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Lehigh Velodrome
KidsPeace Bicycle Racing League Finals, Trexlertown, PA, June 16, 2006
The Lehigh Valley Velodrome hosted the annual, KidsPeace Bicycle Racing League Finals, with fields of both world-class international riders and competitors from one of the world's best youth cycling programs. The KidsPeace BRL finals turned up the heat with the sport's top competition.
The feature pro event of the night was the men's Sprint Invitational consisting of Teun Mulder and Tim Veldt of the Netherlands, Jan Van Eijden of Germany and Roberto Chiappa of Italy. Starting off the first round of the sprint tournament were Teun Mulder and Tim Veldt of the Netherlands. Veldt appeared to be the leader of the two for the majority of the sprint, until turn 3 when Mulder powered past Veldt for the win. Next up were Van Eijden and Chiappa, where Van Eijden barreled through the finish line, winning the heat by an inch.
The next event of the night was the women's 1 mile Preme race. Throughout the race Lauren Shirock (USA) seemed to stay toward the back of the pack until the end of the last lap, when she blew up past Ashley Kimmet (USA) for the win, leaving Kimmet in second place.
Kicking off the Bicycle Racing League events for the night were the girls age 9-12. It was clear to see that these youth had been coached by some of the sport's best athletes. The competition was fierce and the girls gave it all they had. Kaitlyn Lawrence hauled across the finish line, throwing up her finger in gesture of being number one, just in front of Taylor Farnsworth in second place and Taylor Adams in third.
The fourth event was an elite men's Elimination consisting of a field rich in world-class riders. Despite the fact that this was an endurance race, many of the sprinters were able to hang on until the last 10 riders were left. With just three riders left on the track, Bobby Lea (USA) and Jame Carney (USA) worked together to block out Pete Fitzpatrick (Australia) and Carney took the lead with Lea close behind and Fitzpatrick in third.
Next up for the BRL racers was the boys age 9-12 5-lap final, where Greg Ratzell showed T-town what he is made of with a win over Patrick Marzi in second place. Colin Kelly in third place and Tyler Nothstein, son of Marty, took fourth. Another group of boys 9-12 was on deck for the second race, also a 5-lap final. In the second race, crowd favorite, Jansen Grabowski stepped up and powered through the five laps with a strong finish, just in front of Cole Malin and Tyler Smith.
In the second set of heats for the men's Sprint Invitational, Teun Mulder faced off against Jan Van Eijden and took the win, passing Van Eijden in turn three and crossing the finish line a split second before Van Eijden. Tim Veldt and Roberto Chiappa were next to race each other. It was a close race and Veldt took the win using a throw to get himself across the line first.
The women's 3k Scratch Race held great competitors, but it was clear from the start that Erica Allar (USA) would take the win. After 9 fast laps, Erica kept the lead and finished first in front of Lauren Shirock and Ashley Kimmet.
With the last heat for the men's Sprint Invitational, Jan Van Eijden took the win against Tim Veldt in the last turn at the very last second, allowing for a very exciting race. Next up was Teun Mulder and Roberto Chiappa, where the two demonstrated to the crowd what a "track stand" is. The two riders came to a complete stop directly in front of the grandstands, where they stayed for approximately 20-30 seconds, when Chiappa decided to take the lead. The crowd went crazy and the riders raced their hardest, with Chiappa taking the win by a tire.
The last two BRL events of the night were the girls and the boys 13-16 5-lap race. With the girls starting out, Hannah Hayduk showcased the skills and power that she had obtained in the program, by sprinting to the finish line to take first place with Elspeth Huyett in second and Erin Dodd in third. The boys stepped up to the track and showed no mercy as Ryan Clune demonstrated to the BRL and T-town what youth racing is all about. Clune raced his heart out and finished first with Nick Roeder and Tynan Farley in second and third.
Next it was time for the culminating event of the evening, the men's Sprint Invitational finals. In the running for third and fourth place were Roberto Chiappa and Tim Veldt. The two riders raced their hardest through the last lap and Chiappa took the win at the very last moment, which made for an intense atmosphere. Riding for first and second place were Teun Mulder and Jan Van Eijden. During the first lap of the race, the two riders partook in a track stand once again, creating very much suspense. Jan Van Eijden would be the winner of the final sprint, with a photo finish. Van Eijden accepted his flowers and threw them up into the stands to a lucky spectator.
In the last event of the night, the men's 2k Scratch Race Final, Tim Veldt (Netherlands) was able to redeem himself from the sprint finals. Throughout the race, the Dutch rider stayed towards the back, allowing many of the endurance riders to the front of the pack. In the last lap, Veldt made his way to the front and in turn three, blew past the entire pack with a win over two other sprinters, Roberto Chiappa and Jan Van Eijden.
The crowd's attention was captivated all through the races, due to the stellar quality of racing and a great show by the Lehigh Valley Velodrome.
