Race Report!

Welcome back racefans! We had an exciting first week of races at the Viroqua Schools this last Monday. While we had some folks thinking that the races were still at the old location, those who did make it raced hard and fast!

The first race was the 5-7 year olds and those guys were cruising. Liam and Macy Kueppersmith, Luke Bjorkland, Emery Deutsch and Tucker Hughes rolled out fast and stayed fast. While they all were concered with how they finished, they also appeared to really love riding their bikes fast in a circle! Good stuff.

Next up was the first race to carry Points of the Series Jersey... Last years largest race with the most promising riders for Viroqua's cycling future was a bit depleted by a field trip... but we did have a few guys out there who are die-hard crossers. Giddeon Hooper-Schmit, Will Beaty, Harry Hughes who just upgraded, Anders, and Dominic Falter all lined up determined to get ahead in the points and secure the championship jersey!

Anders and Giddeon took the holeshot as Will's chain snapped and took him out of the running. Bummer for Will who later said philosophically that, "It felt like somebody just didn't want me to race today..." Hopefully Will's bike is in better shape for tomorrow. As Anders and Giddy sped away, Harry and Dominic, both on the younger side of the category began a heated duel for the last step on the podium. Anders won the ice-cream prime and kept his lead to the finish, Giddeon seemed satisfied with 2nd and enjoyed the ride. Again, behind him was the fierce battle between Harry and Dominic, fighting like to small dogs over a large bone. It wasn't until the last 10 ft that Harry knew he could relax. Dominic sprinted for the line, but it was too late, Harry took 3rd. Dominic showed some serious Moxie and looks like he is having fun out there, it was a lot of fun to watch. Next week we'll see the return of Jacob Kaman and Ephy Sutherland among others. Should be a whole new ballgame, but for now here are the standings:

Anders: 5 points
Giddeon: 4 points
Harry: 3 points
Dominic: 2 points
Will B.: 1 point

The next race was the first of the Girls Open races that are sure to enhance the ViroquaCross races. Lining up were Emma Hughes, Theresa and Hannah Falter, and Mikayla Brown. The Falters come from a biking Family, as does Emma, and with newcomer Mikayla it promised to be an explosive event.

From the Gun it was Emma Hughes, exploding out of the gate for the ice cream prime, but in the last barrier she was passed by Hannah in a fine display of barrier grace. Hannah pushed her 5 second gap and grew it to 20 seconds by the end of the lap. Emma held off the other Falter, Theresa, and sped to the line to collect second prize. Theresa embodies the grit and gumption of Falters everywhere and hung in for 3rd place while Mikayla Brown rode it in for 4th. All of these young ladies rode tough and made the crowd excited for the future of women's cycling in Viroqua. Who knows? Maybe the next Katie Compton will come out of western Wisconsin.
Standings:
Hannah: 5
Emma: 4
Theresa: 3
Mikayla:2


In the Main Event we saw a strange sight... a single MTBike. With the adults looking at last season's flyer and going to Washington Park, we combined the small field of 9 into one race. First timers Scott Leum, Dick, and Bryn Hawklove on a beautiful BlueDog Customs Cross Rover looked great on cross bikes and showed Moxie riding them as well. Lining up were returnees Lee V., Joe Horvath, Jay Skrede, Thom Falter, Hank D., and Frosty Crosser who wore my shoes at the event, Matt Kuennen and finally . How would Matt do with 'normal' shoes? This and other questions would only be answered on the course.

The Racers were reluctant to take the first row as first time jitters were prevalent. Once the line was toed, the racers were off. Jay took the holeshot all the way to a free ice cream. Not bad! The newcomers were lead by Thom who was still getting the finer points dialed in and took a few spills. Well, if you're not flying, you're not trying as they say. Look for Thom to be duking in it out at the front as it come together. Dick showed that he has an inner crosser and moved up through the remainder of the field, but it's hard to know who will be where next week. Bryn ran into some chain problems and Scott was getting acclimated to the suffering inherent to a 45min race.

Meanwhile at the front Jay was holding a scant lead over Lee and Joe. Lee continued to whittle it down until they were riding together. Lee attacked hard, but Jay responded and countered. It was awesome to watch the mild mannered Jay Skrede take it and dish it out up there. The pace sent Joe H. back to chasing where he remained for the rest of the race, coming in third. Lee finally put in a hard dig with three laps to go and got a gap on Jay. Jay tried but couldn't close. Back in the field Thom and Dick were battling until Thom took a spectacular header, the kind of crash that justifies a video-camera, and Dick pulled ahead. Scott was riding solid behind them for 6th and Bryn and Matt were racing. Great to see those guys go at it. No single spot in the race was conceded. Bryn got the best of the duel, but it should be fun to watch them go at it this season.

Lastly, Hank Deutsch, in his 70s blew all of us win the stands away. He rode the run-up, he rode hard and his speed is coming up... He told me the course was harder than last season, but it was hard to believe watching him race. All of the Spin classes with Nora have brought up his speed. He made all of us proud out there!

Adult Standings
Expert:
Lee: 5
Jay: 4
Joe: 3

Intermediate
Dick: 5
Thom: 4
Scott: 3

Beginner (for now!)
Bryn: 5
Matt: 4

Senior
Hank: 5

Thanks for reading, see you Monday at the Viroqua Elementary Schools!