Joe Maloney wins the Matt Wittig Memorial Cup.

This past weekend was the Matt Wittig Memorial Race held in Muskego Wisconsin. The race remembers Matt for what he loved, bike racing. With Matt’s membership on the UW Cycling club combined with many of the KS Energy Services/TW riders riding for UW, a special bond exists which those riders wanted to express. The arrangements were made and all of the current and former UW riders would wear their UW cycling jersey with KS bibs to Honor Matt in the Category 3 race.

With 3 UW riders from different summer teams lining up together the focus was clear, one of us would win it for Matt and the club. As the race progressed, attacks went and efforts were put down to soften the legs. With about 10 laps to go, Eric Battaglioli from Brazen Dropouts went off the front and both Josh Fangman from BD, and KS Energy rider Joe Maloney went to the front to block. Eric pulled out as much of a 20 second gap with the other two blocking but was brought back after a few other teams began to chase in earnest. With 3 laps to go the field was back together and riders began to prepare for a difficult uphill sprint finish. After cresting the hill with one to go Josh put the hammer down and strung the field out with Joe sitting comfortably in 4^th wheel. Coming into the finish climb Joe Launched the sprint and came across the line with hands up proudly displaying the motion W.

KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin was also represented in the P/1/2/3 with Nick Frye and Joe Maloney both representing the UW club as well as Team Wisconsin.

“Crit specialists” take Sunday race

LA CROSSE — Just seconds stood between Alex Martin and the overall omnium victory after a weekend of intense racing. His second-place finish followed racing, which included a Saturday morning road race, evening hill-climb time trial, and a criterium in downtown La Crosse Sunday.

In Saturday’s road stage, Martin, and his only teammate for the weekend in the men’s Elite 3 category, Andrew Hellpap, raced wisely by staying together and at the front to mark any attacks on the hilly course west of Winona, Minn. The field of about 40 stayed together for most of the race, before Martin took the pace up on the final climb of the four-lap race.

The climb came just a few miles from the finish, and following the surge on the hill, Martin just missed overall victory at the line in a sprint with Michael Michetti, from the Lakes Area Chiropractic Therapy team. Hellpap finished 18 on the day.

Later that night, after a significant thunderstorm blew through La Crosse, the sun came out to shine on a raucous event at the hill-climb time trial up Grand Dad’s Bluff in southern La Crosse. Using no equipment to gauge his effort, Martin stormed up the 2.37-mile climb in less than 9 minutes, to claim third on the stage. Unfortunately, Michetti piped him by two seconds, setting up an epic battle in the Sunday criterium.

Also, in the time trial, Hellpap finished in the top 10.

Finally, with the threat of rain looming, Hellpap and Martin took to the tarmac of the pancake-flat crit course along the Mississippi River on Front Street in downtown La Crosse. The mission was clear for the KS Energy Services riders: Mark any attack by Michetti, and the other podium contenders for the overall omnium, and try for the win.

Hellpap played the role of spoiler for the omnium contenders, and bodyguard for Martin. At the gun, Martin tried a daring solo attack, and his lead grew on the field to 13 seconds at one point in the first five laps, with Hellpap chasing at least four bridge attempts and blocking. But, reality set in that the wind-free, flat fast-track would not allow a breakaway to stick.

With Martin back in the fold, Hellpap clung to Michetti’s wheel, as well as the wheel of an omnium contender from the Brone’s team. Attack after attack flew, but were quickly caught by Hellpap. With two laps to go, Martin and Hellpap, who had stuck together all afternoon, shot to the front to be in safe position for a win.

Martin, yelled, “Andrew (Hellpap) I need you on the front.” With the call to action, Hellpap drove the pace on the front of the field to catch the lone remaining breakaway of three heading into the final three-quarters of a lap, with speeds reaching 32 miles per hour.
Hellpap gave way with less than half a lap remaining. Martin did the rest. The slender Team Wisconsin climber dug hard with about 100 yards to go and held off all challengers to take the win. After the race, an opposing rider congratulated the KS Energy

Services “crit specialists” — Hellpap and Martin both weigh around 140 pounds and climb — on a well-executed strategy. However, the win wasn’t enough to take the omnium overall. Michetti garnered second place to edge Martin by a meager two points, which essentially came down to a few seconds in the time trial, in which Michetti had edged Martin.

