JULY 15, 2010 RACE SUMMARIES
Full Race Results
The weather was perfect for a night of track racing. Parking was in shorter supply due to the participants and spectators in town for the Schwan’s USA CUP soccer tournament but many of these folks stopped by to watch the fastest bike racing in Minnesota.
Men Cat 1/2 (12 riders)
The Cat 1/2 riders started out the evening with a 15 lap scratch race. A few probing attacks did nothing to break up the group until, with 3 laps to go Dan Schueller (Gopher Wheelmen) took off followed by Dan Casper (Grandstay). The Texas Roadhouse team of Adam Bergman, Colton Barrett, and Pat Lemieux were paying attention, however and pulled the pair back and, at the bell, Bergman led out the sprint followed by Barrett and Lemieux. That order held to the finish line with Schueller and Casper bringing in the rest.
Cat 3 riders were invited to participate in the State Championship Keirin which swelld the field to 17 riders. Three preliminary heats whittled the field down to Bergman, Barrett, Lemieux, Chris Ferris (PJW Racing), Andy Kruse (Speedfix) and Conrade Thomas (Lakeside Velo), the only Cat 3 rider to make it to the final. Thomas drew the pole position and rode behind ht emotorcycle for 5 ½ laps. When the motor went off the track, the Texas Roadhouse team took off together. with 2 laps to go, Ferris’ front wheel and a pedal of one of the other riders tried to occupy the same space. The pedal won and Ferris wobbled off the track at high speed and out of the race. With 400 meters to go, Lemieux attacked and got a 20 meter gap. Kruse and Thomas pursued and closed but were inches short at the finish. Pat Lemieux is the 2010 Minnesota Keirin Champion.
The Ken Woods Memorial Madison, with a $500 prize list, was the last race of the night. Ten teams started the 80-lap race. The race was dominated by the teams of Barrett/Bergman and Kruse/Casper. They finished the race at even laps but Barrett/Bergman won all four intermediate sprints for the race win; Kruse/Casper 2nd. The team of Ferris/Schueller won 3rd in the race, 2 laps down on the leaders. The remaining teams were all at least 4 laps down on the leaders. The most impressive aspect of the race was the explosive speed of Colton Barrett. When he accelerated, no one was able to stay with him.
Men Cat 3 (16 riders)
The Cat 3 riders warmed up with a 10-lap scratch race. Matt Allen (behind bars/LGR) immediately attacked to see if anyone was awake. Sean Vig (Speedfix) pursued and then the others. Things stayed bunched until, with 4 laps to go, Charlie Anderson (Bianchi/GP) took off and got a quick 20 meter gap which held until Vig rode around him with 2 to go and Conrade Thomas (Lakeside Velo) led up the rest. At the bellVig led by 10 meters but the last lap was a wild ride; everyone surging to he line. At the end, Mike Smith (Gopher Wheelmen) was able to go around and stay ahead for the win. Vig was 2nd followed by Thomas and Steve Redelsperger (Bianchi/GP).
Sixteen riders make for a long miss and out, the next race for the Cat 3s. The early eliminations were largely riders caught inside while others swept over ahead of them. Vig was notable in the early going for keeping the pace high. Rich Bergstrom (Gopher Wheelmen) took 5th place when he wasn’t able to match the speed of the others out of turn 4. Ditto for Mark Stewart (unattached) for 4th place. At this point Smith ran out of gas and dropped of the pace for 3rd. That left Nate Brennaman (Birchwood) and Virta to duke it out for the win. Brennaman led out the final sprint at a moderate pace high on the track but jumped down with 200 meters to go. Virta followed but couldn’t close giving Brennaman the win.
