Big D Cycling descended upon Stilwell, KS, for the annual State Line Road Race, but it was the competitors of a smaller stature that wreaked havoc on the fields on July 13.

Peter Whalen and Nigel Vaught combined forces for another one-two punch in the Juniors Age 9-13 race, which consisted of one challenging 8.5-mile lap, earning gold and silver respectively. Whalen went off the front towards the end of the race, with Vaught close behind. In fact, Whalen just crossed the finish line as the Men’s Master field darted by on one of their six laps.

As Greg Vaught approached the end of his first lap, he saw his son Nigel spinning his legs around in rapid fashion. The elder Vaught yelled, “Bigger gear, Nigel! Bigger gear!”, in an attempt to get him in the proper gear for a more efficient pedal stroke. Nigel exclaimed later that it was fun to race with the bigger guys.

It’s exciting to see our juniors learn, excel and race together. Our title sponsor, Keen Wealth Advisors, is playing a key role in promoting juniors racing in this area. Keen’s generous donations allows for junior racing fees to be kept low, with several races being free or as low as $5.

In other action, Kurt Wilson continued with great success in the Masters 40+ race, which traversed 51 miles and consisted of six grueling climbs on the road east towards the finish line. Wilson attacked during the race, keeping others on alert and earned a top 5 finish. Paul Aldeguer was close behind, coming in at seventh place.

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