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Asheville Training Series #1
French Broad River Park, Asheville, April 22
Back Under the Lights
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Racing has returned to the 491 meter Asheville Oval, fondly dubbed the Mellowdrome. The track is in good shape, and the entire French Broad River Park looks great as spring unfolds in the mountains. Turn four is redrawn, and the riders proved that they could stick it in the Sprinter's lane on a night that could be charitably called brisk.
The Fletcher Arrow was absent for the opener, and Mike Koerschner showed his second overall in 2002 in the Fixed Gear class was no fluke. Mike won the Scratch race and recorded second in the Miss and Out and Points Race to hold back Frodo Hobgood who was making his debut on the track bike. Frodo ran away with the Points Race but it was not enough. Road ace Andy Applegate made a cameo appearance on his new steed, and waltzed to the show spot with a smooth ride. In the process, he blunted The Axe and The Dagger, riders who have had everyone looking over their shoulders this winter. Eighteen riders turned out for these races, which is a coup for the developmental program in Asheville.
The Women's Points Race, run at 25 laps, quickly became a three-way donnybrook among Tanya Nestvogel, Monica Koerschner, and Patricia Pinner. After Wendy Coin stole the first sprint, those three monopolized the rest of the race until Tanya punched out the double points finale, which gave her a three-point margin for the win. Koerschner and Pinner made do with the next two spots, separated by a single point.
The B Grade boys initiated their season by taking a refresher course on pre-race preparations. The winner and his henchmen on the podium were first granted a reprieve at the start while the normal complement of upside-down-numbers was righted. This was good since eventual winner David Forkner was still at registration, in his street clothes, just prior to the scheduled start. Forkner was unfazed by this and easily accumulated enough points for the win. Wes Dickson tried to throw a spanner in this script when he rode away under the Romulan Cloaking Device to solo for the last three points sprints. He finished second, and was followed by Scott Rousseau who recovered from a popped tire prior to the race. The guys and gals raced well and learned the new radius of turn four without incident.
The Masters event has been changed from 30+ to 40+ this year in an effort to send guys like Duclosse-LaSalle, Zootemelk, and Museew to the A race, where they belong. It worked one time anyway as the graybeards had a good race despite the redhead in their midst. Randy Parker latched onto Richard Dunn and Clark Hollins as those two initiated the race's defining moment. The trio went on to gain a lap and Parker, in the Stars and Stripes jersey, could hardly help but take his share of the points, and the win. Mr. Hollins had a superlative ride and handily notched the place spot while Mr. Dunn came third. Dean Lyons bested all others in the minus one lap category and the points were sprinkled among the riders, which is enough to put a smile on the faces of most avid cyclists.
The A Grade riders put together a good field of 22 for their 60-lap points race. Joey Coddington, sporting the number one, opened the night by watching a four-rider combine gain three hundred meters in a threatening move. The fact that Randy Parker was in that group did not hinder their progress, and the other three, Scott Langford, Colin Izzard, and Martin Lawing were going hammer and tongs to settle the race before it was half over. Coddington awoke in time to drive a secondary break in pursuit of the fugitive quartet. As the laps ticked off, the situation became critical when the first four reached the main field 150 meters in advance of the secondary break. Coddington left his companions for dead and finished gaining his lap on his own while the others withered and went back to the main field in the other direction. This left five riders up a lap and despite much attacking late in the event, that is how it ended. The Redhead won with style, followed on the podium by Coddington and Lawing.
Dramatis Personae
Brian Pierce:The Fletcher Arrow
Blair Hobgood:Frodo
Marc Mullinax: The Axe
Nancy Daigler:The Dagger
Randy Parker:The Redhead
Next race is May 6. It might be warmer.
We thank all our sponsors:
Asheville Parks and Recreation Department Hearn's Cycling and Fitness Asheville Bicycle Racing Club Liberty Bicycles Asheville Family Health Center Dr. Stephen Miller, DDS Mission St. Joseph's Health System Cane Creek Cycling Components
Photography
Images by Asheville Velodrome Group
- The Tax Man will make you pay! Herb Young brings two bikes tonight
- The Ladies put up the numbers for a full field. Leopard print arm warmers evoke memories of Jeanie Golay
- The Fixed Gear riders take to the Mellowdrome. Seventeen riders lined up for the first race of the season
- Steve Miller, Randy Parker, and Richard Dunn lead the Master's Parade Lap
- Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! Let's go racin'! Cherry Bomb Langford throws down the glove as he comes over the top on the first lap of the 12 lap
Results
Fixed gear races - 17 Riders 6 Lap Scratch 1 Mike Koerschner 2 Blair Hobgood 3 Mike Despeaux 4 Herb Young 5 Nancy Daigler Miss-n-Out 1 Andy Applegate 2 Mike Koerschner 3 Nancy Daigler 4 Herb Young 5 Scott Langford 12 Lap Points Race 1 Blair Hobgood 2 Mike Koerschner 3 Andy Applegate 4 Mark Mullinax 5 Mike Despeaux Omnium Points 1 Mike Koerschner 8 2 Blair Hobgood 6 3 Andy Applegate 4 4 Nancy Daigler 3 5 Mike Despeaux 2 6 Bill McBee 1 7 Don Lux 1 8 George Riedesel 1 9 Young Young 1 10 Janet Trubey 1 11 Jim McMillan 1 12 Mark Mullinax 1 13 Mike Smith 1 14 Paul Battenfeld 1 15 Rostand Smith 1 16 Scott Langford 1 17 Wendy Coin 1 Category "A" 60 Lap Points Race 1 Randy Parker 51 (+ 1 lap) 2 Joey Coddington 20 (+ 1 lap) 3 Martin Lawing 13 (+ 1 lap) 4 Scott Langford 10 (+ 1 lap) 5 Colin Izzard 5 (+ 1 lap) 6 Chad Schoenauer 30 7 Mike Koerschner 5 8 Brian Elliot 3 9 Dean Lyons 3 10 Jacob McGahey 2 Omnium points 1 Randy Parker 7 2 Joey Coddington 5 3 Martin Lawing 3 4 Scott Langford 2 5 Colin Izzard 1 Category "B" 30 Lap Points, 16 riders 1 David Forkner 25 2 Wes Dickson 22 3 Scott Rousseau 11 4 Ray VonDohlen 4 5 Jamie Arnold 3 6 Robert Dunning 3 7 Greg McIntyre 2 (Earlier) 8 Mark Scholtz 2 9 Patricia Pinner 1 (Earlier) Omnium Points 1 David Forkner 7 2 Wes Dickson 5 3 Scott Rousseau 3 4 Ray VonDohlen 2 5 Jamie Arnold 1 Master's (40+) 30 Lap Points Race 17 riders 1 Randy Parker 32 (+ 1 lap) 2 Clark Hollins 22 (+ 1 lap) 3 Richard Dunn 9 (+ 1 lap) 4 Dean Lyons 14 5 Paul Wood 5 6 Herb Young 4 7 Rostand Smith 2 Omnium Points 1 Randy Parker 7 2 Clark Hollins 5 3 Richard Dunn 3 4 Dean Lyons 2 5 Paul Wood 1 Women's 25 Lap Points Race 10 riders 1 Tanya Nestvogel 21 2 Monica Koerschner 18 3 Patricia Pinner 17 4 Cara MacCauley 3 5 Deborah Elliot 1 6 Wendy Coin 6 (-1 lap) Omnium Points 1 Tanya Nestvogel 7 2 Monica Koerschner 5 3 Patricia Pinner 3 4 Cara MacCauley 2 5 Deborah Elliot 1
