Awesome results at the Salina 2-Day and the Jesse Blancarte TT to finish out the month of May.
The team traveled out to Salina for the MMCT Two-Day, with a rainy cold and hilly road race on Saturday and crits on Sunday. The weather was miserable for the road race but that didn’t stop the team from posting three first-lace finishes!
Joe Kleidosty got his first big win on the road as a 4, and Lynn Wilson and Rochelle Schliecher each took top honors in their races. Kurt Wilson was aggressive as usual in this race and was in a break in the second half, while Joe was able to save a little energy in the shelter of the pack. Later on Kurt regrouped and there was one rider out for Special K to chase down. Working with one of his competitors, Joe was able to bridge up to the leader, who by that time was in the pain cave. I put my head down and chased down the leader and caught him around the 58-mile mark. “When I hooked up with him, I could tell he was hurting – he asked me for water,” said Kleidosty. Special K walked away with first place while Kurt came in fourth. Shawn Knight was just out of the top ten for all the hard effort he put in for his teammates.
The Chica-Ds looked resplendent in pink as they continued to dominate on the road. Lynn and Rochelle worked together in their combined women’s field to grab top spots in the open and Masters races!
In the Mens 60+ race Donavon Hottman got 4th while Bill Wells and Bill Mason came in 6 and 7th respectively.
In Sunday’s crits Jim Clevenger got some help form Knight, bridging up to the leaders. “He got to the front and surged giving me the opportunity, the block and the motivation to bridge to the solo breakaway. Without his efforts I sit in the pack waiting for the luck of the draw in the field sprint,” said Clevenger. This race also saw some trouble on the north end of the couse as a 360 rider slid out on turn four, and took out two riders behind him, on of whom was Dan Ruettimann. “For a change, I felt like I was getting myself into a great position for a good placing in the final sprint,” said Ruettimann. “This course is all about position, but unfortunately, sometimes your position is sprawled out on the pavement, on top of the rider who took you down.”
Joe K took 7th in the Cat4 with a little help from Knight. The Bills and Hottman had their own club race at the back of the 60+ field, but grabbed 4th through 6th. Rochelle looked comfy on her way to second place in the women’s 40+.
