Cheney Challenge Results- Another WIN!

Written by Manny Caliz

The Cheyney Challenge Road was awesome! We heard there was a tough hill on the course, so we decided no messing around today. The plan was for the whole team to try and break away on the climb, and it worked perfectly. We went hard up and over the climb for a few miles and when we looked back there was only seven strong guys who could follow. And of course, all four Shirks riders were in this group. For some reason, as riders were busy watching one another, Doug and a second rider were able to slip off the front! They got a small gap and no one seemed worried? Just like that they were gone, and their gap soon balloned to forty seconds! Thats when the chase began in earnest. We were able to sit back and have a free ride thanks to Dougie Fresh’s efforts!  Well, Doug and his breakaway partner were able to hold on to the end, with Doug taking the win! Chasing behind, Kerry attacked at the start of the decent to the finish to take 3rd, right at the moment where I flatted but still rolled in 9th, with Binkley taking 10th. Another great race for the Shirk train! 

Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong to Return in 2009!

In an incredible 24 hour period, both Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong have announced a return to pro road racing in 2009! Read all about it here:

CyclingNews.com on Floyd to HealthNet

CyclingNews.com featuring Lance’s return video 

Green Mountain Stage Race Photos

For your viewing pleasure, courtesy of Manny & Silla Caliz. 

Green Mountain Stage Race & PA Championships

Many exciting things have happened recently for us, and it is time for an update. This past weekend was the Green Mountain Stage Race in Richmond, Vermont, attended by Manny Caliz, Doug Kauffman, Jordan Binkley, and Kerry Werner. TriState Velo’s Graham Coy also went along with Kerry to race in the junior category. The Cat 4s had a very dramatic weekend, here’s the story.

This is one of the most difficult races on the east coast, with over 150 miles of very mountainous climbing, a road race of 77 miles, and huge rider fields. In the opening Prologue, a hilly 5.7 mile TT, Doug finished 16th with Manny 23rd and Binkley 26th. But the magic didn’t start until Stage One. There were two King of the Mountain climbs at six points for first, four points for second, and two points for third. On the first lap, Doug went for it and took all six points. On the second lap, again, relentless Doug took six more points, taking the KOM Polka-dot jersey for the day! Then there was the finish, which Manny, in a solo effort, broke away from the field and won the stage! That also put Manny in the Green Sprinters Jersey! Amazing!

On Stage Two, Doug continued his quest for the KOM jersey. Doug was fourth to the top today, picking up three more points, bringing his first place total to 15 points with a lead of five points. Stage Three was a criterium, so that was all Doug needed to take home the King of the Mountain Jersey!

On the Stage Three Criterium, there was a points sprint with 30 laps to go. Manny was wearing the Green Jersey, leading with 10 points from his stage one victory, and came across the sprint first to add six more to the pile. The second points sprint came at five laps to go. Manny came across the sprint in fourth to pick up two more points, 18 total, enough to win the Green Sprinters Jersey! In the Final GC, Doug took top honors with 6th place, Manny at 24th, and Binkley 38th.

In the U19 race, Kerry took 8th in the Prologue Time Trial. Most impressively, Kerry finished 4th in the 75 mile Stage Two road race, behind two Hot Tubes Junior Development riders, winner Nathan Brown and third place finisher Simon Lambert Lemay. Hot Tubes has a reputation for turning out pro level riders. Kerry finished a solid 11th overall, with Graham Coy taking 31st overall.Full race results from the Green Mountain Stage Race can be found here.  

Last weekend was the 2008 Pennsylvania Road Race Championships, where Kerry Werner won the Championship title! Manny calls this one for us: Kerrys solo Victory was amazing! We controlled the race pretty well, and the plan was for Binkley to ride defensively while Noah, Kerry and I had some freedom to try something aggressive. Early on, Kerry told me of a place on the course that would be perfect for an attack, so we decided that would be the spot. The first couple laps were pretty fast with some attacks and accelerations with some wicked fast decents! At one point a break got away with some strong guys and no Shirks riders. So Noah, Kerry and I decided to take up the chase. It was a very hard chase, as we were going 100%. Just when we almost had the break reeled in Sean McLaughlin attacked and bridged across to the break, sending us into a little panic! But with Binkley helping to chase we were able to reel them in within a lap. On the final lap there was one man up the road. But we let some other riders chase for a bit as we prepared to attack on the climb. As we got close, I told Kerry I would take him to the bottom going as hard as I can go. But from there it was up to him. Well it worked perfectly! He attacked and no one could follow. He caught and passed the breakaway rider and never looked back. The only let down was Binks tech issue as his chain dropped in the field sprint in which Sean won and Bink finished 6th. But all in all a great day for Shirks!   

At the 2008 Race Avenue Criterium, there was a even more bad luck on hand. With one lap to go, Kerry, Noah, and Manny got to the front of the field and drove the pace super high. In a perfect lead out,  Kerry led Binkley right to the line, whose chain dropped AGAIN! in the final sprint, all but killing the textbook finish. Full race results have not yet been found online.

With just two more PA Bar Races to go, the top three is made up by Sean McLaughlin, Jordan Binkley and Kerry Werner. McLaughlin took third in the triple points PA Championship Criterium, overtaking the PA Bar lead from Binkley. It will be a heated battle until the end, for sure. So sponsors, friends, family, come cheer our boys on if you are able!