Written by Kerry Werner
Woke up at 7:30 and left the crib by 8:45. My mom and I loaded up the car for a two hour drive to Bloomsburg Town Park. Two hours later…..
We got to the town park and immediately went to the bathroom (shouldn’t have had so much coffee). After the quick bathroom break I went to register. I registered for the ¾ and 1,2,3 category went back to the car and started warming up (one hour till race time). I found my team and we spun around for a little bit then lined up when the official called us up.
The whistle blew and we were off. There wasn’t too much action during the first couple laps of the race. Team Eastern Mobile controlled the field and reeled in the smaller breaks with ease. It wasn’t until later in the race when Jordan Binkley got in a break with 5-10 guys and had a fifteen second lead on the field. Manny, Noah, and I got in the front and covered the attacks and it looked like it would stick until Eastern Mobile started attacking and reeling the break back. They finally caught the break and the field stayed together until the end…
Then Shirks started to do work. Manny and I got to the front with two to go and started to set up a nice lead out for Noah, I drove the majority of the second to last lap and had the field strung out really nicely. I pulled off and Manny took over keeping the field strung out until the second to last turn of the course when disaster struck. This side of the course was slightly down hill so it was definitely the fasted part of the course. Manny was in the lead followed by Noah and I made and attempt to shoot up the side and take over for Manny so he could get some recovery to set Noah up really nicely. I pulled up next to Manny (surprised to see me) which caused him to veer left a little bit, Noah’s wheel was overlapping Manny’s which caused Noah to veer left. The guy behind Noah (unknown) wasn’t paying attention and didn’t react to Noah pulling over. His front wheel collided with Noah’s rear wheel and his skewer the unknown rider’s skewer snapped a couple spokes on Noah’s rear wheel. Luckily he was able to stay up; however; the unknown rider fell and caused a pile up in the field. The crash caused a small break which had four riders in it (including me). I heard Manny yell out “Go Kerry! It’s all you!”
I immediately knew there was something happened and upped the tempo. At that point a Break Away rider sprinted past me so I latched onto his wheel. He carried me and the two other riders to the 200m to go mark and the sprints started. I took off and noticed to the left a Hot Foot rider pull up in contention for the win; however, he started to fade. Then another Break Away rider pulled up to my right. So it was me sandwiched between two Break Away riders sprinting for the win. I felt myself pull ahead but at that instant they started to come together on me. I let up a little bit as we neared the line and they ended up one, two, and me at third.
More Bloomsburg Town Park Criterium Cat 3/4 Photo’s!!
Again, Noah was all alone in the category 4 race in Baltimore with a full race of 100 riders. At the start of the race, things were fast with many attacks on the slight uphill finishing stretch along with the long flat back straight away that led into a round-about. After 6 or 7 laps, things started to settle into a comfortable pace. Everyone knew that nobody would be able to get away with the severe wind (15-20 mph).
With about a lap and a half to go, a Kelly Benefit rider attacked off the front in a solo attempt for the win. Noah played it safe and tucked in towards the front of the pack again, and let the other riders start to reel the escaped rider in. After the round-about, the field was strung out with everyone riding single file. Coming out of the final corner, Noah was about 6 places back, but caught onto a rider flying up the side of the pack. With about 200 meters go, the all out sprint began. Noah cranked it up a gear and went out in the wind to get around the riders ahead. (At about this time, the pack flew past the Kelly Benefit rider who had attempted to get away) It was an all out drag race between the Shirk’s rider, and two others. It came right down to the line for the finish. Noah forced the bike forward at the last second and managed to take the win by about half a wheel length. And the crowd went wild. Ok, not really, but at least his parents were cheering.
After both wins on the weekend, Noah finally decided to apply for his category 3 upgrade so he will be able to race and support the other teammates. Soon, each race will have 5 or 6 Shirk’s racers. This will make for an awesome season to come.
Conestoga has a super hilly profile so we were expecting a difficult race from early on. Only 33 brave souls started the race and more riders dropped out with each lap - only 15 finished! Kerry managed to keep contact with the front group and was able to pull out a 4th place in that race as well. Manny stayed with the race and came in at 11th in spite of needing to go back and pick up his shades :-). Hey, the man has his priorities! All in all, a very hard, but great, course and one we hope will return in the coming years. Thanks to All That Is Good race promotions for holding these excellent races!
This past weekend was exciting for the Shirk’s Team. Each of us made it out at least one day this weekend to shake things up in the races.
Saturday morning started early with everyone arriving at Smoketown Airport a little before 7am to help set up and prepare for the criterium on the runway. Shirk’s Bike Shop was a co-sponsor for the event along with International Christian Cycling Club.
After moving some cones, hay bails, and directing traffic; the races finally started. Noah was the first to race in the category 4/5 race. There were about 50 racers, but only 1 Shirk. It took a few laps for everyone to get settled into a pace and navigate the sharp final corner (180 degrees). For most of the race, the pack stayed together. There were a few small attacks but nothing stayed out. With 1 lap to go, Noah worked his way towards the front and about the 5th spot back. After making the sharp final corner, things started to heat up. Riders were already winding up their sprints with at least 400-500 meters to go. Noah played it safe by drafting and staying on the wheels in front of him as long as possible, but found himself sprinting in the lead at about 300 meters from the finish. Even with the slight head/crosswind, he managed to stay out front and cross the line in first. This was a great start to the day.
The race started quickly for the 3/4 with Jonathan and Barry Klien getting break established. The course was fast and smooth and the other riders wanted a chance too so they were pulled back and another larger group, with about 15 riders, started to form. Jordan, Manny, Kerry, and Doug made the break and held off the pack until the finish. Manny and Binkley set up an excellent lead out for Kerry and he was able to take a 4th place. We finished with 4 of us in the top 20.
More Smoketown Airport Criterium Cat 3/4 Photo’s!!
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May 28, 2009 8:10 am | 
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