At the State Age Group Championships in Pittsburg and Arma, Team Chica-D had spectacular results with three gold medals and one silver. Susan Ruettimann also scored way more points than she needed to and became Kansas Best All-Around rider (40+) for 2012!
Ruettimann went into the weekend needing to get a second place and a third in the crit and road race in order to hold on to her lead over Ann Michael of VeloTek. She got second overall in the crit, which was first place in 40+. “I had some breathing room after the crit, so that took a lot of pressure off for the road race,” said Ruettimann. Rochelle Schleicher was just behind her teammate in third place, which was good for gold in the Masters 50+. Susan’s husband, Dan, was there shouting encouragement and instructions during the race. “We were like little monkeys,” said Schleicher, “whatever he said, we just did.” At one point DanR was yelling “Make them work!” and the Mercy rider who was in the lead at the time was like, “We ARE working!” Rochelle had to explain to her that DanR meant make VeloTek work.
It turned out that coming up the hill, and into the final turn, Rochelle and Susan were in perfect position, and passed a couple riders who were running out of steam. Susan was on Rochelle’s wheel just trying to hold on when her teammate seemed to slow down slightly. “I started to think that I could win this, so I just went for it,” said Ruettimann. Lindsay Lorenz ran away with the overall early, while the race for KBAR points sorted out behind her. Susan was second overall behind Lorenz, but tops in the field sprint, with Schleicher right behind. Lorenz, Ruettimann, and Schleicher went one-two-three and each earned gold in their respective age groups.
In the Women’s Cat4 race, Lynn Wilson had a job ahead of her trying to overcome her nemesis, Alaina Beckwith in a race stacked with VeloTek riders. It came down to a sprint between Lynn, Beckwith, and Ruth Sawkins out of Joplin. “I just couldn’t get switched into the right gear coming down the stretch,” said Wilson, who got edged out at the line.
In other crits, Ryan Kelley and Kurt Wilson came down to support their BFFs while getting in a little racing. Kelley placed 13th in the Cat 3/4 race, and Kurt got 23rd in a big Masters 30+ group.
The Chica-D’s goal on Sunday was to help Lynn move up in KBAR since she still had a chance to get first place if all the cards fell into place. Also, the team wanted to move up in the Team standings, and could potentially move into third with some good numbers. Cathy Goodger (12th) and Cathy Wood (10th) came down to ride their first road races, and to score points to help with the women’s team standings. In a combined women’s field, all the ladies in pink came together to help Lynn try to get a win. The pace was not too crazy on the first lap and everyone pretty much stayed together until the turnaround on the second lap. The riders from 360 Sports were taking their share of work, but Ruettimann and Schleicher went into super-domestique roles and pushed hard toward the final hill. “Susan scares me,” said Wilson of her teammate, “That girl is strong. I was having trouble staying on her wheel!” Wilson held on for third in the Cat4 race. Ruettimann got sixth overall in the 30+ but silver in her age group. Schleicher second overall, but scored a state championship hat trick, having placed first in the 50+ Time Trial, Criterium and Road Race!
Lynn Wilson was by far the most prolific of all the Big D riders this year, having entered a lot of tough races in and out of KBAR, and always placing high. She reflected on the season-long KBAR competition: “I didn’t come into the racing season looking to win the KBAR race or even knowing what it was. I could not ask for better teammates. I may not have won the KBAR series, but getting 2nd overall was more than I set out to do this year!”
See more photos from Pittsburg and Arma here.