Spring 2014 Race updates

It has been a busy couple of months and the racing season is in full swing.  Here's what's happened so far...
King's Day Crit
We had a great showing in Cat 5 with new guys Jesse Kooistra and Andy Louwaert along with Henry Kuhnen taking the top three steps.  I could not have been more proud.

Willow TT
Some early season results were put up with teammates Sandy Reid taking 2nd in Masters 35+, Colleen Myers taking 4th in Cat 4 women's.
Calvin's Challenge 12 hour endurance race
Our ultra endurance team put up some great results in grueling, windy conditions with long distance specialists Ryan Hiedenfeld riding for 12 hours and taking 3rd in his age group, Valerie Litnerski taking 2nd in her age group and 4th in the womens division overall and Colleen Myers taking 1st in her age group and 3rd in the womens division overall. These three racers rode for over 600 miles combined. Way to go!
Cone Azaila
Unfortunately, the immense potholes at this race took out our very own John Wunderlin.  He suffered a broken collar bone and is in the process of healing.  Our collective hearts go out to him and we are all wishing him a speedy recovery.  We should have him back at full strength for the start of the cyclocross season.
Yankee Springs MTB TT
Here's what Andy had  to say about the race...
"Top step for Erin, Tyler, and Myself in the sport category.  Not sure how Joe finished in elite. Looked like Ray had a trophy as well.  Good turnout, and great fun. "
Ray also said "All totaled we had 4 CMSers on the podium today. Joe finished 9th in elite which is equal to first in any other category.Amazing trail conditions, temps in the 60's and the sun was actually shining in Michigan.
Sodus TT
Another great day for results at the races for the CMS Race Team! Sandy Reid and Colleen took 1st and 4th in the women's Cat 4 while Jamie Clark and Dylan Gonda were able to take 2nd and 7th in the Cat 4 men's. Dylan mentioned that his goal for the season is go over the top of Mr. TT Jamie Clark by the end of the season.  Game on! Perennial strong man Jim Kindle place 3 in the Eddy Mercks division.  Sandy Reid and Jamie Clark put a hurt on the mixed team TT field taking 1st with an average of 23.1 mph.  Way to go team!
Warsaw Road Race
Myself, Henry Kuhnen, Graham Barker-King, David Buick took a road trip to Indiana and met with Gabe Rice and Dylan Gonda to take part in race full of delays, rain and cold weather.  Considering the way day turned out, it's not surprising that there were no notable results.  It was still a blast traveling together and I learned about some great new music!
Frankenmuth Road Race
This was our most well attended race yet.  The women had a great showing with Sandy and Colleen taking 2nd and 3rd in the women's race with a big leadout by Erin Rumery, those strategy sessions are paying off ladies!  Jesse had a great lead out by Tyler Weston and Andy Louweart with Jesse just getting nipped at the line by 1/10 of a second.  In the ensuing chaos of the Cat 4 race, I lost touch with Derek Dalzell but we were able to take 6th and 12th.  Jeremy Vanspronsen was nearly taken out on the first lap and was unable to get back to the main group but valiantly finished the race nonetheless.  Joe Thomas had to fend for himself in Cat 3 but managed to pull off a 10th place finish.  We had a team dinner the night before the race and celebratory brews afterwards at the Frankenmuth Brewery.  Another great showing for the guys and gals in blue.  Great job team!

Barry Roubaix Race Report

The CMS Race Team racing season has started out with a bang this season.  Even though it has been a tough year to get out and ride, the team did not disappoint at the Barry Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race.  Conditions weren't great but at least there wasn't snow and ice covering the gravel roads of Barry County.  Instead, it was peanut butter mud in some sections which is better than ice any day in my book.  The conditions didn't make for an easy race but you wouldn't have been able to tell from the results that our team members put up this weekend.  This resulted in a 4th place finish in the team competition, narrowly missing the 3rd step of the podium by 4 seconds.

