At the Tour of Kansas City, shortened this year to two days of racing instead of three, hot temperatures, and an even hotter pace made things hard for Big D and the field as a whole, but some valiant efforts provided good results and incredible racing for spectators.

In Sunday’s Cat 3 event in Lee’s Summit, Ryan Kelley turned himself inside-out trying to catch a breakaway by Colavita’s Andrew Lyles. Lyles had lead a two-man charge, which failed earlier in the race, but then made a solo run for it with about a third of the race to go. Kelley was getting no help from the field, and busted it on the front of the chase for several laps. His effort kept his teammates in contention, but left himself spent. Shawn Knight and James Summers were the only Big D survivors in the race, which saw nearly a third of the starters shattered.

Knight, Summers and Ryan Rochford also competed in the Cat 3/4 earlier in the day with good results: 8th, 12th and 15th, respectively. In the women’s 3/4’s, Lynn Wilson got 7th in a tough, fast field.

The day before, at New Longview, our riders dealt with a crazy course and a wind that seemed to be shifting all day. Kurt Wilson and Paul Aldeguer battled for the second half of the race to close down a gap which had formed with about ten riders leading. The Bat was close behind and the three of them finished 12th, 13th and 15th respectively. If you weren’t in the top ten heading around the first turn from the start, it was difficult to move up. There was no place to grab a break, and by the time riders completed their first four turns, there was a hill and wind to contend with. The field was strung out from the whistle.

Lynn Wilson, who fought some familiar, and not so familiar faces snagged a fourth place finish in the women’s 4’s. In the Masters 40+, Paul Aldeguer finished well with another lucky 13th place.

See more Dan Ruettimann Photography images from Sunday’s racing here.

Big D presents a first in a series of rider profiles, where we highlight team members and talk about what makes them tick.

First up is Dr. David Whitney, a resident at the Kansas University Medical Center Department of Orthopedic Surgery. David joined the team earlier this year and has made progress in getting comfortable in the peloton and getting stronger as a racer. He has gone from getting his butt kicked in the crits to finishing in the middle of the field while helping his teammates along the way. His fellow Big D riders love riding behind Whitney because he has a powerful engine and is a formidable presence during an elbow-to-elbow race. “He’s such a big guy, that if somebody bumps into him, you know the’re just gonna bounce off,” said fellow racer Ron Marney. It’s just a matter of time before Whitney starts to channel his strength and produce win after win for the team.

Here’s a little more about Dave:

Age: 32
Height/Weight : 6’2”/ 220ish
Day Job: Orthopedic Surgery Resident at KU
Interests: Hanging out with my wife, Jamie and daughter Zoe, surgeonizing, riding/racing, single malt scotch and beer (in that order), music, post race/ride liquid carb loading, convincing my wife to let me buy bike stuff.
Cycling goals: get stronger, do well competing, help the team win, win myself, then…world domination!

After my last of several knee surgeries while an undergrad, my surgeon gave me the option of swimming or cycling as exercise for several months while rehabbing my injury. Preferring not to drown, I went to my local bike shop to look into a bike to cruise around on. A couple of weeks later, I purchased my first road bike and took my first ride, which consisted of a nice 7.5 miler with two pit stops, which included several four letter words and a couple bouts of vomiting. I was instantly hooked. I met a few people at the shop that took me under their wing and taught me the basics of cycling. I continued to ride throughout undergrad and medical school, racing a couple of times here and there, and getting thoroughly pummeled.

After medical school, my wife and I moved to Kansas City for my job and I was surprised to find a huge cycling community here in the KC area and so much enthusiasm for cycling. Motivated by this, I began to train and attempted to put together a club team in my department at work. And while the idea was met with great enthusiasm, getting a bunch of orthopedic surgery residents together to train and race is nearly impossible with the work schedule. So, when that idea fizzled, I began searching for a team to help me reach my riding and racing goals. I got in touch with Steve “Whales” Whalen and began riding with the team within a week. The team welcomed me and has been great! I couldn’t have found a better group of guys (and girls now) to ride with and learn from (although one of my new goals is to hurt Whales, JT, BDT, and Twan on a training rides as much as they hurt me). The team is strong, has a great dynamic, and superb support from all of the sponsors.

And as always, thanks to my beautiful wife and daughter, Jamie and Zoe for their support. Couldn’t do it without you!

Look for Dave at the upcoming criterium and road races the rest of the season as he begins his world domination run.

Team Chica-D showed up in force for the KS TT Championships in Walnut and three Big D riders were crowned state champions!

Bill Mason continued to show who’s boss and won gold in his age group, third overall in Masters 60+.

The ladies field was dominated by pink, and their results were fantastic. Two gold medal winners; Rochelle Schleicher and Susan Ruettimann. Abby Gomer won the Cat4 bronze, and Lynn Wilson got second place in the Cat4 race. Kitty Gomer also came and scored points to help with the Masters KBAT competition.

The wind was stiff out of the south and picked up as the day went on. After our Chica-D ladies finished one by one, they cheered for each other 200 meters from the finish, and also gave vocal support to all the other competitors. It really is inspiring to see the camaraderie the women have and how they support each other and work together. They are a solid team that has made a huge impact in their first year of racing; which prompted one of the ladies from another team to ask, “So, did you guys just come out of nowhere?”

The veterans on the team continued to rack up great results in their qualifiers for the Senior Olympics. Bill Mason, Roberta Dierks, Bill Jennings, and Bill Wells all collected hardware in Missouri recently, while Chip Zimmer was the one Big D bright spot at Tulsa Tough.

