A lot of first place finishes at the Jesse Blancarte TT 10K.

Jim Clevenger was first in the Men Master 50+
Donavon Hottman and Frank Quinlan went 1 and two in the 60+.
Cathy Wood got first while Bree Ginden got second in the Womens Cat4.
Kitty Gomer grabbed the top spot in the Womens 40+.
Leslie Treas and Roberta Dierks, third and fourth in Womens 50+
And Tom Faerber had a respectable finish in the Master 55+ with fifth.

Special thanks to Leslie Treas for providing the image for this post.

Special thanks also to Keen Wealth Advisors and Bill Keen for their continued support as our major sponsor.

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+.

Despite horrible conditions on Saturday, which lingered into the next morning, the team turned in some great resuts in Manhattan at the Tallgrass two-day.

Saturday was chilly and rainy; not fun for a 62-mile hilly road race, But all who competed finished in the top ten! For Rochelle Schleicher, it was business as usual with a women’s masters 50+ first-place finish. Jim Clevenger came in third in the 50+ men, Donavon Hottman was fourth in the 60+ and Joe Kleidosty and Chip Zimmer came in eighth and tenth respectively.

The rain continued, but slowed to a drizzle by Sunday morning. The early crit races were contested on wet pavement around Manhattan City Park. This was no place for the timid, as the course winded through some very rough surface and a tight hairpin turn entering the middle of the park. Riders could open it up on the big straightaway to the finish.

Schleicher took the double win, finishing tops in her crit, while teammate Lynn Wilson grabbed second in the women’s 123. Hottman, Bill Mason and Bill Wells came in fourth through sixth in the 60+ race respectively. The team was best represented in the Cat 4 men’s race, with five riders. They traded attacks all race and were by far the most combative. Shawn Knight’s lead-out evaporated on the finishing stretch, but he still managed to get around his gassed competitor for a sixth place. Dan Ruettimann finished eighth and Kurt Wilson worked his way through a crowded field to nail down ninth.

Jim Clevenger found no help in his masters 50+ race, which was lead by a breakaway from team 360’s Bill Anderson, who had a teammate in the chase group. Clevenger tried to bridge up to the leader several times, but everyone else was content to try and race for second place. Jim finished seventh after working twice as hard as the rest of the field, trying to make something happen.

Special thanks to Roger Harrison of Lanterne Rouge for providing images for this post. See more of his images on his Flickr site.

April saw some excellent results on the road and the dirt, with the Chica-Ds continuing to dominate and add to their racing resumes. Let’s get to it:

Veteran racer Paul Fancher placed third in the Bone Bender 3-hour MTB Odyssey at Clinton Lake in Lawrence. He faced some tough competition from several out-of-state rider on the challenging course and represented the team well.

The Velo-Tek GP returned with a good turnout for the three-stage event; a short TT hill climb and criterium on Saturday, followed by a road race at Perry lake on Sunday. Rochelle Schleicher dominated from the start, never relinquishing her lead gained on the gut-wrenching Wells Overlook climb on the morning of day one. Rochelle has been improving her crit skills over the past year and continues to excell in the mid to long distances on the road. Rocky is in the hunt to win KBAR this year. Lynn Wilson was in a three way fight in the Cat 3 women’s competition and just missed out on a first place overall on the last day, while husband Kurt finished fifth overall in a deep Cat 4 field.

The following week at the Big D co-sponsored Bruce Edwards TT, the team was well represented and grabbed some points toward the overall in the KBAT overall competition. Conditions were breezy and many riders struggled over the deceptively difficult rolling 10K course. Schleicher walked away with an easy win in the women’s 50+, while teammate Susan Ruettimann grabbed top spot in the W 40+.

Other highlights:
Jim Clevenger – 3rd; 50+
Joe Kleidosty – 5th; Shawn Knight – 7th, Cat 4
Bill Mason – 2nd; Donavon Hottman – 3rd; Frank Quinlan – 4th; Bill Wells -5th, 60+
Lynn Wilson – 3rd, W 1,2,3
Bree Ginden – 2nd; Danielle Lansford – 3rd, W Cat 4
Kitty Gomer – 3rd W 40+

Finally, in the epic Joseph Sheehan Road Race on April 28, Chica Ds Schleicher and Wilson walked away with victories on the hilly 52 mile course. Both ladies are set up well for KBAR wins with these results.
The Cat 4 men were not so lucky. Joe Kleidosty, who was in the lead group with Kurt Wilson the whole day, went down on the final climb to the finish, “We started attacking the hill finish and rider in front of me basically slowed down and I plowed into him. Scraped my left side and banged my bike up.” said Special K. “I picked myself and the bike up to get across the finish with my bike on my shoulder!” Both riders finished a bit farther down the list as a result. Other Big D riders had better luck:

Paul Fancher – 3rd; Jim Clevenger – 9th, 50+
Paul Aldegeur – 6th; 40+
Hottman – 6th; Mason – 8th; Wells – 10th, 60+

The Bazaar Road Race saw the usual high winds, and many Big D riders came away in the money!

Lynn Wilson continued her dominance in the Womens Cat 1,2,3 with a first place finish. Her combined race was marred with a crash involving some junior riders, which took out her teammate Rochelle Schleicher temporarily. “Everyone was together until about the 9-mile mark. Two master’s went, followed by Wheels (Donavon Hottman). I went after Wheels and that’s when I heared total chaos behind me. There was a wreck and took down all but 1 other female racer. From there, it was four of us working together the rest of the way into the wind and back. I was able to get a gap on the last hill before the finish. I then put my head down and went. The last 4 miles, all out, into the wind for 1st place. Superb proformance by Wheels who did not take one pull once I got the gap:) Couldn’t have done it without you Donovan!”

Schleicher recovered to grab second place in the Masters Women’s race. The Chica-D’s also had a great showing in the Cat 4’s, with Danielle Lansford placing second, followed by Josie Measure in third.

Jim Clevenger looked great after long time away from racing, placing second in the Masters 50+. Kurt Wilson was third in Cat 4.

Other Big D highlights:
Joe Kleidosty – 8th; Shawn Knight – 10th, Cat 4
Michael Fiola – 7th, Cat 5
Greg Vaught – 7th; Dan Turner – 10th, M 30+
Donavon Hottman – 5th; Bill Mason – 7th; Frank Quinlan – 8th; Bill Wells – 9th, M 60+
Catt Calvert – 7th, W Cat 4