Here are the results for the 36 mile race:

Age group 19-29	15	Henry Kuhnen
Age group 30-34	17	David Buick
	35	Jonathan Ballema
Age group 35-37	1	Joe Thomas
Age group 38-39	35	Benjamin Clark
Age group 45-47	4	John Wunderlin
Age group 48-49	1	Peter Post
Age group 50-52	27	Paul Guimond
Age group 55-60	3	Ray Fulkerson
	54	Tom Noverr
Age group 61 plus	13	Jim Kindle
Single Speed	7	Jake Grevenstuk
Fat Bike	13	Jamie Clark
	29	Mark Wright
	32	Steve Prendergast

Here's what Ray Fulkerson had to say about the race... 

The Barry Roubaix...Mud, Sweat and Beers.

Spinning around the streets of Hasting's prior to my start time I couldn't control the smile that was spread across my face. Bikes and bikers of all styles, shapes and sizes filled the landscape

As start time approached I found my wave, 10 by the way, than we did the slow roll to the starting line.

GO!...like being shot out of a cannon the wave surged forward. I immediately placed myself in the front group of racers awaiting for someone to rip the pace even faster.

The pace was brisk but you could sense there was this understanding that just around the corner we were about to face "The Three Sisters."

I decided to lead up the third sister to find the best line because we were already encountering a road full of racers starting in the previous wave.

By the time the 55/60 lead group crested the top of Gun Lake road hill we were down to 5. From there to the bottom of the The Wall I thought I was not going to survive. Spongy roads, quicksand like sections and a constant weaving through a crowded race course were taking their toll.

Once The Wall was behind me I began to fell my legs again which I contribute to the knowledge that I only had ten miles to the finish.

In the end I finished third in my age group. All in all a fantastic finish to a fantastic race.

Putting a perfect punctuation point to the post race party...Great friends sharing races stories and of course, beverages by Founders.

Warming up in style at the team tent

Joe Thomas taking the top step once again

John Wunderlin proving that he is one tough racer

Yours truly taking his first top step

The ageless wonder Ray Fulkerson once again representing CMS

Melting Mann race report

What a great race!  No one would ever have known that this was the first edition of this race put on by fellow CMSer Mark Wright.  Way to go dude!  The volunteers were super helpful, the swag and race prizes were awesome.  The post race brews and lunch totally hit the spot.  What will next year bring????

Well hopefully next year it will really be the Melting Mann because it was definitely not Melting this year.  The day before it had snowed, blanketing the course in 3 inches of newly fallen snow, not ideal conditions for a bike race.  Those who chose non-studded tires were in for a day of slipping and sliding.

CMS had a great showing on the podium.  Check out these results....
SHORT ROUTE MEN AGE GROUP: 30-39
2 205 Justin Sprung 31 Portage MI 1:10:56 11.8

SHORT ROUTE MEN AGE GROUP: 60-99
1 111 Jim Kindle 63 Kalamazoo MI 1:12:51 11.5

LONG ROUTE FAT TIRE
3 32 Jamie Clark 43 Vicksburg 2:04:24 13.5

LONG ROUTE MEN AGE GROUP: 30-39
5 21 David Buick 30 Portage MI 1:57:43 14.3

LONG ROUTE MEN AGE GROUP: 40-49
2 173 Peter Post 47 Kalamazoo MI 1:47:21 15.6
19 110 David Keyte 46 Portage MI 2:14:16 12.5

LONG ROUTE MEN AGE GROUP: 50-59
2 61 Ray Fulkerson 54 Kalamazoo MI 1:51:37 15.1
3 74 Paul Guimond 51 Kalamazoo MI 1:51:43 15

Way to go CMS!  I was very proud to see so much representation at the first race of the year.  Next up Barry Roubaix, let's show em what we got!

The ageless wonder accepting a well deserved medal.  Way to go Ray.

November Update - 11-3-13

Well the road season has been pretty much laid to rest for 2013 and I think for a lot of us it couldn't have come soon enough.  Come September motivation is seriously waning as the majority of us have been training hard since January and racing since March.  Aside from relaxing and dreaming of next year, the fall does offer a few nice things.  Easy rides whenever you feel like it (or no rides if you don't feel like it), but more importantly, cyclocross and Iceman!  Some of us have been making it out to a few CX races around the state and in our back yard with the hopes of having some fun, maintaining form a little bit longer and of course seeing who can suffer the most.  On that note, don't forget to mark November 10th on your calendar as CX is coming back to Markin Glenn Park. Check out Kisscross.com for more details.

