The Wisconsin State Criterium Championship was held this past Saturday, June 14th in Ripon, Wisconsin (home of Ripon Good Cookies). Thanks to the efforts of team LAPT, the race atmosphere had a Superweek feel to it with an announcing stage, manned by the fluent Mike Mandli, and a few race primes. Located in the beautiful downtown area, near Ripon College, it was a technical counter clockwise course with 100 feet of climbing on each 0.8-mile lap. It was sure to test the legs of even the strongest of riders. And fortunately for all, Mother Nature was taking a break from turning Wisconsin into a natural rain forest, and blanketed Ripon with sunny skies and warm weather.
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare was well represented throughout the day. It started early with Jessica Helmlinger racing in the Women’s Open event. Jess rode ard and just missed being in the medals.
Next up was the Master 50+ riders, but don’t let the age fool you. The 35-rider field included some national champions and Superweek overall winners, some even twice! Paul Mehlenbeck, Gene Macken and Andy Reiland represented Team Wheaton. From the start, into the first turn 10 riders exploded off the front and quickly pulled away from the field. Macken was ready and made the break. Forming a second group of 5 included Reiland, closely followed by Mehlenbeck. The pace was kept high, with speeds averaging over 25 mph, and Macken fought off several attacks to keep himself with the leaders for the final sprint. He rocketed to a 2nd place overall just missing the win. And with the effort came GOLD in his age group. Mehlenbeck finished 18th taking SILVER for his age group. Reiland was pleased with 13th overall, just missing a medal in a strong field.
In the Elite 4/5’s, Addison Faul had a very strong showing and was very active in a lead group of about 15, spending time at the front setting a fast pace. After one of his strong pulls, he found himself at the back with 2 laps remaining. With some good riding skills on the backside of the course, Addison worked his way back in the top 5 for the bell lap. A fast final turn seemed to have the top riders all set and little change occurred as they crossed the finish line with Addison in 5th place.
Great teamwork was the key to some top finishes in the Master 4/5 category. Wheaton riders Doug Wambach, Rudy Byron, Glen Stroik, Mike Hulen and Andy Reiland toed the line in the field of 40+ riders. The chances look good for some team tactics Wheaton style. Reiland immediately rode off the front with the aid of some blocking by Dr. B. This created some distance that concerned the other riders and a chase immediately began. The catch took place on the backside of the course at the top of the hill on lap 2. But the damage was done and the field was spread out and gaps were opening all over. A group of 8 were getting organized at the front, led by Stroik. In the mix was sprinter Wambach, but missing was Wheaton’s other top sprinter Dr. B. Before turn 3 was reached, Dr. B moved into the group that now was at 9, with 1/3 Wheaton riders. Hulen went to the front of the second group and allowed the gap to widen. Once Hulen finished doing his job, the pack allowed Reiland to move to the front and continue the blocking for his teammates in the break.
For the next several laps, Stroik pushed the pace of the lead group and Reiland discouraged any chasers from the second group. It was a great sight to see 3 of the 9 riders circling the course in Team Wheaton kits. With only a few laps remaining, Stroik pushed hard to cover a break by Sheafor of Brazen Dropouts. Although they were caught, it was a move that took the pressure off Wambach and Dr. B and allowed them to save it for the finishing sprint. As the lead group came around the last corner to the finish, Dr. B and Wambach sprinted for a 2nd and 3rd place finish. This gave Dr. B the GOLD and Wambach SILVER. Stroik finished 8th, which he was very happy with considering the amount of work he had done, and resulted in SILVER for his age group.
No time to rest as the Master 3/4’s took their warm-up lap. A large field of over 50 had two very strong Wheaton riders in Chris Newlin and Ben Bartoszuk. Bartoszuk was planning his breakaway tactics with Dave Eckel on the ride up earlier in the day. His plan was to launch an attack with 15 minutes remaining in the race – a bold prediction to say the least. As with the previous races of the day, it didn’t take long for a group of 15 to separate themselves from the field. Both Newlin and Bartoszuk pushed the pace of the 15 early to keep the separation permanent. True to prediction, Bartoszuk jumped off the front with 15 minutes remaining in the race. No one tried to go with, and true to form, Newlin immediately went to the front setting a pace that let Bartoszuk build a 30 second lead. With a lot of time remaining in the race, Bartoszuk was left with a tall order to hold the lead. Encouragement from his teammates watching in awe surely helped. A Brazen Droupout rider tried to bridge the gap and closed to within 15 seconds, but Bartoszuk’s strength wouldn’t let any one catch him. He crossed the line with arms raised for his first career WCA victory and a GOLD medal. The pack crossed 30 seconds later with Newlin winning the sprint finish and taking SILVER.
Wheaton riders Pete, Ben, Chris and Dave represented in the Masters 123 race. The wind kept blowing harder and temps were heating up to make for a challenging race. The pace was super hard early on and guys were popping left and right. Our man Ben was the only rider from the team to finish (18th) as the majority of the field did not finish. He even chipped in with a few strong pulls to try to bring back breaks late in the race. He is on form for sure!! Crater won the race after he and Halverson broke away with 2 to go.
Next up for the Team is the weekend double of Grafton and Sheboygan races.