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NSC Velodrome
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Thursday Night Lights Results
May 21, 2009 A beautiful Spring evening at the NCS Velodrome was the setting for opening night of the 2009 Thursday Night Lights race series. Forty seven (47) racers came to test their early season fitness, eye their competitors for the first time this year, or just to seek early season race wins.
Category 3 Race Summaries
The ten (10) journeyman Cat 3 racers warmed up with a 10-lap scratch race. The cat 3 racers decided to demonstrate their interest in racing by starting hard and finishing fast. They were strung out in a fast line until 3 laps to go when they began jockeying for position in the final sprint. In the last lap Junior rider Colton Barrett (MnJRC) began his domination of the evening's Cat 3 races by shooting out of the pack and crossing finish line with a gap to Lionel Space (Strada Racing), Dan Jacobson (Gopher Wheelmen) and Jason Goldberg (rc13).
In the Cat 3 Miss and Out, Mark Stewart led the group at a fast clip out for the first half of the race while Space and Gabe Masiulis (Gopher Wheelmen) played the devil, sprinting from behind to put other riders out of the race. At end, it was Space, Masiulis and Barrett in a 3-up sprint. Space and Masiulis were unable to match Barrett's acceleration in the final lap. The finish: Barrett-Space-Masiulis.
A 40-lap scratch race capped the evening for the Cat 3s. Colton Barrett decided to try to gain an early lap but was unable to get more than a 50 meter gap. Gabe Masiulis led a strung-out group up to him. Charlie Anderson (Bianchi/GP) was the next to attack taking Jacobson with him. Anderson and the pack played like a slinky, catch-attack-catch until with 2 laps to go, Barrett counter-attacked and gained 20 meters on the pack which he held to the end. Lionel Space came through to get second followed by Dan Jacobson.
The evening was dominated by Colton Barrett, the youngest rider in the field, and Lionel Space, the oldest rider in the field. A few more nights like this and Barrett will be upgraded to race as a Cat 2.
View all race results summaries here... |
Sponsored Race Feature: Penn Cycle Points Race
 The last race of the evening was the first Penn Cycle Points Race of the season, a 50-lap points race. Again, the riders went out fast from the start and the riders were strung out in a fast pace line, led largely by teammates Crosby and Dubay through the first sprint, which was won by Crosby followed by Bergman. Pat Lemieux then attacked and drew Crosby and Bergman along. Bergman counter-attacked and eventually gained 40 meters which he maintained through the second sprint at 30 laps to go, followed across by Lemieux, Tainter and Crosby. Bergman tried similar tactics prior to the 20 to go sprint but was caught at the sprint bell. One lap later Crosby came around Lemieux to take the third sprint. With 15 laps to go Lemieux tried to get away but Dubay led the group to reel him in. The 10-to-go sprint was won by Bergman coming around Crosby. In the final sprint, Lemieux led out teammate Bergman who outlasted Crosby to take the final sprint. The final sprint win for Bergman was decisive and he won the race by a single point over Crosby. Tainter and Lemieux placed 3rd and 4th. This final Cat 1/2 race averaged over 30 mph; an amazing pace for the first race night of the season. Competition should be keen in this group over the summer. The Crosby-Bergman match-up throughout the evening was riveting. Each is supported by strong team mates which should result in exciting racing whenever they go head to head. |
Rider Profile: Skibby (aka Kevin Schaeffer)
 Kevin Schaeffer is a big fan of the Madison. It's hard to tell if that comes from his experiences living in Europe or if he just likes to throw people. Skibby (as he's more commonly known) is a veteran track racer with 10 years under his wheels. His long history at the NSC Velodrome is quite impressive, considering the crash that brought him down in his very first race. He managed to recover from the road rash and remove the splinters in time to race the following week - and just about every week for the next 10 years. Skibby counts 2006 as one of the highlights of his career. That year, he won the District Cat 3 Points Race and several other Masters medals @ Districts. He went on to Masters Nationals, setting a couple personal records and finishing in the top 10 in the Points Race. Skibby devotes significant off-track time to MN cycling. He's the current president of the MN Cycling Federation, teaches the Intro Track Class and promotes several road races (including the OPUS Crit series). The Prez races in the Blue and Yellow of Loon States Cycling - watch for him tearing up the Cat 1/2 field on his bright white Tiemeyer and his aero haircut. |
| Track racing 101 - Match Sprints
This is the classic sprint race on the track. The race matches two or three riders against each other over three laps of the track. The first one to cross the line at the finish is the winner. Only the final 200 meters are timed.
The race usually starts out slowly with one rider designated to lead out at a minimum of a walking pace. Other riders may voluntarily overtake him. The first two laps usually find the riders maneuvering for their favorite position from which to launch their sprint for the finish line. Riders may block or faint in order to get or maintain their position when not actually sprinting. Once the sprint begins, riders at full speed must limit their side to side movement as they charge to the finish. Once a lead rider enters the sprinter's lane during the sprint he "controls the lane". He may not come out of the lane while sprinting and all others must pass him on the outside of this line.
What to watch for: Each rider has his or her own strategy for how to win against a particular rider. Some prefer to stay in front of their opponent blocking him or her from getting in front and forcing them to take the long way around in attempting to pass. Watch for the lead rider to block the rear rider and often pin the rider up high against the rail until the last moment before charging for the finish line. Other riders prefer to ride the race from the rear position in an attempt to use the leaders slip stream to sling shot past in the final meters of the sprint. Watch for the race to slow to a crawl in the early laps as each rider attempts to gain the rear position.
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Upcoming Events Calendar
Thursday, May 28
Thursday Night Lights continues at 7 PM. The evening's racing will be fast and furious, featuring sprint events for all categories.
The Cat 1/2 field will contest the first Salsa King of the Sprints race of the season - a Keirin.
Get the full race schedule here.
Radius Series Event
Sunday, May 31, 6:00 pm
This team and individual event will feature a wide variety of race formats for Women, Cat 1/2/3 and Cat 4/5 racers. Here's the race flyer. |
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TROY Standings
Men
1. Brian Crosby 16 points
2. Adam Bergman 15 points
3. James Tainter 12 points
Women
1. Heidi Dahlmann 9 points
2. Melissa Dahlmann 5 points
3. Linsey Hamilton 4 points
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2009 Introductory Track Classes
Session Two: June 2, 9, 16, 23 Session Three: June 30, July 7, 14, 28 Session Four: August 4, 11, 18, 25
Licensed Rider Class: Sundays May 31, June 7* Women's Class: Wednesdays May 13, 20, 27, June 3 Classes start at 6:30 pm *Licensed Rider classes start at 12:00 pm |
Latest Track Updates
Call the track hotline at 763.785.5651 for the latest updates about the track, including any weather related delays or cancellations.
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