This past Saturday was also The Iceman Cometh MTB race and yet again it didn't disappoint.  The team had a few riders in the mix though I don't yet know all the results.  I do know that Joe Thomas got 63rd in the Pro category which is absolutely phenomenal.  He had this to say about the race.

" It was a rush coming into the finish with many people yelling your name. I made a move in the last KM to beat the guys I rode in with. It wasn't my strongest day on the bike. The first few miles blew me up trying to keep pace with some very fast guys. Seeing a group in front of you and trying to bridge the gap in the pro race is  nearly impossible.  A couple pile ups in the first couple miles allowed the leading groups get away real quick. I'll most likely be back for more next yr..if anyone can get a Top 40 or 50 in that race you're doing well."

For me...I think it's high time I bought a mountain bike.

Jon Ballema

Le Tour de Mont Plesant Criterium – 6-9-13

Sunday morning started early. I woke up around 4 a.m. to drive 2.5 hours to Mount Pleasant, MI for Le Tour de Mont Pleasant’s criterium. The category 5 race started at 8 a.m. and was 25 min. + 1 lap. I got in a good warm up and was able to get in a couple laps of the course. It was a technical loop with 7 turns and a round-a-bout.

I got to the starting line early because I wanted to get a good starting position so I could be in front to avoid any first lap mishaps/crashes. The whistle blew and I jumped to the front. I stayed in the top 3 for the majority of the race because I knew it would be hard to move up with all the turns. Every once and a while a racer from behind would attack, but we would just pull him back in. Right before the last lap I did my turn pulling and then got settled in third position. Going into the second to last turn I was still in third position. As we approached the last turn I swung around the two people in front me and hit the gas. I finished about a bike length ahead of second place and did a victory salute to complete my first win. Along with a big trophy I also received a $50 Amazon gift card, chain lube, bar tape, and a free massage! It was a really great day!

-Gabe Rice

Gabe is a fairly new racer but one who has shown a lot of talent and passion for the sport.  Though technically a junior, he's been putting in his Cat 5 races in attempts for an upgrade (and has been doing very well).

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Zeeland Criterium - 6-28-13

Last night's race was one of the most enjoyable crits I've done.  This was a Cat 3/4 field and we went in with 7 guys so we were expecting to have some good results.  It started out super fast right out of the gate.  We were all strung out single file for about the first 20 minutes.  I was totally on the rivet.  Right then I was thinking, "crap, there goes all of our plans."  I was just trying to hang on.  After about 20 minutes of hard effort the group came back together a bit and Lewis went up the road solo.  I had no energy to try to get on the front and sit on it and after 2-3 laps the group brought him back in.  After about a lap of easy pedaling Joe went on a break with 3 other solid Cat 3s.  This was the opportunity for the team to assemble at the front and shut the chase down by soft pedaling through the corners and then ramping it up a little through the straightaways.  Just enough to keep people from being motivated to chase.  One rider ended up bridging but we were confident that Joe could hold his own in the sprint.  Within a few laps they had increased the gap to about 30 seconds and with about 10 laps to go I knew that they would probably stay away.  Me, Jesse, Pete, John and Lewis all sat at the front and did our job to make sure that nobody stood a chance of pulling the group back together.  With about 3-4 laps to go Pete took a good hard the front and again, kept it just fast enough to keep anybody from wanting to come around.  With 2 laps to go I jumped on the front with John and Lewis in tow and kept a close eye on the pack to see if anyone would jump, one guy did but we quickly caught him.  With a lap to go I ramped it up and led the field pretty hot into the first turn.  Coming out of the second turn there was a good straight-away and I knew I needed to keep the speed high here.  I took us through a quick left and then right in turns 3 and 4 and then drilled it into a longer straight section.  If someone was going to make an early move it would be here.  Nobody came around.  Going through turn 5 I sprinted hard and gave it everything I had left as my finish line was really turn 6; the final turn into the finish.  I took the corner wide and John and Lewis sprinted hard for the line.  In the end, Joe took 5th after getting pushed out into the gutter on the finishing sprint and Lewis took 1st in the field sprint (6th overall) thanks to strong legs and some good team work.  The rest of us worker bees came in with the field but we had done our job.  Our goals for the race were to have someone in the break and win the field sprint and that's exactly what we did.  We rounded out the night with a little team dinner at The Public House (awesome food and beer!).  And made the drive back home to Kalamazoo.

