March 04, 2006
Spring Fling Series #2
Lawrence, KS
Click for larger imageAh, it is a Saturday morning in March, thoughts of competitors meeting for friendly competitions so see who can dominate. Well if it is baseball, football, soccer or just about most every other out door sport, your fun time today is cancelled! But not cycling, we are in the mix of it because racing in the 35 degree rain with a 15 mph wind may be harsh but it is something that comes natural in this character building sport of cycling. Yes, the harsh conditions did scare away some of the participants this day, but that does not mean that the race was any less challenging. The 13 juniors that braved the elements were not to be discouraged, they came to the line with a look of determination and resolve that would make most men flinch in other more docile forms of competition. From OZ, John Nelson, Mark Gerbrand & Levi Wright joined the overwhelming numbers of GP Velotek riders at the starting line. As before, the peloton stayed pretty much in a group for the first few laps until a group of three Velotek riders jumped, John was not going to let the attack go unanswered so he grabbed a wheel and held on to it. Mark, in his first race, did not respond as quickly as John and was relegated to staying back with a chasing group for a few more laps. After 3 more laps the lead group having a ¼ lap gap on the chasing group, I told Mark, in his pack of 4, to move up from the back of the pack, he misread my instructions and went on the attack.
Thankfully his swimming and cross-country running conditioning did not fail him, He was able to shake off two of his competitors with a third on his wheel, but just barely. He bridged the gap and the ensuing two laps and as he was about to fully grab onto the trailing wheel, the sprint lap was called. Missed it by that much! In the next lap, it was a mute point, he again bridged back up and was able to hang on this time. Now the odds were a little more even with two OZZIES and three Velotek boys. It was now a time to ride smart and get the others to work for you. John some how was always positioned to be pulling while into the wind, early season mistake….. It came down to a final sprint to the finish. John, who was leading into the final lap was overtaken in the sprint, he took second while Mark took fourth. Levi, caught back up to what was left of the chasing pack and brought home ninth.
In the Category 4 adult race, again John Nelson, George Keomany and Josh Wade joined 26 others in battling the elements of this second of six races in the series. With no rest between the races, John and the other two lined up for Cat 4. With both George’s and Josh’s legs being fresh it looked like they could make a race out of it. Although Josh was coming down with a cold so his performance could be questionable if the weather was to become a factor. As before, the peloton broke up in two main groups with George in the lead group and Josh in a chase groups and as the pace was quickened, John’s leg cramped up and thus took him out of the race. Josh completed the race in the second pack and only was pulled from the race in the final lap because of safety reasons. He was about in the 18th place before being pulled. George continued to pound his adversaries and in the final sprint was able to move up a few slots to take ninth.
Race report provided by Ron Wade, OZ Jr. Racing
