| Location: |
Kenosha, WI |
| Reporter: |
Jack Hirt, Todd Kalkoske |
| Categories: |
Mens 3, Masters 4/5, Masters 1/2/3, Mens 4 |
Men's Category 3
The race started out in the typical Great Dane crit way, a sprint from the start. The pace was fast and the attacks started early in the race. Velo Trocadero members did a good job at taking turns to cover all of the breakaway attempts. Because of the strong wind, no group could manage to stay away for long. Even the promising break combination of Chris, Scott, and two other veteran Cat 3 riders got caught quickly. The one other strong break that had a chance of holding was Patrick and an IS Corp rider with about 5 laps to go. Both Velo Trocadero and IS Corp had good representation at the front to control the pace, but because the course was so wide other teams were able to get by and chase the attack down.
With a couple of laps to go Scott, Casey, and Jack managed to get to the front to start increasing the pace in hopes to string the race out and set up a good position for the sprint. On the final lap, Jack got to the front and made the first move with Scott and Casey very close behind. Scott then took over to lead out the sprint with Casey sitting about 3rd wheel and Jack settling back into about 7th wheel. When Casey came around to make the final move there was some traffic to deal with. With the bumping and some minor shifting issues Casey ended up 3rd with Jack starting to come around to secure 4th place. Scott, Sanjay, and Jeff were close behind to finish top 20. Patrick, being worn out from his earlier attack, finished mid- pack with Chris Mantel (who was confused about when the race was actually ending). Steve, after falling off the pace, stuck with it and finished in the back.
Masters' Category 3/4
Why did I expect this category to be any easier? My recollections of the race are shrouded in a lactic acid haze. The GDVC Masters4/5 race was a huge affair. I think the maximum number of riders was met with like 75 showing up at the line, including 3 Trocaderos: Paul F, Channing T. and Todd K. Channing quickly hit the front after a chaotic start with many riders unable to find their pedals after the long winter. It was a relatively uneventful race. Several riders attempted breaks that were reeled in after a lap or so. Inevitably, the race was concluded with a group sprint. Todd got suckered and grabbed a wheel that couldn’t last the distance. Paul wisely found the meat sacks and hammered it in for 5th. Channing avoided the crashes in the finishing stretches, and thus will not need to make the usual post-race run to Wheel & Sprocket for repairs.
