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Velotek Grand Prix
Leavenworth, Kansas, September 14, 2003
Sparks fly at Velotek.com Grand Prix Criterium
By Jim Whittaker, www.alta-sport.com
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The Velotek Grand Prix using perimter roads and parts of the Warren Middle School is unique. Two straight aways and one coned off section of parking area made for high speeds and tricky chicanes. If you love to dig into the corners then it was your kind of race. Sparks were flying with all the low-profile pedals being scraped. It sounded like 1985 with toe clips but the corners were just that tight. Temperatures around 25 Celsius with full sun and a blustery north wind at 25 to 35 KM made the going tough.
Local rider Liz Burke (Sante Fe Trail Bike & Coffee Shop) lapped the women's field in her cycling debut, the day before she won a local 10k running race so she was on fire. Carrie Thompson (Kansas State University) of Manhattan, KS placed a strong 2nd racing and race helper Stacie Tripodi placed 3rd.
The Cat 4/5's peleton attacked the fast but tricky course with unusual aplomb. A season plagued by spills and scrapes was uneventful and the newer riders showed up to race. The field sprint was taken by experienced racer Brian Parks (Sante Fe Trail Bike & Coffee Shop) with Team X Cycling's Dean Parker and Chris Hall 2nd and 3rd respectively. Chris Hall (www.teamxcycling.com) packs a strong sprint for a rider at 55 kilo's. Fourth place goes to perennial podium man Chris Chorice (Team Unknown) who has been improving his sprint this year.
The large 3/4 field was driven early on by a hard charging Jim Whittaker (www.teamxcycling.com). Jim's pressure on the peleton paved the way for a 3 man breakaway of Ed Noll (Bikes-n-Boards), JB Vowell (Sante Fe Trail Bike & Coffee Shop) and Mike Koons (www.teamxcycling.com). Mike nipped sprinter Ed Noll for 1st and JB placed a strong 3rd on his hometown turf.
University of Kansas rider Joe Christman continued his fast racing in the Cat 5's by placing 2nd in only his second weekend of racing.. Tom Meyer of "The Team" won the Cat 5 race. Tom's Team sports a good looking blue jersey design.
The 1/2/3 race was a Bike Source clean sweep but not until Lance Sulzen (www.teamxcycling.com) slid out with a defective tire. Lance shadowed Adam Mills (Bike Source) while they were in-between the leaders and the pack. Shadd Smith (Bike Source) and Brian Jensen (Bike Source) lapped the field for a 1st and 2nd and Steve Rouff (www.teamxcycling.com) won the pack sprint for 4th. Ed Noll (Bikes-n-Boards) continued his strong performances and Bill Marshall (www.teamxcycling.com ) road strongly. Win or lose all riders enjoyed the challenging corners and non-stop action of the Velotek.com Grand Prix criterium.
Photography
Images by Jim Whittaker/www.alta-sport.com
- Dean Parker (www.teamxcycling.com) pushes for 1st in the Category 4/5 pack sprint.
- Brian Parks (Santa Fe Trail Bike & Coffee Shop) and company is all smiles on the category 4/5 podium.
- Adam Lang (www.teamxcycling.com) leads team mate Joe Schmalz (www.teamxcycling.com) in the Junior race.
- Adam Mills (Bike Source) leans in while driving the 2nd chase pack.
- Joe Christman (KU Cycling) and Adam Lang (www.teamxcycling.com) both excelled in the Cat 5 field.
- Shadd Smith (Bike Source) won the Velotek.com Grand Prix by lapping the field.
- Steve Rouff (www.teamxcycling.com) covering Shadd Smith (Bike Source) at the Velotek.com Grand Prix.
Results
Juniors 10 - 13, 15 minutes + 3 laps 1 Joe Schmalz (Team X Cycling) 2 Charlie Harrision (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 3 Alex Edwards (Santa Fe Trail Bike) Juniors 14 - 18, 15 minutes + 3 laps 1 Austin Fick (Team X Cycling) 2 Adam Lang (Team X Cycling) 3 Sammy Harrision (Santa Fe Trail Bike) Junior Girls, 15 minutes + 3 laps 1 Holly Prevou (Santa Fe Trail Bike) Cat 5 - 1st Timers, 20 minutes + 3 laps 1 Joe Overstreet (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 2 Dan Kopowski (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 3 Kevin Henderson (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 4 Donn Keels (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 5 Will Smith (K-State) 6 Andy Nichols (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 7 Mike Prevou (Santa Fe Trail Bike) Cat 5, 20 minutes + 3 laps 1 Tom Meyer (The Team) 2 Joe Christman (KU Cycling) 3 Dan Kopranksi (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 4 Joe Schmalz (Team X Cycling) 5 Sean Annefeld (The Team) 6 Adam Lang (Team X Cycling) 7 Joe Overstreet (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 8 Kevin Henderson (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 9 Troy Lang (unattached) 10 Andy Nichols (unattached) 11 Gary McGregor (unattached) 12 Keith Shaw (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 13 Roger Harrision (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 14 Jerry Schmalz (unattached) Women, 25 minutes + 3 laps 1 Liz Burke (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 2 Carrie Thompson (K-State) 3 Stacie Tripodi (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 4 Adrienne Stolwyk (K-State) 5 Teri Chang (Santa Fe Trail Bike) Masters 35+ 3,4,5, 30 minutes + 3 laps 1 Keith Wahlberg (Tailwind) 2 Chris Hess (KCBC) 3 Patrick Robinson (KCBC) 4 Jeff Seese (KCOI) 5 Lyle Reynolds (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 6 Jim Whittaker (Team X Cycling) 7 Craig Bissell (KCOI) 8 Kurt Albrecht (Team X Cycling) 9 Roger Harrison (Santa Fe Trail Bike) Cat 4/5, 30 minutes + 3 laps 1 Brian Parks (Sante Fe Trail Bike) 2 Dean Parker (Team X Cycling) 3 Chris Hall (Team X Cycling) 4 Chris Chorice (unattached) 5 Lyle Reynolds (Sante Fe Trail Bike) 6 Tom Meyer (Sante Fe Trail Bike) 7 Keith Wahlberg (Tailwind) 8 Armando Sanchez (Blue River) Cat 3/4, 40 minutes + 3 laps 1 Mike Koons (Team X Cycling) 2 JB Vowell (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 3 Ed Noll (Bikes-n-Boards) 4 Jeff Seese (KCOI) 5 Chris Hess (KCBC) 6 Chris Chorice (unattached) 7 Dean Parker (Team X Cycling) 8 Armando Sanchez (Blue River) 9 Ryan Halloran (Bikes-n-Boards) Cat 1/2/3, 50 minutes + 3 laps 1 Shadd Smith (Bike Source) 2 Brian Jensen (Bike Source) 3 Adam Mills (Bike Source) 4 Steve Rouff (Team X Cycling) 5 Ed Noll (Bikes-n-Boards) 6 Bill Marshall (Team X Cycling) 7 JB Vowell (Santa Fe Trail Bike) 8 Mike Koons (Team X Cycling) 9 Mike Cragun (Team X Cycling)