Here is Mason’s recap of the events at the Missouri Senior State Games:

The four races included a 40K Road Race followed by a 5K Time Trial on Saturday; and a 20K Road Race followed by a 10K Time Trial on Sunday. There were competitors from several States other than Missouri, including Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas just to name a few. In Bill Wells and my 65-69 age category, the 3rd place 2011 Nationals winner participated in the field of ten riders. So competition was strong.

Everyone is trying to qualify for the 2013 Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio and the Missouri Games being one of the early scheduled ones the age fields were larger than in an off year.

Results were as follows:

Roberta Dierks – 60-64
40k Road Race – Gold
5K Time Trial – Gold
20K Road Race – Gold
10K Time Trial – Gold

Roberta is of course now qualified for the 2013 Nationals. Big D Women continue to rule.

Bill Jennings – 70-74
40k Road Race – Silver
5K Time Trial – Silver

Bill J. was unable to ride Sunday’s races; but with his two Silvers in now qualified for the 2013 Nationals.

Don’t think Bill J. plans to stop racing here as he just invested several thousand bucks in a new Carbon Bike from one of our sponsors, Bike Source. Also got new Aero bars and I think plans to get a Time Trial Helmet. Appears he has caught the passion to race.

Bill Wells – 64-69
40k Road Race – Bronze in a bunch finish
5K Time Trial – 7th
20K Road Race – 4th – Just missed Bronze by half a wheel in a bunch finish
10K Time Trial – 7th – Had a rear wheel problem

Bill W. is developing as a strong sprinter as is evidenced by several of his recent road race results. Great to see him being competitive in the bunch sprints.

Bill Mason – 64-69
40k Road Race – 5th
5K Time Trial – Gold
20K Road Race – 5th
10K Time Trial – Silver

My large size continues to plague me in a bunch sprint, so I spend time at the front trying to set a fast pace to try and drop as many as I can to reduce number in the bunch sprint and also, because TT’s follow, to take a little out of the others.

Had my best 5K Time Trial ever, 6 min 36 sec (28.2 mph), but at that only beat the 2011 Nationals guy by 1 sec. First three finishers were separated by only 5 sec. He got me in the 10K Time Trial by 9 sec. First three finishers only separated by 21 sec.

Chip Zimmer has been improving steadily throughout the season and shows real promise in his final few races as a Cat 5. Several Big D riders enjoyed the racing and festivities at Tulsa Tough, but Zimmer had the best finish with a sixth place and a prime win!

Here is his account:

There were 30 starters for an 8:40am race- first race of the day so the crowd was only just gathering.

My strategy was to immediately maneuver to the front of the pack at the gun so as to avoid all the nonsense of riders crowding the turn into the first hill.
Sat in 5th or so using others’ wheels as I tried to figure out who the contenders were going to be. No one was taking the first part of the hill aggressively and I didn’t mind doing so, because the momentum would carry you through the second part without much additional effort.

I used each subsequent lap to move up in position on the hill and by the time it was about 10 minutes into the race I found myself in 3rd. Coming around again, I said the heck with it and climbed at my own pace, which at that time happened to be more aggressive than everyone else, so I just held on and took the pack around for another lap and a half. During the process, I was able to gap the chase group and this is when I picked up the prime.
I hit the hill again, still in first but slacked off at the dip and that is when the chase reconnected. From there, I rode their wheels pretty much for the rest of the race.
Not sure how it happened but 3 riders split from one other guy and myself and gained about a half block advantage, which by then was a bit too much distance for the two of us to reel them in. We worked together and crossed the line 5 and 6. 6th place for me.

As for Cry Baby Hill, the hill itself is not an issue, it is the monotony of repetition that gets you. The crowd on the other hand is awesome, and pulls you through each time.
We had 7 Big D riders attend and race this event and I think we all agreed we would definitely do it next year.

Tulsa also served as a scouting trip to do some research on hosting a major national-level event. Big D is looking to model their hosted races on events like Tulsa Tough.

Lynn Wilson took on a domestique role at Olsburg, but found herself in postion for a good result in the women’s Cat 4’s, while Ryan Kelley survived a grueling 75-mile contest to win the bunch sprint in the Men’s 3’s.

Kelley and teammates Paul Fancher, Shawn Knight and Kurt Wilson created a strong group in the Cat 3 race, and worked together to keep their top riders fresh. This field stayed pretty tight after the first climb up the Carnaham, when three riders got away. Big D was content to let the rest of the field chase, and the group stuck together until the final rise to the finish when Kelley made his move. At 200m he had a sizable lead on the rest of the field, and cruised to a fourth place finish. An awesome result for this new Cat 3 rider! Fancher and Knight both craked the top ten with a seventh and eight place respectively.

In the women’s Cat 4’s, Lynn Wilson came across state lines to give her Sunflower State teammates a hand. “My goal was to help Rochelle and Susan, since I am not a Kansas resident. At least if not placing, then to score some points for the Big D women,” said Wilson. The field stayed together until the hills on the backside. Rochelle Schleicher battled for KOM, but got edged out by Alaina Beckwith (VeloTek). The feild fell apart, but the three Big D ladies were able to regroup with the rest of the leaders. It came down to a sprint, with Lynn in third, Rochelle in fifth, and Susan Ruettimann finishing strong in sixth! “I was totally stoked to have both my teammates with me up to the end!” said Wilson.

In the Mens’s Cat 5’s the field broke apart with about three miles to go. Stephen Whalen went with the attack, but blew up on the last few hills. John Taton was able to bridge to a small group and held it together to finish in fifth place. Rafael Frontaura and Twan Winkelmolen both finished in the top ten.

Special thanks again to Roger Harrison for the allowing us to use his images (bottom two) in this post. See more of his images on his Flickr site here.