The Velotek Grand Prix is known as the biggest stage race in Kansas. It can now have the honor of being the wettest stage race in Kansas. Big D Cycling’s Men’s Masters team competed in two categories at this stage race: Masters 40+  Cat 1/2/3, Group A (Paul Aldeguer, Jim Clevenger, and Joe Kleidosty) and Masters 40+ Cat 4/5, Group B (Ben Christian, Leo Simbaqueva, Steve VanNieuwenhuyse, Greg Vaught, and Chip Zimmer).

The local weather forecasters actually predicted the timing of this storm with good accuracy. The team’s eyes were glued to radars, as thunderstorms approached from the south. The rain started falling just before the start of the first stage, a .68-mile uphill time trial, with no aero equipment allowed. Due to lightning, several 15-minute delays turned into an actual delayed start of two hours and 15 minutes.

The wet and cool conditions made it practically impossible to warm up properly for this event. Kleidosty used the heater in his vehicle to ‘warm up’ for this event. This unproven method seemed to work, as he laid down the team’s best time trial effort at 2:15, putting him in second place behind J.P. Brocket by five seconds.  VanNieuwenhuyse just edged out Vaught in Group B, taking 2:34 to finish the time trial. This placed him tied for fourth, just four seconds behind the leader.

The rain continued throughout the afternoon during the second stage, a .96-mile technical course (made even more technical with the wet conditions) on the Haskell Indian Nations University campus. In the Group A field, J.P. Brocket and Trey Harrison displayed their good bike handling skills in the wet conditions, lapping several competitors in the field, including Aldeguer and Kleidosty. This gave the duo a commanding lead of more than two minutes going into the final stage.

In the Group B field, Vaught was able to sprint his way to a fourth place, just two seconds behind the winner.  His criterium finish put Vaught in the closest position to contend for a podium finish.

After a wet and soggy Saturday, the team was given a reprieve from these nasty conditions with some dry weather and cool temperatures for the final stage on Sunday, a road race consisting of a 28.26-mile loop around Lake Perry. The Group A field completed two laps (with prime bonus seconds for the top three to cross the finish line after the first lap), while the Group B field completed one lap.

The day did not start without any drama. Vaught and Kleidosty received a text from Clevenger at 7:59 am, “So sorry flat tire on the way going to miss the start.”  Vaught quickly texted back, “Quick change! Get movin!” The race started at 9:05 am. Kleidosty, also known as monGO, has a special relationship with Clevenger. He often times does monGO-speak when talking with Clevenger to keep him focused and to motivate him to excel in all he does. This tactic worked, as Clevenger realized he had enough time to get to the race, with some assistance from a helpful Highway Patrol officer.

With help from VanNieuwenhuyse and Vaught, Clevenger rolled up to the start line at 9:05 am. For some reason, the officials did not start the race until 9:10 am. Clevenger did not have time to use the restroom before the race, but the Group A field, to Clevenger’s benefit, agreed to stop for a restroom break during the race!

Kleidosty communicated with Aldeguer of his plan to attack on one of the steeper hills to contest for the prime bonus seconds. Kleidosty was able to break clear and won the prime bonus of  three seconds, getting a gap of 30 seconds on the field. Kleidosty sat up and rejoined the field after winning the prime.

Much later in the race, one of the General Classification contenders, Brian Peters, had an unfortunate flat going into the final turn onto the dam. Kleidosty saw this as an opportunity to gain position in the GC, and led the field across the dam into the final climb. Aldeguer was able to break clear and took second in the road race, while also earning a six-second bonus for that finish.

Overall in Group A, Clevenger took fourth, Kleidosty was fifth and Aldeguer was sixth, with the top seven finishers getting paid.

Going into the Masters Group B road race, Vaught was in the top five, with a good chance of getting on the podium. Vaught had plans to attack on one of the many hills on the course to get some separation on the field. With the giddiness of VanNieuwenhuyse in a field of rocks (he’s a rock collector), he decided to attack on the first significant climb!

The headwinds were too strong, and everything came back together before the midpoint of the race. The Tulsa Wheelmen had a strong team at this stage race, so Big D Cycling wanted to keep the pressure on them and force them to work hard throughout the race. Vaught’s attack forced Tulsa Wheelmen to the front of the peloton to chase him down.

The field was still intact going into the final turn onto the dam, so it was all about positioning going into the hilltop finish. Vaught was sitting close to the front, so Simbaqueva saw an opportunity to get into better position and possibly help lead Vaught out into the finish.  As he went by Vaught, he yelled for Vaught to grab his wheel. Simbaqueva glanced back to check on Vaught, but he was not on his wheel.

Simbaqueva decided to position himself behind the GC leader. As the hill steepened, the Tulsa Wheelmen team started to fade.  Simbaqueva stated, “Now, it was all or nothing for me, so I put my head down and buried myself.” Simbaqueva made it past the Tulsa Wheelmen team and came in second in the road race and fifth overall in the GC. Simbaqueva knew this was a team effort, saying, “I can only thank my teammates and their tremendous efforts.”

Special thanks also goes out to Keen Wealth Advisors for their tremendous support of our team and junior cycling in Kansas. The team also thanks Bollé Cycling Eyewear for keeping the wet debris out of our eyes during the soggiest stages of our lives!

Special thanks to Roger Harrison of Lanterne Rouge for providing the road race images for this story.  See more of his images on his Flickr site.