June 19th-28th The inaugural Tour of America’s Dairyland kicked off with huge momentum and success as Wheaton Cycling was there to light it up for the announcers and the crowd. Each of the 10 days of racing over the eleven-day period brought out its challenges but the depth of the team proved strong. Stage one, swept through the very hilly and postcard worthy landscapes near Blue Mounds State Park and Brigham State Park. With 2,200 feet of elevation gain per each 22-mile lap and a finishing mile long climb with average gradient of 8 percent, stage one seemed to solidly set a tone for the rest of the series. Fighting through the hill top finish to the top of the podium was David Paquette getting the exciting day one victory for Team Wheaton.
The stage two criterium through Waterloo was the grand entrance of speed into the series. With a downhill three turn zigzag into a long finishing strait, position was important but leg speed proved key. Tyson Beck grabbed podium honors for the Masters Cat 4/5 squad and Dave Eckel came within nano-seconds of snagging a set of Bontrager Race X lite wheels in a mid race prime during the Masters 123 event. In the Cat 3 race, both David and Nick managed top tens in what ended up being a fairly challenging last lap. Giro d’ Grafton, stage three, was all position, position, position. The Cat 3 guys, with Mike Martinsen leading through the final technical turn, were able to get Paquette great positioning for the sprint and Nick Frye tucked in a wheel behind making it a three man top ten finish and another Wheaton podium. Masters Cat 4/5 strong man John Svanda, powered his way to a well deserved number two spot on the podium and snagged a coveted bag of Stone Creek Coffee by doing so. Stage four was hosted by the The Maritime Bay Classic of Manitowoc, WI. The day Wheaton wrote the playbook for another TOAD victory. The announcers filled their mics and pumped the speakers with the words of Wheaton as the train of Mike Verhagen, Mark DesJardin, and Garrett McAllister blasted the final laps in a lead-out for David Paquette that ended in Wheaton’s second stage victory of the tour. When Tyson Beck took to the road in the Cat 4/5 race, it was a Wheaton thunderstorm through the monitors as he sprinted for prime after prime and then finished on the podium. Stage five saw scorching heat and high humidity for the Fond du Lac road race. Very few tempted the start line and only about a quarter of those finished. A head held high for James Saueressig and John Grisa in the masters 4/5 race and to Garrett McAllister for his exhaustive solo efforts in blocking for the break that saw David Paquette and Jon Cook take two and three on the Podium. In stage six, the temps came down ever so slightly but Wheaton must have decided it was too cool as they cranked up the burners for the Fond du Lac Grand Prix. The flat .6 mile four corner course offered up another podium finish for John Svanda and three top ten spots for the Cat 3 boys with Jon Cook topping the podium after a photo finish sprint from a breakaway group. Stage seven saw cool breezes coming off Lake Michigan offered a bit of a simmer after six days of high heat and leg burning races. Top Wheaton finishes for the Sheboygan Criterium included Dave Eckel for the Masters 1/2/3, Garrett McAllister for the Elite 3, and Mike Hulen for the Masters 4/5 guys. The Greenbush Road Race, stage eight, wins a podium spot for most enjoyable course of the series in many of our rider’s minds. Hard to imagine racing as enjoyable but the rolling twists and turns through narrow roads and tight wooded canopy offered a nice break from the intense sun and flat tracks. Cat 3 riders Jon Cook and Brian Fosler took full advantage of the many blind corners to get out of sight and out of mind with their six man break that delivered them to the finish in 4th and 5th. David Paquette lead the field charging up the finishing climb slotting into 6th with Garrett McAllister and Michael Martinsen just a few wheels behind. Stage nine brought on the Downer’s Ave Criterium, home of the “Super Prime” and a tight, technical, triangle of a course. By far the largest, most excited, energy giving crowd of the series and the team responded to it big time. Absorbing some of that energy and blasting it through their pedals was Tyson Beck, sprinting to 2nd place in the 4/5 race, John Svanda bring home the coffee again in the master’s 4/5, and Brain Folser who just missed podium honors after getting boxed in at the line.
The final day, stage ten, brought out some grand finale showings for The Wheaton Fransiscan Cycling Team. After three podium finishes but no chocolate milk, John Svanda just couldn’t leave for home without getting a taste. He finished off the series with a chocolate milk mustache, a spotted cow jersey, and a very big smile. Also fun to note that fast twitch Tyson Beck pocketed all but one of the sprint primes throughout the race. You just might see him next race rolling a new set of rims. Cat 3 series leaders, David Paquette and Mark Howe from Team Geargrinder, made their series finale exit on lap 3 as they escaped the field. The two stuck it out to the finish where Howe took home the sprint but Paquette brought home the cheese by winning the inaugural Tour Of Americas Dairyland Elite 3’s overall title. What a week and what a tour!! Thank you to the TOAD organizers for putting on an amazing series of racing. Everything was organized and completely professional. It was an honor to participate in such a first class racing series. This inaugural event has set the bar very high! Wheaton Fransiscan Cycling would like to thank everyone that made it happen! The Wheaton Fransiscan Cycling riders also send a big thank you to the team and sponsors for the support throughout the series. The immense gains that were made this week as a team unit would not have been possible without your support. Thank you!