-Jon Ballema

Jon is a Cat 4 racer, husband, and soon to be father in addition to his role as team president.  He's worked hard over the last few years to increase teamwork and camaraderie as well as promote the sport of cycling throughout the area.


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June 2013 Team Results

Rider	Date		Event Name	Type	Category	Race Result	Field Size
Peter Post	6/1/2013		West Branch	Road Race	Cat 4	15	50
Jeremy VanSpronsen	6/1/2013		West Branch	Road Race	Cat 4	40	50
Joe Thomas	6/1/2013		West Branch	Road Race	Cat 3	7	40
Joe Thomas	6/2/2013		West Branch	Criterium	Cat 3	11	30
Ray Fulkerson	6/2/2013		TK Lawless MTB TT	MTB	Expert 40+	3	15
Dylan Gonda	6/8/2013		Michigan Mountain Mayhem	Endurance	Century	33	233
Joe Thomas	6/8/2013		Le Tour de Mount Pleasant	Road Race	Cat 3	28	38
Jon Ballema	6/8/2013		Le Tour de Mount Pleasant	Road Race	Cat 4	6	55
Jeremy VanSpronsen	6/8/2013		Le Tour de Mount Pleasant	Road Race	Cat 4	47	60
Ray Fulkerson	6/8/2013		Le Tour de Mount Pleasant	Road Race	Cat 4	20	60
Gabe Rice	6/9/2013		Le Tour de Mount Pleasant	Criterium	Cat 5	1	25
Ben Clark	6/9/2013		Le Tour de Mount Pleasant	Criterium	Cat 5	16	23
Peter Post	6/14/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Time Trial	Cat 4	9	17
Mark Finazzo	6/14/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Time Trial	Cat 5	9	25
Gabe Rice	6/14/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Time Trial	Cat 5	11	31
Mark Finazzo	6/15/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Criterium	Cat 5	10	34
Dylan Gonda	6/15/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Criterium	Jr. 17-18	6	7
Gabe Rice	6/15/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Criterium	Jr. 17-18	5	7
Peter Post	6/15/2013		Cherry Roubiax	Criterium	Cat 4	15	40
Peter Post	6/16/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Road Race	Cat 4	12	40
Mark Finazzo	6/16/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Road Race	Cat 5	7	25
Jon Ballema	6/16/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Road Race	Cat 4	16	40
Gabe Rice	6/16/2013		Cherry Roubaix	Road Race	Cat 5	15	25
Colleen Myers	6/15/2013		National 24-Hour Challenge	Endurance	F 25-29	1	2
John Wunderlin	6/16/2013		Meijer State Games TT	Time Trial	Cat 3	10	10
Jesse Riegle	6/22/2013		Festival Of The Sun	Criterium	Cat 4	14	30
Ben Clark	6/22/2013		Festival Of The Sun	Criterium	Cat 5	17	31
Mark Finazzo	6/23/2013		Bear Lake Tri	Other	Olympic	3 (age group)	5 (age group)
Peter Post	6/23/2013		Meijer State Games TT	Time Trial	Cat 4	9	11
Jon Ballema	6/23/2013		Meijer State Games TT	Time Trial	Cat 4	6	11
Peter Post	6/28/2013		Zeeland Criterium	Criterium	Cat 3/4	15	37
John Wunderlin	6/28/2013		Zeeland Criterium	Criterium	Cat 3/4	10	37
Jon Ballema	6/28/2013		Zeeland Criterium	Criterium	Cat 3/4	23	37
Lewis Henrickson	6/29/2013		Herman Miller Brickyard Crit	Criterium	Cat 3/4	1	48

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