Team Wisconsin opens USGP season with strong showing
The KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin Category 2 squad wasted little time in the United States Grand Prix of Cyclocross (USGP) season to show where they stand.
On the first day of the opening race of the four-event series, three KS riders placed in the top 10 of the Catergory 2/3 race, with Mark Norton charging to within 12 seconds of a win. Just over a minute behind Norton, Team Wisconsinites Tim Racette and Bryan Fosler finished 6 and 7, respectively.
The USGP season, while consisting of four events across the United States, includes two races over a weekend, Sept. 22 and 23 in Sun Prairie; Oct. 13 and 14 in Fort Collins, Colo.; Nov 10 and 11 in Louisville, Ky.; and Dec. 8 and 9 in Bend, Ore.
The Category 2 team didn’t disappoint Sunday as Racette and Norton kept their form placing in the top 10 finishing 9 and 10, respectively. Teammate Marc Ano, jumped up the finish list from 87 Saturday to 28 Sunday.
Fosler crashed out of Sunday’s race after tangling with another rider, he said after the race. He tried to continue, but was unable to finish.
Joe Maloney represented Team Wisconsin on USGP’s biggest stage both days, appearing in the International Cycling Union (UCI) C1 rated Elite/U23 Men race. Maloney appeared not content to simply show up under the bright lights along side the likes of Unites States national champion Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus), and other stars like Ryan Trebon (Cannondale/Clement) and Jonathan Page (MiloEmmaPerle). Maloney romped to 39 out of 62 Saturday, and 39 of 68 Sunday.
Showing his skill from years of mountain biking, Mal
oney matched the best riders of the day by riding the run-up section of the course near the Hill Side Strangler, a collection of technical cornering on the side of a short, but steep hill. The run-up consisted of square planks laid across a dirt section of a steep incline. All but the most skilled riders on the day — Powers, Trebon and few others — were forced to run up the hill, but Maloney showed his skill and strength by easily ascending the obstacle with his cleats firmly planted in his pedals.
KS riders also filled the ranks in most of the weekends’ races from the Category 4 level to the Masters categories.
