Upcoming Events
Thursday Night Lights/Three-Day Grind - August 18
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Session 4: Sept. 6, 13, 20, 27
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Race Report/News
Krawczyk Wins Omnium
A big crowd of racers and fans enjoyed another beautiful summer night at the track-complete with more state championships on the line. In the men's 4/5 state scratch race, Mike Pribble (Silver Cycling), Jeff Ingham (Gopher Wheelmen) and Alexander Matson (Omnium) earned podium honors.
Before the 100-lap state Madison championship, the men's cat 1/2 field captivated onlookers with hard-fought 15-lap scratch and miss & out races. Brandon Krawczyk took the (Grandstay) the omnium after back-to-back wins.
Warming things up with a 15-lap scratch, 15 men took the rail. They set off at a brisk pace as Krawczyk wound things up right out of the gate. Shuffling positions, the field stayed together until a series of mid-race accelerations. An 8-meter gap opened by Matt Montesano (SpeedFix Racing) heated things up for the final three laps as Dan Casper (Grandstay) and Mike Smith (Omnium) chased with the field. Krawczyk, Dan Currell (Bianchi/GP) and Chris Ferris (Sub 11 Racing) fought to the line, finishing in that order within less than a bike length of one another.
In a fast and crafty miss & out, the 1/2 field flexed its muscle and showcased its tactical prowess. For much of the race, Casper contentedly drove the pace to reveal the stragglers while Ferris played conductor, boxing many riders into less-than-advantageous positions. With seven riders to go, a three-up sprint saw Casper eliminated by less than a tire length, and the next sprint saw Ferris drop off the back to leave the lead five safe. After a series of narrow eliminations whittled the race to a match sprint, Krawczyk and Merrill Lutsky (MBRC/Flanders) faced off and stayed close to the finish. A bike throw at the line secured the win for Krawczyk.
Kruse, Virta Earn State Madison Title
Ten teams vied for the state 1/2/3 Madison championship. However, two teams made their thirst for victory clear early. The green team of Kruse and Virta and the red team of Casper and Krawczyk used speed and well-timed exchanges to acquire the first- and second-place points for each sprint lap. With 31 laps remaining, the red and green teams jammed off the front to gain ⅓ lap. The chasers, including the gray team of Currel and Chris Mehus (Bianchi/GP), pink team of Smith and Conrad Thomas (Omnium), black team of Rich Bergstrom (SpeedFix Racing) and Lutsky, and white team of Mark Stewart (PJW Racing) and Jason Goldberg (Bianchi/GP), organized to close the gap, but their success was short-lived. Green and red continued to dominate. With four laps remaining, Krawczyk tore away before tagging Casper in and Kruse furiously pursued before an exchange with fresh-legged Virta. Virta's out-of-saddle sprint gained him enough space to tag in his partner, Kruse, who forced his opponent to chase from 15 m back. With the bell, Kruse bolted to the line to claim the green team's state championship title.
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What's Happening
Three-Day Grind Showcases Madison Racing
The Three-Day Grind returns for 2011, bringing classic European bike racing to the NSC Velodrome August 18-20. Beginning on Thursday, as part of the regular Thursday Night Lights events, the Three-Day Grind features 2-person teams from the Cat 1/23 field. Teams will be competing in a variety of events with points and laps accumulating throughout the event toward the overall team title. This event is a true test of endurance as racers fight over three consecutive days.
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Rider to Watch
Melissa Dahlmann
It seems anything that comes in pairs is more intimidating than a single entity. At the NSC Velodrome, the Dahlmann sisters are such a force. However, even after her twin, Heidi, left for graduate school in Switzerland, Melissa Dahlmann retained double-threat status.
A Thursday Night Lights regular since 2007, Melissa watched Heidi race at the velodrome for a year, grew jealous, and decided to try it for herself. She won Track Rider of the Year in 2008 and has placed high in the rankings ever since.
Riding for Omnium in 2011, Mel says her goals include setting a PR in the 3K pursuit. Spectators will notice a gleam in her eye during the points race, her favorite for its "just brutal" nature. She likes that the track helps build bike-handling skills and pack awareness-skills that certainly translate to her other competitive pursuits.
Away from the Afzalia boards, Mel enjoys other high-energy, endurance endeavors, incuding long-track speedskating, inline speedskating and road cycling. In 2009 and 2010, she rode in the Nature Valley Grand Prix. She says earning NRC race points for second place in a queen-of-the-hill bonus at last year's NVGP Menomonie course was "sort of fun and novel!" And, she calls winning the Whitnall Park road race in Superweek 2009 "AWESOME, it was my old stomping grounds: winning a stage in your hometown, every cyclist's dream, right?"
As Mel races her final Thursday Night Lights this season before moving to Wisconsin, she says she hopes to return next season and offers some parting gratitude, "Thank you NSC, and all the great cycling community in Minnesota who turned me into a bike racer!"
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About Us
Contact Bob Williams at 763.785.5614 for more information about cycling at the velodrome. | |