Hellpap finished in the top 15 in the overall ominum.

This weekend at the Joe Martin stage race around Fayetteville, Arkansas, I came across many new race situations, and some familiar situations but in new contexts. Many scenarios are ubiquitous in cycling like chaotic feed zones with bottles skidding across the pavement or when you’re on the front with your team drilling the pace to string out the field. Worse yet, when the field is strung out, and you’re alternating between coasting at thirty-five miles per hour and stomping on your biggest gear to grab the last wheel again.

In Fayetteville I found myself in each of those scenarios–probably many times each, in fact. Notably however, was the latter. Being the last guy hanging onto the tail of the field, panting like a black labrador on a hot July day is never a good time. At the tail of the field, you put in just as hard of an effort as the leaders but not to pull the field around the course, its just to stay in the race. This is a frustrating fact that grows with the amount of time you’re stuck at the rear. Sitting up and peering over the helmets of the field on a downhill section of the course, you can see riders, seemingly a mile away, slingshotting off the front trying to make a break. You find yourself wondering ‘how/why?’ while throwing down your best sprint just to no longer be the last rider, but third from last. As the laps count down and even after you pass two or three riders every lap while trying to move up in the field, you peek under your arm to see you’re somehow still the last rider in the field–somehow you are. Its impossible, you convince yourself: you just moved up two wheels just last lap all in vain.

Tail-gunning a fast crit is racing purgatory where racers wait to be washed of their sinful mistake of getting stuck in the back in the first place. You’re storming around the course putting in hard efforts and working tactfully as if you’re still racing, but you’re a ghost who hasn’t yet realized it. Once you come to that realization, it’s not an issue of if you’ll get dropped, but when.

Deciding whether you should pull yourself or when to pull is as difficult as timing an attack. Either way, you need to decide what your intentions are: the admirable one, is just to ‘stretch the legs out,’ and put in the efforts to hang just for the workout and to improve your fitness. Most crits around Wisconsin cost around thirty bucks; that’s an expensive workout. Might as well have signed up for a charity ride and got a free swag bag and water bottle. I’m not a licensed coach or sports physiologist, but this argument simply doesn’t need quantification or science: the reason the tail-gunner doesn’t drop out is pride.

Nobody likes getting dropped from a crit, even if it’s known as the fastest and hardest. A mechanical or flat is a godsend when you’re tail-gunning, because it’s not your fault you couldn’t finish. Deus ex machina. Pseudo-physiological reasons are weak too: the popular ‘coming down from a cold,’ or ‘my legs felt like rubbish,’ work like calling in sick to work. The only person you need to convince is yourself, but that excuse should only pass your internal ‘B.S. detector’ if there are days when you feel great and race well.  Otherwise, you’re just a bad racer.

Racing–that is, the entire package of training, affiliation with a club/team, race weekends, etc.– is all about fun. Or should be. That is to say I don’t hate doing microburst workouts or even the notion of power meters and ‘TSS’ (Training Stress Scores); it all falls into the calculus of cycling. I think of racing as a maximization problem: how do I maximize the fun I have racing, controlling opportunity costs, money, time and effort? Too little training, and you don’t even see the benefits. Too much, and you experience diminishing returns and burn out in February in your living room on your trainer watching ‘The Expendables.’  But it’s not a simple curve at which there is an optimal point of time and money spent on racing. The economics of cycling are multi-facted and dynamic with too many inputs and invisible effects–health, potential risk of injury from racing or even training, opportunity cost of the next best alternative, the unknown-unknowns! Learning about yourself mentally and physiologically is essential for obvious performance reasons. More importantly, knowing yourself is essential to help answer the question of why you shave your legs, why you own your $7,000 bike,and make payments on your $3,000 car, why you leave your loved ones to do the thing you supposedly love every weekend.

