February 25, 2006
Spring Fling Series #1
Lawrence, KS
At the start of the Juniors race there were 23 competitors lined up. Not a bad number considering that this is Kansas and for many, it is the middle of Winter! Of the 23 lined up, there were 5 OZ Jr Racers, with ages spread over the entire juniors age range from 10 – 18. In the first lap, the pack stayed together, but as soon as the first lap was completed, it quickly broke up. The lead pack consisted of about 8 or 9 riders with another pack with about 5 riders and then the remaining racers were grouped in smaller packs of about 3 each. This was a 7 mile criterium which is short by many standards but given the coldness of the day, short was sweet. The main pack dialed up the pace and it was clear that there would be not chasers to bridge the to the lead pack. John Nelson was in the lead pack battling it out with many GP Velotek riders. At about the 5th lap, a sprint lap was called and three riders broke away from the lead pack never to be seen again that day. After some grueling battles for position, John was able to manage working up in the pack and capture 6th place. The race only scores up to 8th place so a swag at the overall finishes of the remainder OZ racers is, Josh Wade, 12th, Levi Wright 16th, Amanda Kline 18th and Sam Kline 20th.
Click for larger imageIt was a cold February morning in North East Kansas at Clinton Lake. The temperature at race time was hovering at 46 degrees. There was a gentle 15 mph wind coming out of the North and so some would say that it was not an optimum day for a race, but this is Spring and what other activity can you think of that would be more fun? The very next race was the Category 4 race from which there were two OZ Jr Racers joined with two adult OZZIES. The race saw 40 contenders come to the line with George Keomany and Josh Wade joining the adults for this 23 lap festival of pain. The entire pack stayed together for the first three laps in a moderately fast pace, to work out the cobwebs and warm up the muscles before the real work was to begin. With having no time to recover from the first race, Josh was unable to hang onto the train when the pace was ramped up so he was shelled off the back. George on the other hand, came into the race with fresh legs and was able to prove his muster. The peloton stayed pretty much together with only one or two racers being dropped each lap. Mid way into the race the pack consisted of about 27 riders with George jockeying for position. Each succeeding lap saw him move up or down a few positions. A break away of 3 jumped resulting in a sizable gap and was soon forgotten about by the main peloton. In the final sprint George was able to take 9th place. Josh was in near last.
The next race saw Amanda Kline joining the Category 4 women. Racing concurrently was the Junior Super Bee’s and so Sam Kline was numbered with them. A quick pace was set by these women but that did not detour Amanda was seen with her famous smile at every lap. She really loves this sport! In the final tally of this race, Amanda finished a respectable 9th of 13 racers. The Super Bee race had 15 racers with Sam coming in about 8th, no race results exist for this race so it is hard to remember the exact outcome.
Race report and photos provided by Ron Wade, OZ Jr. Racing
