BioWheels-Deltec Road Squad took 1st & 2nd at River Falls RR

3-01-08

This year the Biowheels Cat 3 men came to River Falls to win.  The course is a 9 mile circuit with one short (2 min.) climb.  For the day we had Andy Pooser, Mike Small, and myself all working for Chris Emory.  Chris was coming into this race leading the series and was on great form.  On the first lap Chris went up the road and after no reaction from the field Mike did as well.  Five minutes later we turned the corner and they were gone!  From that point on Andy and I did what we could to stay at the front, and disrupt any attempts to pull the two back. 

Chris and Mike stayed away and took first and second.  This was Chris’s first win of the season.  I’m sure there will be more to come.  Everyone left in the pack knew they were racing for 3rd place.  Coming up the final hill we all sprinted. After a hard finnish Andy and I were left with a pack finnish.

written by:Zach Bannow

Industry Nine Road Team

Asheville has rekindled an elite road team for the 2008 season. Thanks to our title sponsor Industry Nine and other local sponsors including biowheels we put together a 5 member team consisting of myself chris ernst, jason sprouse, andrew erskine, adam ray, and chris larson who is moving to the area from virginia. We are racing cannondale’s system six purchased through biowheels and custom alloy road wheels from industry nine. Our kits should be here soon and we look forward to seeing you out on the road.

 chris ernst

Food Lion City Park Crit., Salisbury NC

Pro-1-2, 3-16-08

Day two of the Out Like A Lion race weekend. A very different day. Sunny, temp. in the high 50’s with a NNW wind that gave just enough chill to warrant the arm warmers.

The big guns showed up today with two Bissel pro’s, the entire Time Pro contingent, Adam Myerson of Santos-Toshiba, Team DLP, Hincapie Sports and the Lees-McRae collegiate team (complete with team tour bus) and Carolina Triathalon. I was riding solo as Jason decided to stay in A-town today. We started with a group of about 50-60.

The course consisted of a start at the top of a hill an immediate descent to a flat lakeside road where the crosswinds were in your face with 10-15mph breezes then a turn to the stair step ascent back to the S/F line. We ended up with 30 laps and 28 miles.

I started well and knew that the climb was going to determine the race. Sure enough, 15-20 minutes in the big move left and I didn’t think I would last so I just stayed in the pack.

The break ended up being 6 guys, all pro’s except for Ted king’s brother. They gained 50 seconds in no time due to the lack of an organized chase. This was surprizing because Hincapie Sports and Carolina Tri both missed out on the move.

That climb made me unsure of my staying power. My HR never went below 170bpm the entire race. I wanted to finish, not blow-up and drop out. These early races are low on the priority list. Just tough it out.

So the finish comes an hour and three minutes after the start. The field “sprint” was a group drag race up the climb. No results were posted anywhere on the web so I will take a guess that I finished somewhere between the 20’s and 30’s.

Fun Stats:

26.5mph Avg speed.  63 minutes of above LT FUN! 174bpm hr avg. 1245ft. ascent  28.5 miles  about 1 mile/lap

Till next time,

Chad Schoenauer

P.S. The results on the RR from 3-15-08 weren’t posted. Race called due to Tornado. YEAH!

Remax RR, Albermarle NC

P-1-2, 3-15-08

Not much to write about. The organizers were forced to delay the start of the day’s races by 1.5-2hrs. due to a fog hazard early in the morning.

We arrived and then hung out, and hung out, and hung out. Jason Smith and myself rep. Biowheels for the  P-1-2, Mike Small came for the 3’s race. When we did get to begin our race, ominous clouds in the distance and a cold front signaled what we were getting into, a big T-Storm!

A lap into the race and the pace was really high. Guys were riding knowing the race would be possibly shortened and definately affected by the rain. Then the rain came down. Big fat rain, buckets being dumped off a roof above you rain. Lightning in the distance. Nearing the end of the second lap, it started to hail. Being shot peened and riding in crosswinds now gusting to 25+, the “motor” official came up and shouted and pointed at me, now riding alone behind the pack, “You are done!” I replied, “No kidding!” and went to the finish line then to the car. 30 minutes of “racing”.

No idea of my finish spot, I didn’t care. I “donated” my entry to the local club and lived to talk about it. I didn’t think it would be such a roll of the dice but… that’s life.