The answer to that question will likely never satisfy a true skeptic, but that doesn’t matter. Shaved legs are not more aerodynamic, and using a beard-trimmer rather than a razor enables you to clean out road rash just as well–those arguments are moot. But the ability to answer to yourself ‘why?’–why race, why train, why the SSL version or why drive three hours for an hour race– with confidence is what matters. When you find yourself asking ‘why’ when chasing the pack, all that matters is that you believe your answer, and that you execute it with grace. It doesn’t matter if your fellow pack-fill friends don’t believe that your legs are cached from your workouts that week, or whether or not your rear tire is running low–as long as that excuse doesn’t chase you around like a ghost of your shame.

On Sunday in Fayetteville I raced for 30 minutes of what was likely the hardest racing in my life. Unfortunately the crit lasted 50 minutes. When a gap opened in front of me going 30 mph uphill, I knew that was the end of my race. I found another piece of debris like myself that was shed from the meteor of a field screaming around the course and we finished three more laps before getting pulled. My new friend I was riding with, Jeff, told me that his average power for those 30 minutes was 365 watts, with an even higher ‘normalized’ power. For a 145 lb. amateur rider, that’s incredibly high. I don’t know if that number is even entirely accurate or representative for me since Jeff had effectively raced a different race being a slightly larger guy, and having not put in the exact same efforts I did; I didn’t care. The number struck me as big, and I had no business in that race anymore: the reason I stuck with it as long as I did was to make it half-way through to have technically completed the 4 day stage race that it was part of.

I finished the stage race in 57th place, over 26 minutes behind the leader. Over 100 racers started, and only 66 finished. I had arguably two of my hardest days on the bike ever, traveled over 1,500 miles, slept in a shady motel and taken nearly a week away from work and friends for that race. I can say with complete confidence that I didn’t regret a minute of it and would do it again if I had the choice.

The 2012 WORS Mountain Biking season kicks off each year with the Iola Bump and Jump. This year however, it was welcomed with a little Cyclocross fashion. Heavy rains soaked the course in Iola, WI Ieading up to the race on Sunday, May 6. While the course is very sandy, the unexpected mud-fest to ensue was a shock to everyone.

Jason Kayzar and Mikey Verhagen battled 3 treacherous laps of the 5-mile course in the Comp (CAT2) category. Kayzar toughing it out on a single speed. Joe Maloney, Tim Racette, and Matt Gehling pressed hard in a stacked Elite (Pro/CAT 1) field.

Results:

PRO/CAT 1

1. Brian Matter
2. Matt Shriver
3. Mark Lalonde
13. Joe Maloney
23. Tim Racette
32. Matt Gehling

Jason Kayzar 9th (CAT 2 Single Speed)

Mikey Verhagen 38th ( CAT 2)

Full Results

Joe Martin Stage Race - The Journey Begins

Joe Martin Stage 1 –

The first stage of the 4 day event was a nearly 3 mile time trial up the side of Devil’s Den State Park, just south of Fayetteville Arkansas, gaining around 700 vertical ft, with an average gradient of 6.8%. With the mercury pegging the temperature at around 80 degrees in shade, and the sun and moderate humidity making it feel warmer, it was easy for racers heart rate to quickly blow up–but slow to cool down. The boys were happy to warm up at the Saris sponsored warm up tent, where they met a friendly face in the Cycleops’ regional rep. as they best prepared themselves for the pain to come. Nobody is ever entirely satisfied with a time-trial event, having likely metered their efforts poorly and blown up early, or finished the parcourse feeling like they had a little left to give–both sentiments shared by KS Energy riders that day as the weather and course proved to be not-so-predictable. Nonetheless, the squad finished admirably, positioning themselves well at the top half of the GC list while keeping the upcoming days of racing in mind.

Fosler finished in 48th, Frye in 55th, Paquette in 72nd, Heile in 73rd. The time gap between all 4 riders was less than 22 seconds, so it was a close race for KS.

