Despite horrible conditions on Saturday, which lingered into the next morning, the team turned in some great resuts in Manhattan at the Tallgrass two-day.

Saturday was chilly and rainy; not fun for a 62-mile hilly road race, But all who competed finished in the top ten! For Rochelle Schleicher, it was business as usual with a women’s masters 50+ first-place finish. Jim Clevenger came in third in the 50+ men, Donavon Hottman was fourth in the 60+ and Joe Kleidosty and Chip Zimmer came in eighth and tenth respectively.

The rain continued, but slowed to a drizzle by Sunday morning. The early crit races were contested on wet pavement around Manhattan City Park. This was no place for the timid, as the course winded through some very rough surface and a tight hairpin turn entering the middle of the park. Riders could open it up on the big straightaway to the finish.

Schleicher took the double win, finishing tops in her crit, while teammate Lynn Wilson grabbed second in the women’s 123. Hottman, Bill Mason and Bill Wells came in fourth through sixth in the 60+ race respectively. The team was best represented in the Cat 4 men’s race, with five riders. They traded attacks all race and were by far the most combative. Shawn Knight’s lead-out evaporated on the finishing stretch, but he still managed to get around his gassed competitor for a sixth place. Dan Ruettimann finished eighth and Kurt Wilson worked his way through a crowded field to nail down ninth.

Jim Clevenger found no help in his masters 50+ race, which was lead by a breakaway from team 360’s Bill Anderson, who had a teammate in the chase group. Clevenger tried to bridge up to the leader several times, but everyone else was content to try and race for second place. Jim finished seventh after working twice as hard as the rest of the field, trying to make something happen.

Special thanks to Roger Harrison of Lanterne Rouge for providing images for this post. See more of his images on his Flickr site.

April saw some excellent results on the road and the dirt, with the Chica-Ds continuing to dominate and add to their racing resumes. Let’s get to it:

Veteran racer Paul Fancher placed third in the Bone Bender 3-hour MTB Odyssey at Clinton Lake in Lawrence. He faced some tough competition from several out-of-state rider on the challenging course and represented the team well.

The Velo-Tek GP returned with a good turnout for the three-stage event; a short TT hill climb and criterium on Saturday, followed by a road race at Perry lake on Sunday. Rochelle Schleicher dominated from the start, never relinquishing her lead gained on the gut-wrenching Wells Overlook climb on the morning of day one. Rochelle has been improving her crit skills over the past year and continues to excell in the mid to long distances on the road. Rocky is in the hunt to win KBAR this year. Lynn Wilson was in a three way fight in the Cat 3 women’s competition and just missed out on a first place overall on the last day, while husband Kurt finished fifth overall in a deep Cat 4 field.

The following week at the Big D co-sponsored Bruce Edwards TT, the team was well represented and grabbed some points toward the overall in the KBAT overall competition. Conditions were breezy and many riders struggled over the deceptively difficult rolling 10K course. Schleicher walked away with an easy win in the women’s 50+, while teammate Susan Ruettimann grabbed top spot in the W 40+.

Other highlights:
Jim Clevenger – 3rd; 50+
Joe Kleidosty – 5th; Shawn Knight – 7th, Cat 4
Bill Mason – 2nd; Donavon Hottman – 3rd; Frank Quinlan – 4th; Bill Wells -5th, 60+
Lynn Wilson – 3rd, W 1,2,3
Bree Ginden – 2nd; Danielle Lansford – 3rd, W Cat 4
Kitty Gomer – 3rd W 40+

Finally, in the epic Joseph Sheehan Road Race on April 28, Chica Ds Schleicher and Wilson walked away with victories on the hilly 52 mile course. Both ladies are set up well for KBAR wins with these results.
The Cat 4 men were not so lucky. Joe Kleidosty, who was in the lead group with Kurt Wilson the whole day, went down on the final climb to the finish, “We started attacking the hill finish and rider in front of me basically slowed down and I plowed into him. Scraped my left side and banged my bike up.” said Special K. “I picked myself and the bike up to get across the finish with my bike on my shoulder!” Both riders finished a bit farther down the list as a result. Other Big D riders had better luck:

Paul Fancher – 3rd; Jim Clevenger – 9th, 50+
Paul Aldegeur – 6th; 40+
Hottman – 6th; Mason – 8th; Wells – 10th, 60+

The Bazaar Road Race saw the usual high winds, and many Big D riders came away in the money!

