set

The match up…Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 vs. Water Bottle. The victor = Aeolus 5.0.

These wheels have to be one of the strongest set of wheels in production for today’s cyclists. On our weekly Team Extreme group ride to Holy Hill, my wheel set got an unexpected test that eventually proved how strong the Aeolus 5.0s really are. Flying down St. Augustine Rd. at approximately 35 – 40 mph my water bottle got ejected from the cage after hitting quite a bump and I managed to kick the bottle into the spokes. The wheel and bottle were having it out which made the most hideous noise I’ve heard in a long time. It happened so quickly that by the time I started slowing down the top of the bottle was decapitated and shot into the woods. I had no idea at the time the bottle got sucked into the spokes but others riding next to me said the whole bottle was inside the spokes… then boom, there goes the top of the bottle. I was quite worried that I had severely damaged the rim as it was well out of true at this point; however there were no broken spokes or noticeable damage to the rim.

As a true testament to the strength of this wheel, I rode the remaining 30 + miles home. Of course I didn’t have rear brakes as the calipers had to be opened completely in order to keep the rim from rubbing on the pads. There was no shimmy while riding and we kept and average speed of 18 mph.

I’ve now had the wheels trued and they are good as new. I must say that Bontrager makes one great wheel set in the Aeolus 5.0 and I will recommend the set to anyone looking for a reliable carbon wheel set.

New Season Brings Changes… Good Ones!

The 2009 training and racing season is bringing about a number of changes, all of which are great. First off, upgrades to the bike! I’ve upgraded the wheel set on the Madone to Bontrager Aeolus 5.0’s thanks to the generosity of Extreme Ski and Bike who on “Team Night” offered all Bontrager components and parts at cost. Yes, at cost! This is truly an upgrade as I was originally riding on Brontrager Race Lite rims. I also decided to go ceramic in the bottom bracket this spring. When I first heard that you could really feel the difference between steel bearings and ceramic, I couldn’t believe it; however they were right. The rotation of the crack is much smoother and you can feel the difference the most when cruising at high speed. These two upgrades will hopefully make me slightly faster. The bike cannot get much better, so that means I only have one thing left to work on… The Engine!

Another change for the 2009 season came in the form of Wisport’s (www.wisport.org) restructuring of its competitive racing series. A new series was developed (Jim Menzel Racing Series) for faster races who are looking to compete with others that are at the same level. Participants in this series compete for the coveted “Jersey” awards in 12 stages which include 4 time trial, 4 sprint, and 4 hilly stages. This new structure should provide for some great racing in 2009.

Also in 2009 the Extreme Ski and Bike racing team’s kits have been updated with a new look. This look is bold and really makes the sponsors logos “pop”. These kits are being put together by Mt. Borah and will keep the “blue train” riding in style.

The 2009 racing season should be exciting with over 20 races on schedule not including the Midwest Cycling Series or International Cycling Classic coming up in June and July. The more races the merrier! Ride on!