t)
Kids Come Out in Force for Viroqua
Cross
Monday, October 8th looked to be a rain soaked affair in Viroqua, but instead the weather was perfect. Muddy, but sunny, and a bit slow in the Velcro like mud and grass. People have said that the grass in the Midwest is like the grass of Europe. I don't know about that, but it did take a bit of water pressure to clean off the 'mud-shedding tires'. But again, I prefer muddy and warm to muddy and frozen with scores of hypothermic kids wandering around in the street. Anyway, it was a good day of racing here in Viroqua!
The competition began in Ernest
with the 9-11 age group. Those guys go very hard, and each of the
last three weeks has had a new winner, and a different top three.
The return of Ephraim Sutherland had the field and crowd wondering
how this week would unfold. Last week's top three, Will Sherwin,
Ishta Tromp, and Noah Gullion waited at the start to see who would
take the first pulls. Will was caught behind some slow starters and
Ephraim bolted out of the gate, gapping the field and leaving
everyone else to fight over the scraps, he was gone in a single lap.
Fortunately for the spectators, the fight for second was less
predictable. On a muddy course with many twists and turns, each
rider rode to his/her strengths. Jacob Halbaur and Ishta Tromp were
not going to fade away softly. Fighting through the turns, Jacob
eventually pushed through the barrier section seconds before Ishta
and kept his lead to the line. The rest of the field fought for
every spot. Shout outs(sic) to new rider Miko Shanka! Good push
though the finish. With 17 starters this was our biggest week in
this category. Great job to all of the racers and thanks to Organic
Valley for all the Chocolate Milk and Stringels.
The 12-15 category was hit hard by
a case of teenage apathy. With a small but AWESOME field, Shane
Kuoba outlasted the talented Glenn Sherwin. Next year these races
will have both girls and boy categories as well as an overall. Ella
Wegman-Lawless would have been a greater threat without a
race-ending Mechanical. Looks like Glenn is going to really do well
if she stays with the bike! Her genetic material was on display
battling it out with Shane in the Beginner Adult field as well.
The Adult Beginner Field was pretty
straight-forward with the return of Jay Bjorkland to it ranks. Jay's
early race surge was to much for the rest of the field, so the other
riders formed small chase groups. Shelia Sherwin, one day off of a
top half finish at the brutally hot Minneapolis Marathon was simply
astounding. Chasing Jay with great speed and striding through the
barriers, she quickly exacted revenge on the fast and young Shane
Kuobo, winner of the 12-15 year-old race who had defeated her
daughter Glenn earlier. With a smaller field this week, newcomer
Myra Rueter was isolated in front of a hard racin' Master Hank. Paul
Deutsch, son of Hank and father of Emory, pulled out, leaving the
race with only two generations of Deutsch. While the race suffered
for it, it was great to see Paul out there as he usually animates
with hard attacks and brutal efficiency. The final results were Jay
Bjorkland, 1 pound of Kickapoo Roasters Coffee, Shelia Sherwin, 1/2
pound and Shane Kuobo 1/4 pound. Shane has really come along and
shows some of the potential that could make this area known for bike
racers!
In the Expert/Intermediate race
there was a strong field and a modified course that actually had
some pavement. Fast, long straight-aways that suited the long-limbed
Lee Venteicher.
Before the race began, Scott Shapiro offered a beer to anyone who
beat Chris Newlin. Lee didn't appear to need anymore motivation. At
the gun Newlin accelerated and strung out the field, getting a
slight gap on Joe Horvath, Jay Skrede, Scott, and Lee. After 10 laps
Lee had battled back on and began battling with Newlin. Using the
tactics of a skunky old vet, Lee schooled Newlin in the corners,
attacking hard and staying away. Chris worked to get back on, but
the long straight-aways suited Lee's superior strength and the gap
came down, but not enough to effect the outcome. Jay Skrede
continues to improve and came in a very solid third place, followed
by Joe Horvath and Scott Shapiro. Thanks to The Local General Store
for providing refreshment and prizes to the Intermediate winners.
VMH Wellness again paid out a hefty purse to the winners. Lee walked
home with $25, Chris with $15 and Jay with $10! All for suffering on
a bicycle on wet, sticky grass!