A glorious day produced a very good start to the “real” season at the Buffalo Bill CX in Leavenworth, KS on September 21 for Big D Cycling sponsored by Keen Wealth Advisors with 6 podium finishers! The course favored those who could climb and didn’t mind letting it go on the downhills, as this course either went up or went down. Not a technically demanding course but it certainly challenged the rider physically.
Amy VanNieuwenhuyse simply rocked in her maiden cross race! A scant three weeks ago she wore a “scared face” to our first practice. On Sunday, she not only completed her first cross race, she did it with a very impressive 2nd place. She looked controlled and kept the power to the pedals. Who knows what she can accomplish with some real cyclocross tires (this is a not so subtle hint to her husband/mechanic)?
Steve VanNieuwenhuyse, known to the Big D Crossers as “Hands” for habit of placing his hands on other riders in tight quarters, rode to a solid 5th place in a Cat. 5 field that included two riders that should be Cat. 3’s if not Cat. 2’s. Steve has been a super quick learner. His superior handling skills, tidy barrier work and his aggressive style will have him placing well in the 40+ category starting this weekend.
Tim Herre must have been super excited about the start of the season because he raced twice! In the single-speed battle, he placed very impressive 2nd place and followed it up with a 6th in the Cat.3’s after recently upgrading. Congrats Tim your fitness is paying dividends!
And the old dudes represented Big D Cycling and Keen Wealth Advisors in solid fashion! Lead by youngster Paul “Sox” Aldegeur with a 2nd in the 40+ field. His road fitness certainly was on display on Sunday! The 50+ field had three Greenback riders with Jim Clevenger in 2nd, Greg “Sly” Vaught in 6th and Chip “CZ” Zimmer in 9th. Sly suffered with a shifting problem, but stayed tough. CZ had a strong showing after suffering from a battle with an Achilles problem for a year. Like Hands, he has been a quick learner with strong overall fitness and solid handling skills.
Bill Jennings and Frank “Q” Quinlan our 65+ studs, pocketed 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Q did a solid job but needed some different gearing to better negotiate the hills of Leavenworth. These two super-masters are looking to have a great CX season.
Special thanks as always to Roger Harrison of Lanterne Rouge for providing the photo for this post. See more images from Buffalo Bill ‘Cross here.