Fourteen Cat 3 riders not racing the Ken Woods Memorial Madison raced a 50-lap scratch race. The first serious attack started with 38 laps to go when Smith rode off the front and got 60 meters on the field when Anderson took off in pursuit. With 32 laps to go Anderson joined Smith and they steadily increased their lead on the field to as much as 160 meters. With 25 laps to go, Smith ran out of gas leaving Anderson on his own. Anderson got as much as ¾ lap lead on the field, but they started chasing him in earnest at this point and he gave it up with 20 laps to go. Stewart then rolled of the front and got as much as half a lap lead but couldn’t sustain the effort. He gave it up with 7 laps to go and Mark Leppke (behind bars/LGR) immediately took off. With 4 to go Leppke was 90 meters out and looked good for the win, but others had saved their legs. Smith attacked with 2 to go followed by Brennaman chasing but Redelsperger unloaded and rode around everyone in the last turn for the win. Smith stayed ahead of Brennaman for 2nd and Thomas rode through for 4th.
Men Cat 4/5 (16 riders)
A 10-lap scratch race started things off for the Cat 4/5 riders. things stayed more or less together until, with 5 laps to go, Kevin Lennon (Tonka Cycling) upped the pace. Derek Cassaday (Double I Cycling) and Aaron Koehler (Flat City) took this as their signal to go. They maintained a 10 meter gap for a lap or so but were joined by Brian Duncan (Bianchi/GP) with 2 laps to go. At the bell, Duncan took off and rode around Cassaday Koehler for the win, 3 wide at the line. John Mcguire (unattached) came out of the pack for 4th.
The Cat 4/5 miss and out saw riders were shelled off the back by a high pace and caught inside. Lennon rode off the front for several laps to stay out of the mayhem but wsa reeled in when Duncan was pipped at the line for 5th place. Lennon then couldn’t match the sprint and took 4th place. Ditto for his teammate Eric Ware (Tonka Cycling) who took 3rd. In the final sprint Koehler led out and jumped to a small 2 meter lead with 200 meters to go. Jeff Anderson (Loon State) was, however, unable to close the gap and had to settle for 2nd in the race giving Kohler the win.
A 40-lap scratch race closed out the evening for the evening for the Cat 4/5s. Thisns wer calm until, with 34 laps to go, Anderson tried his luck and legs. He got a small gap but drew multiple chasers and was quickly caught. The probing attacks that followed were quickly covered and the field stayed generally together until all but 7 riders had fallen off the back. The group grew as it picked up lapped riders and shrank as riders were shelled off the back at the high pace. With 6 laps to go, three riders collided at the end of the home stretch and were out of the race. Five riders were left on the lead lap to contest for the win. With 2 laps to go, Cassaday rode off the front in an attack no one could cover. He stayed out for the win by ¼ lap. At the bell, Koehler left the others behind and rode off for 2nd. Anderson took 3rd riding over Kasha Zavyalov (unattached) in the last half lap.
Women (8 riders)
The women rode a tempo race to start things off. Lindsey Hamilton (synergy) Took off to cross the line first for the first two laps. Bianca Bergman (Texas Roadhouse) took the third sprint with Melissa Dahlman taking the next two sprints. At this point Dahlman, Bergman, and Emma Bast (Bianchi/GP) rode away from the others and took all of the remaining points. The race came down the final sprint with Bergman inching out Dahlman for the win; Best 3rd and Hamilton 4th based on her early points.
Six riders moved to a 3-lap handicapped sprint final. the riders were spread out over 70 meters at the start with Terra James (behind bars/LGR) at scratch (no handicap) and Hamilton at 15 meters with the longest distance to close. Nonetheless, at the bell, the riders were all together Hamilton followed by Bast, Dahlman, and Bergman. Despite furious riding, no one was able to close on the rider ahead and this order stayed to the finish line.
Seven women contested a 30-lap points race (sprints every 10 laps). No laps were taken during the race which was cagily ridden by James, taking two 1sts and a 2nd for the race win. All remaining sprint points were fairly evenly distributed between Dahlman, Bast, and Bergman. Dahlman’s 1st in the last sprint gave her enough for 2nd place. Bast nosed out Bergman in the final sprint to match Bergman’s point total and gained 3rd in the race to Bergman’s 4th based on the final sprint placing.