Thanks for reading,

Chad Schoenauer

Donaldson Center RR: P-1-2

Pro-1-2, 3-9-8,

Greetings Race Fans! Todays race is the last in the Greenville “Training” Series. I think why they call this a training series is that you can immediately tell if you have been training or that you need more! Anyway, our race brought about 70 riders to the line. Thad Dulin, of DLP Pro, brought out a team of 7, TIME Pro development had Andy Baker and 6 more mates, Harly-Davidson Team had 6, Josh Whitmore and the Carolina Triathlon guys were 6 in number and Hincapie Sports-Bianchi were represented with 5 or so today. Throw in Ted King of Bissell Pro, A (?) Kelly Benifits-Medifast Pro, a Hot Tubes U23 hot shot and a smattering of privateers and you’ve got a fast group.

The course is set around big 7 mile loop of an industrial complex that has a hill or two, great crosswind sections and a loong slightly uphill finishing straight.

My strategy going into today was to save it up for a field sprint at the end. Armed with some sweet borrowed ZIPP 404 cheater wheels (courtesy of Andy G.). I set about staying out of the wind and out of trouble. The attacks kept the pace up and the field was just rolling to quick to let anything go (See stats below). Even though I did have to move a bit and actively follow a lot of wheels, I did what I set out to do and came into the imminent sprint with lots of gas in the tank. A pair of riders did escape in the last 2 miles with the help of their teamates set-up. The field sprint was on. When the surges began I slipped a few spots back thinking about not using my last match too soon and started my sprint from behind. Dodging guys falling back from leadouts and passing others at 35+mph, I come away with 15th place. Not bad for a guy without a leadout.

Chad’s Fun Stats:

60 miles in 2hrs. 13min.

25.5 mph avg.

37.7mph sprint finish

40 minutes above LT (saving the gas as opposed to the self slaughter I put myself through last week)

2178ft. climbing total.

Another race in the bag. Much better feelings than last week. Stay tuned for a report from the Out Like A Lion RR and Crit from Salisbury this weekend 3-15&16.

Thank You so Much for reading!

-Chad Schoenauer

Poppin the top off 2008; Fork Shoals Road Race

3-1-08, Greenville SC, Pro-1-2

     A windy but sunny day greeted a very large field. The kind of day where a little goop on the legs and some arm warmers will get you through. Although the races started a bit late, I was ready to get it on!

     About 70 racers lined up. Myself and Jason Smith represented BioWheels/Deltec. Of note were local hot shots; Thad Dulin of DLP, a slew of Hincapie/Bianchi guys and a few of the Time Development Team. On the Pro side, fresh from a very tough Tour of California, new Asheville resident, Ted King of Team Bissell and Euro hard man George Hincapie of Team High Road. Lots of men with plenty of winter miles and a need for speed! 

How it went… 

     We set off and immediately the pace ramped up. On the second lap of the 15 mile loop, a group of six riders got up the road. The Hicapie boys run the front and shut the race down for the time being. The break got about a minute on us. Lap three consisted of a few smaller bridging groups starting up and getting reeled in. The pace never let up for very long since then. The fourth lap brought out some big hits from Ted King, and George Hincapie began to show himself. Number Five… now its getting really “interesting”. Mr. Hincapie decided to call class into session and went to the front and set a tempo to give the pack momentum to bring back the break (now was two minutes up on us). Last lap is a mystery to me as my body shut down on mile 63. The break was obviously caught on the last lap. I did see Thad Dulin and Ted come across for the top two spots to end a very tough race.

Reflections

     I came to the race in the best mood. I can’t explain it. Was it the support of my wife as I left in the morning? The great company on the way down to the race (Biowheels own Cat 3 missiles, Chris Emory and Andy Pooser)? Maybe the awesome Cervelo Soloist Carbon I was riding (available at WNC’s only Cervelo dealer-BioWheels)? All I can say is I was not lacking in the motivation department. 

      I decided early on that I would do my best to try and make it into a move. Well, try and try I did. No dice. I stayed in the top 10-20 for the entirety of my ride. The repeated efforts to start and cover moves left me with no matches to burn when the real fireworks were happening at the end of lap 5 and the start of 6. I reached the point where my body didn’t want to go over 20 mph. With that refusal, I pulled the chute. Disappointed with the dnf, satisfied to have so much FUN on my bike! 

A race like this just leaves me wanting to race again.

Some stats…just for fun

My ride: 63 miles… Max speed:44.5…Avg. Speed: 23.6 mph (yeah!)…Time above LT: 103 minutes of a total 269 (ooof!)

Stay tuned for more & thanks for reading.

-Chad Schoenauer