Joe Martin Stage 2 –

Stage 2 of the Joe Martin Stage race started like a pirate raid on the Spanish armada. There were more explosions lighting up the first half of this race than we have seen in a while. With a field chock full of well-represented teams, each lit a canon one right after the other. KS Energy started with a stroke of bad luck and almost immediately lost one rider when Heile hit a nasty patch of gravel and flatted around ten miles into the race. With the front of the pack storming forward with guns ablaze, there was no catching back on for Heile.

A break finally established, but the timing didn’t play to the favor of Team WI. The major players in the field were happy with the split, as most teams were represented in the break–except Paquette and Frye of KS Energy, who put in huge efforts to pull the group together and protect the team GC contender, Bryan Fosler. When efforts to motivate other riders to help the chase failed, the gap proved too large for the two who relegated themselves to the sitting in the field. Two riders tangled on a fast descent with around 60 miles to go causing a large crash. Miraculously, Paquette stayed upright but suffered a puncture when he hit a fallen rider’s wheel.

No more than ten miles later, the field splintered in a stretch of crosswind through rolling hills as teams repeatedly attacked, trying to establish a second break. The fie

ld’s final knockout came during a ten mile climb at mile marker 75. Frye and Fosler finished in one of the many small remaining groupettos, well inside the time cut, while Paquette fought hard to survive and race stage 3 with a long a solo effort. All riders knew that there’s a time cut after the leaders finish the stage, so it was a fierce struggle to the finish even though the peloton splintered.

After over one-hundred-ten miles of racing the team all agreed it was one of the toughest road races they have ever done.

Fosler finished 66th, Frye 70th and Paquette 84th.

Joe Martin stage 3 –

Stage 2 was hard. But stage 3 turned the dial up to eleven. The fireworks started off the front of the field at the first climb only two miles into the stage. After repeated attacks, several breaks were established, gained ground and were brought back many times before one finally stuck. The lollipop course had one substantial climb which was topped off with multiple punchy rollers. The pace stayed high on the climb and the fireworks never ceased as riders would wind up attacks over the top and throughout the rollers. The KS boys hedged their bets against the break given the nature of the course and speed with which the field was rolling. Both Paquette and Frye took turns on the front making sure the pace stayed where it needed to be to keep the breakaway’s time gap manageable. After working with other teams that were left out of the break, the field caught the breakaway with around five miles to go. With 5k to go Paquette and Frye went to the front to keep the pace high and control the chaos to give strong-man Fosler opportunity to maneuver in the tight bunch. Fosler crossed the line in 12th after a 45 mph wind up towards the line, while Paquette and Frye finished within the field.

Fosler finished 12th, Paquette in 36th, Frye in 64th.

Joe Martin Stage 4 –

The stage 4 criterium handed out the hardest efforts of the race. The 8-corner 1.2 mile course featured 110 ft of elevation gain each lap with 90 ft of that in just the finishing 300 meter wall, and two fast descending corners which the field frequently rounded at over 40 mph. Needless to say, the race was painful from lap one. The squad’s efforts from chasing during the previous stages took their toll on the KS Energy boys during the very punchy, power intensive crit, but they held strong to the finish. After numerous attacks at the front of the field which very nearly tore the entire field to shreds, Fosler and Paquette finished with the remnants of the field, and Frye finished with a prorated time several minutes down. For a more in depth self analysis of Frye’s race, see “throwing in the towel.”

Fosler finished in 33rd, Paquette in 36th and Frye was placed at 53rd.

Of the 103 man field that started the TT, 25% of the riders weren’t able to finish by the end of stage 4. Joe Martin was a brutal series and you needed a lot of luck in addition to a set of legs to complete each day’s stage. I think that all the riders agree that they’ve learned quite a bit from Joe Martin and they’ll remember this race for a long time. The race had a lot of talent in the pack and it’s no doubt that it’s one of the hardest races these guys will ever do.

Creative Hotel Bike Storage

In the masters categories; Jim Hamer, Steve Werner, Will Wendorff and Rob Selberg battled the strong winds in the 4/5 race. After controlling much of the race as a team, Jim Hamer was able to pull out a personal best 3^rd place finish with the others finishing in the top 10 and back.  The Masters 1/2/3 race saw Aaron Duston find the top ten and Chris Barton place 9^th among cat 3’s.

