Four medals for Big D riders at the Kansas Criterium and Road Championships on a hot weekend of racing.

Shawn Knight continued the success he’s been having all season, with a silver medal in the Cat 4 criterium, and a third place finish in the road race.

In the Cat 5 criterium, Big D riders definitely had the feeling they were being “marked.” Shouts of “Watch the green jersey” came from other teams throughout the race, and they were the team everyone was keying on. Dan Ruettimann kept the pace high and neutralized anybody’s hopes for a breakaway. “I had ridden the Masters 30-49 race that morning, so I was familiar with the course, I got clipped in clean and realized I had a gap right from the start, so I kept the pressure on. I knew the field would be nervous on the technical course, especially if the pressure was on, so I just kept hammering,” said Ruettimann. Ron Marney and Micah Whorton were able to sit in the pack and watch their teammate trade attacks with the others until they began setting up in the final laps. In the end, Marney just got nipped at the line, but still came in for the bronze. Micah was right behind him in fourth, Ruettimann came in 8th, and Chip Zimmer finished strong with a top ten.

Donavon Hottman, the team’s most reliable rider, got third overall in the Masters 60+ for Kansas gold.

In the Cat 5 road race, the team was well-represented, but lost one of it’s best hopes with a mishap on the final turn. John Taton rolled a tire and recieved a DNF for his efforts, but surely would have improved on his podium finish from the Sunflower Games. Great results nonetheless, with four top-twenty riders: Shawn Hawkins in 9th, Whorton in 11th, Marney in 18th, and Twan Winkelmolen in 19th. Chip Zimmer, Dan Turner, and Jon Webber also put in strong efforts.

See more images of Shawn in the Cat 4 crit here.