Spring Prairie wrap-up

Photo by Megan Husband

The story of Saturday's Spring Prairie Road Race, Wisconsin's state championship, may have been all the yellow-line disqualifications. One report put the number of DQ's in the 3's race alone at nine.

Although I'm sympathetic with people who drifted to the left not to gain advantage but to avoid overlap or to scrub speed, they can't say they haven't been warned. Enforcement may be a new development, but officials warn about the yellow line before every race. And it's for good reasons, safety, fairness and not annoying the neighbors among them. I hope enforcement continues at Superweek, where many of the roads are just as narrow as at Spring Prairie.

In the out-of-state 4/5's race, Rob Ehrman (Vision Quest) slipped away alone on the final lap. Despite overwhelming numbers -- a third of the field! -- XXX Racing-AthletiCo (pictured above on the final climb) could not reel him in. Luca Lenzi (Vision Quest) blocked and single-handedly stymied the chase. "I was pretty surprised that I held out," Ehrman said, "but there was no way I could have done it without help from my teammate. He's young, only 18, so watch out for him in the next few years."

With Vision Quest getting the top two spots, XXX had to settle for 3rd, 4th and 5th. And 6th and 7th. And 9th and 10th. And 12th and 14th.

A late two-man break got away from the 3's race, but only Jack Hirt (Velo Trocadero) could make it stick. The field caught the other escapee, and Julian Baumgartner (Team Clif Bar Midwest) was able to chug up the hill the fastest. Teammate Eric Goodwin got 6th, their best showing on the year and proof of what a daily dose of Chicago Bike Racing can do for your performance.

Northwestern University riders also had a good day, with Ben Levitt getting 3rd in the Wisconsin 4/5's race, Reed Tanger (Turin) getting 4th in the 30+ and Seth Meyer (Team Get a Grip Cycles) getting 4th in the 3's.

Emily Hutchins (Get a Grip) won the women's 4's race, making her 2-for-2 after winning at Winfield last week.

Full results.

Race reports:
Peter Allen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5 out-of-state): "I was stuck behind the mayhem and had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the guys in front of me. Although I was only held up for a few seconds, you could see the pack in front of us attacking."

Ryan Baumann (ABD; P/1/2):"I figured I'd try to jump the finishing climb early and get a gap before the base of the climb -- which worked, but I blew at 3/4 of the way up again."

Julian Baumgartner (Team Clif Bar Midwest; 3): "1:33:00: Velo Trocadero and Chrono Metro ride off into sunset. Pack pretends not to care. Velo T = winner."

Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W4): "We were facing a big hill and I just thought 'I won't be able to keep up.' Then I got pissed. Screw that! I pedaled harder and faster and not only kept up, but forgot about being tired."

Tim Hayes (Grumpy's/LGR; 3): "I had my best road race of the year. I got 16th, which is excellent considering the lack of teammates and the climb."

Bryan McVey (Vision Quest; 4/5 out-of-state): "I came in second with a sweet bike throw to edge out some guy who was clearly pissed, judging from the many expletives spewing from his mouth as we crossed the line."

Seth Meyer (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): "I should have just used some energy to come to the front before the hill because I was way faster than anyone up that climb with energy to spare."

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5 out-of-state): "I am still too nice of a guy to be a successful racer, but I am working on it."

Matt Waite (Brazen Dropouts; 3): "They were watching us like hawks. Seth and I were putting in solid attacks, just the field never wanted to see us go.""

Melanie Wong (Team Get a Grip Cycles; men's 4/5 out-of-state): "I'm on the far left side of the pack and to avoid the person next to me I shifted to the left for a few seconds before scooting back in the pack. Apparently at this point I had crossed the yellow line ... I kind of blink at him in disbelief, but he was adamant."

Photos:
Len Bucher
Megan Husband
Sheesh_photo

Comments

Posted by: Julian at June 13, 2007 11:05 AM