This past Saturday, our team fielded 6 riders at the Spring Fling Mountain Bike Race, all of whom competed in the advanced category. After an early breakaway by state champion riders Brendan Moore (2007) and Sam Oftedahl (2008), a chase group formed including 3 FCCC riders, Barry Tungseth, Jack Hinkens and Tom Miller, as well as pro rider, Jay Richards. After several attempts to pass Jay, the group of 4 were left with a sprint finish for 3rd through 6 places, with the FCCC riders Barry, Tom and Jack taking 4th, 5th and 6th respectively, finishing just over 1 minute behind the leaders. Team members Jeremy Jedlicki and Pat Dowling finished 14th and 28th overall out of the 33 participant elite field.

In the women's race, Ali Tungseth rode a solid race, finishing second among the advanced women. This race served as a nice "tune up" for the state series races, which begin next weekend. It looks like the Penn Cycle / Nature Valley sponsored team is well positioned to make a run at the state championship team title this year. More information on the team competition here: www.mnscs.com.

Results 

Photos courtesy of www.skinnyski.com and Dana Schoppe

With sunny skies on the forecast, 50 guys decided to line up for the 35+ race at Marty. All the familiar faces were there and with 64 miles ahead of us, it was going to be a tough race. Have to give the LCS crew credit for mixing up the courses in this part of the state. I've raced three different courses in the Marty/Albany area but never this one. It was a beautiful, rolling course with no significant climb. The largest was on the feedzone and it was small by any standard. Start time was at 9 but even with the sun out, the wind had a nice bite to it. Quickly changing clothes in the Pearl Lake Lodge parking lot proved both challenging and entertaining for one, unnamed individual, who subconsiously thought accessing gels would be easier with jersey pockets in front! Once the race finally got started, we rolled out of Marty and the group immediately stepped up the pace. The legs were definitely not ready! Soon after the start, Tim Smith broke away from the field with a G.S. Circo Azzurro and Gopher Wheelman rider in tow. For over two laps, Tim and the other two were within sight up the road. An unintentional strategy on my part of blocking from the back of the pack, a reverse type of block or more like hanging on to the cat by the tail approach, did not help Tim's cause. Early into lap 3, the cat hammered it on a long, cross-wind section and blew apart the pack. Looking up the road from the back, it was littered with guys fighting to hang on to any wheel they could find. Three groups ultimately formed and most of us were left struggling to catch the group ahead. Unfortunately, Tim was caught but put out an amazing effort in trying to stay away. Fully expect to see him win one of these before the season is out.

The post-race cold beer and meal at the Pearl Lake Lodge with friends was great. A special thanks to Lynn and Laney for camping out on the feedzone, providing hand-ups, and rooting us up the hill!

Hope to see ya at Sibley this weekend. 

 (photo courtesy of Valkyrie Studios - http://www.flickr.com/photos/valkyrie_studios/)

Weather for race day couldn't have been better for late April - sunny, temps nearing 70 and a mild wind out of the NW. There were sufficient port-a-potties, no lines for picking up numbers, and probably one of the last remaining races where one can race for $20 if you pre-registered. Thanks to the organizer for putting this race on year after year, it's well organized and a good race to kick-start the year. Tim Smith, Pat Dowling and I lined up for the 35+ open race and David Jones (a.k.a Jonesy) lined up for the 45+ race.

The 35+ race was fairly uneventful for the first two laps except for the two hills on the backside of the course that painfully indicated more training is needed. I've come to dislike those hills, especially the first one. It's a sprinter's hill, short and steep with a brief reprieve until the second hill. The legs were not thrilled with any gear I picked. The only saving grace was the backside of the hills where those of us who got dropped were able to regroup. 

(photo courtesy of CVCC)

For the last half of the 2nd lap, the 35+ group had the 3/4s in our sites. As we completed our 2nd lap and took the first corner, the paced quickened as the front of the group decided to overtake the 3/4s on the first rolling hill. The 3/4s moved over but there still wasn't much room between them and the yellow line. Half of the guys in our group got through the traffic and then the tractor came over the hill. And it wasn't just a tractor, he was towing some wide farm implement that forced the rest of the group still trying to get through the 3/4s to ease up just enough so as not to get mulched or combined by the thing. And, knowing there was a traffic jam in the back of the group, the guys in the front dropped the hammer and with a tailwind, they were gone. Hats off to Tim for climbing back on to the group and finishing 14th!

On to the 45+ race where Jonesy took on the likes of Charlie Townsend and Gordy Paulson. This was his FIRST road race ever! He survived a crash, missed a key break but finished 10! I think he's hooked and we should see him do well in 35+.

Good luck to everyone at Ken Woods!