In the category 3 race; Alex Martin, Julio Jacobo, Andrew Hellpap, Tim Racette and Joe Maloney were by far the most organized squad in the peleton. After strong attacks in the first few laps, Joe was able to get away with another rider with a sizable gap. With teammates blocking and stopping bridge attempts, the two leaders looked like they would lap the field. With 2 to go Joe attacked his breakaway mate to catch the field and came in for the win with other members placing high as well.

In the Pro ½, Jon Heile Was able to make the major split in the pack but missed the winning break. He was able to finish 16^th and 6^th among cat 2’s.

To kick off Team Wisconsin’s entries at Sunday’s racing, Gale Hellpap took fifth place in the Womens Category 4 race earlier in the morning. She narrowly missed out on a podium finish when a last-ditch sprint fell inches short.

The CAT 3 Squad controls the field while teammate Joe Maloney is in a break.

]]> http://teamwisconsincycling.com/gdvc-1-2012//feed 0 http://teamwisconsincycling.com/enzos-cycling-products-2012/ http://teamwisconsincycling.com/enzos-cycling-products-2012/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:49:33 +0000 tracette http://teamwisconsincycling.com/?p=3648

Enzo’s Cycling products are back to support KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin for another year. The riders are especially happy about this because the Enzo’s ButtonHole Cream was saving our butts all last year. And their Embrocation was doing wonders for our legs when the cold Midwest winter came to chill our CX spirits.

Enzo’s Products are not just your average skin care products. Many of our riders specifically request them because of the way all their products are made. “Enzo’s products is like something coming out of a bakery, not a chemical plant” said rider Jason Kayzar. And this pretty much sums our sentiments about Enzo’s. They use the highest quality ingredients, so they work how they are designed and don’t break down during the ride.

On top of that the user experience is something special. Long time team member Dave “sarge” Paquette says this better than anyone. “Love the fact that it goes on without an oily feeling.  The scent, Cocoa-mint, amazing. Who doesn’t want junk that smells like a pillow mint?” The embrocation has a pleasant smell as well and comes with gloves for application. The small details show that Enzo’s don’t forget anything when working on their products.

For more info on Enzo’s Cycling Products, visit their website.

The Clif Bar philosophy of simple and proven ingredients is a key to its success, and their commitment to keeping the earth clean is something that both Clif Bar and Team Wisconsin care about. But the real value comes when you’re in the middle of the action and you can trust that taking that gel shot or blok is going to give you the energy you need without worrying about stomach pain or cramps.  This is what we are most thankful for.

The Clif Shot Bloks are a special favorite of the teams. The bloks are easy to eat because of the tube shaped packets and go down easy like a gel because basically they are one. But they offer something else to the rider; the sensation of actually eating something while riding. They are the perfect middle ground for those longer 2 hour events where eating becomes important. The builder bars are also common around the team. They have are high in protein content for post workout fuel which helps fill you up when you’re on the go.

With big expectations this year you can be sure that Team Wisconsin will have Clif there every step of the way propelling us across the finish line with our hands in the air. We encourage you to do the same, check out their website at http://www.clifbar.com/

In the 2012 road cycling season KS Energy Services-Team Wisconsin will share something with one of the top professional road cycling teams in the world, Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek, both teams will be perched atop the Trek Madone bikes.

Through a partnership between Team Wisconsin, Emerys Cycling, Triathlon and Fitness, and Trek, team members were given the opportunity to gain an advantage by racing Trek’s Madone 5-series frames or the top-tier 6-series road bikes, painted in Team Wisconsin red.

The interest in Trek as a bike supplier goes beyond just bikes, however, said Dave Eckel, Team Wisconsin president.

“Trek offers exceptional bikes and components across every cycling discipline with sizing to fit every rider on the team being a major draw. Having several riders on the squad who work for Trek, and the fact we can order bikes from their Project One program to match the team colors made it even more optimal for Team Wisconsin,” he said.