Lynn Wilson continued her dominance in the Womens Cat 1,2,3 with a first place finish. Her combined race was marred with a crash involving some junior riders, which took out her teammate Rochelle Schleicher temporarily. “Everyone was together until about the 9-mile mark. Two master’s went, followed by Wheels (Donavon Hottman). I went after Wheels and that’s when I heared total chaos behind me. There was a wreck and took down all but 1 other female racer. From there, it was four of us working together the rest of the way into the wind and back. I was able to get a gap on the last hill before the finish. I then put my head down and went. The last 4 miles, all out, into the wind for 1st place. Superb proformance by Wheels who did not take one pull once I got the gap:) Couldn’t have done it without you Donovan!”

Schleicher recovered to grab second place in the Masters Women’s race. The Chica-D’s also had a great showing in the Cat 4’s, with Danielle Lansford placing second, followed by Josie Measure in third.

Jim Clevenger looked great after long time away from racing, placing second in the Masters 50+. Kurt Wilson was third in Cat 4.

Other Big D highlights:
Joe Kleidosty – 8th; Shawn Knight – 10th, Cat 4
Michael Fiola – 7th, Cat 5
Greg Vaught – 7th; Dan Turner – 10th, M 30+
Donavon Hottman – 5th; Bill Mason – 7th; Frank Quinlan – 8th; Bill Wells – 9th, M 60+
Catt Calvert – 7th, W Cat 4

Several Big D veterans and new riders turned in great performances at the Perry Road Race series and Spring Fling series in Lawrence.

Rochelle Schleicher took first overall in the Masters 40+ at Perry and followed up with second overall in the Spring Fling. Schleicher admitted that crits are not her thing, but she did amazingly well considering she was out-numbered and riding against a stacked Velo-Tek team.

Joe Kleidosty placed first overall in the Cat 5 Spring Fling to go with his outstanding results at Perry (second overall). “Special K” has been progressing nicely this early season and has made the jump to the Cat 4’s. Once other teams figure out who this guy is, they will be gunning for him!

Lynn Wilson grabbed second place in both series, and is looking strong in both disciplines. She has her eye on a Cat 3 KBAR this year.

Other riders turning in great overall performances at Perry:

Danielle Lansford, second overall (Cat 4)
Josephine Measures, fourth overall (40+)
Donavon Hottman, second overall (60+)

The fourth races of the Spring Fling series were held Saturday despite some threatening weather, which dumped eight inches of snow on the area. The Big D women continued their success in the crit series at Clinton Lake in Lawrence.

Lynn Wilson rode the 4/5 race with the men and was able to hang on and lead a lap towards the end. In her Cat 3 women’s race, Wilson got a little help from her teammate Rochelle Schleicher. “There were only two of us and five Velotek riders.  The first lap, I made a jump and VT countered.  Rochelle then made another jump and again VT went.  Second lap in, I made a jump after the first turn and got a gap.  VT chased but could not get me.  My AWESOME TEAMMATE Rochelle, managed to get to the front and slow the pace down.  With that, I was able to win the race by half of a lap on the field!” said Wilson, who has been dominant in the series this year. Schleicher held on for fourth and then followed up with a second place in the 4’s. Schleicher had high praise for her teammate. “The truth is she rode eight really hard laps all by herself.  It is her strong riding that gained a half lap on the field.  I consider myself still pretty new at these cat and mouse games.  Lynn’s awesome ride and finish were very inspirational,” said Schleicher.

In Men’s racing, Kurt Wilson and Paul Aldegeur continue to show up each week and compete at a high level. And Joe Kleidosty had a great Cat 5 race with a first-place finish. He timed his sprint just right on the course, which was getting more slippery by the minute. “Special-K” has been the team’s most active racer so far this road season, competing in two Flings and a Perry race each weekend in miserable conditions.

Spring Fling concludes this Saturday. It is expected to be windy but with the temperature around 60 degrees. Not sure how the racers will be able to adjust to conditions that are actually tolerable!