The idea to work with Emerys, also a Team Wisconsin sponsor, has been brewing for a while, and in the fall of 2011 the interest became more than casual conversation in the peloton, said Brent Emery, owner of Emerys bike shops.

Riders on Team Wisconsin mentioned interest to Emery in riding Trek bikes, but the team’s shop sponsor at the time could not arrange to supply Trek, he said. In addition, his shop could offer services and expertise to meet the needs of races, which comes from a true love of the sport, he said.

“If there is ever any opportunity, I think we could do good things for you,” Emery said, referring to early conversations with Team Wisconsin leadership.

Team Wisconsin believed in Emerys service and philosophy, Eckel said.

“The Team started discussions with Emerys given the extreme passion and exceptional service that Emerys is well known for in Wisconsin, and around the country. Some of the team leaders have known, trained and raced with Brent Emery for several years and we wanted to build a partnership around Brent and his stores.  Emerys being a top-100 Trek dealer, and the fact that Emerys had yet to partner with one of southeast Wisconsin’s premier cycling teams made for the right opportunity for both Emerys and Team Wisconsin.”

Emerys interest in supporting Team Wisconsin is greater than just supplying bikes, fittings, and parts orders, it also has to do with the vision the team has for its future, and the exposure he gets with being associated with a team like KS Energy Services.

In particular, the potential of bringing young riders into the sport of bike racing was a factor in the decision to add Team Wisconsin to Emerys list of 11 team sponsorships, including triathlon and road racing teams, and touring groups.

Exposure by casual riders to the image of graceful bike racers flashing by in a local criterium bearing the Emerys logo is a powerful advertising tool, but so is word of mouth from the racers and team members, Emery said.

“It is the fact that word of mouth is a terrifically strong form of advertising,” he said.

That exposure helps Emerys promote events like its Anniversary Sale, April 5 to 8, at his stores, Emery said. While there may be another event at State Fair Park, going on at the same time, there are services Emerys can provide that a one-day event just can’t, Emery said. Such as, the ability to match any price, including the internet, fittings, and the ability to offer extended warranties.

For Team Wisconsin the benefit of a partnership with Emerys and Trek is more than corporate exposure, according to Emery, but it’s the attitude having top-flight equipment can bring to any bike racer.

“Yes, you can put in more work than anybody, but if you don’t have the attitude you won’t reach your full potential,” Emery said.

The relationship with Trek and Emerys does provide something unique, Eckel said.

“There is something special about riding for a Wisconsin born cycling team and a top-level racing bike built right here in Wisconsin — I hope it’s just the beginning of a very long and successful partnership,” he said.

Dave Eckel making his way over the barriers.

With unseasonably warm temperature, the 2012 edition of the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championship in Madison, WI was one for the ages. The crowds were out in force and cheering like a pack of wild monkeys. The course was dynamic with early morning races featuring frozen mud and dangerous ruts and later races being complete mud fests.

Tom Winkel tackles the 21 step blistering stair climb.

There was a Non-Championship race held at the course on Wednesday. Tom Winkle and Eric Brandt both raced; in the 40+ and 35-39 races respectively. After massive amounts of calcium chloride were used to melt the ice which had formed, the course was pretty muddy. Tom placed 21^st in his race while Eric managed a 12^th place, both excellent results.

Saturday brought a slight drop in temperatures from Friday and with it the mud was harder and took longer to thaw. Dave Eckel was first to race at 9am with probably one of the most dangerous races all weekend.

In a race where keeping it upright was nearly impossible, Dave survived a few early mistakes, but eventually went down hard over the bars. He had to see the medical tent with a possible concussion, but was lucky to be unhurt.

Next up was Eric back for more after riding in completely different conditions on Wednesday. In a highly contested men’s 35-39 championship race, Eric placed 54^th. While he was a little disappointed, it will only fuel him to train harder.  With the afternoon sun, came the mud and Joe Maloney was able to capitalize on a good start to place 13^th in the U23 Elite race.

This officially ends the CX season for the KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin boys. It has been a successful season with its ups and downs. We look forward to seeing everyone this coming spring.

Joe Maloney rounds the turn into the technical section of the course.