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7/20/2008
Superweek Day 10: Evanston Criterium
The series returned for south for another round in Illinois, and as Luke's reported over at Chicago Bike Racing, crashes were the order of the day. The Pro 1/2 race was neutralized not once, but twice, and the second neutralization couldn't have come at a more inopportune time for the ABD/GEARGRINDER squad.
With less than 10 laps remaining Josh Carter and Jeff Schroetlin were in a group with a small advantage over the field, and Schroetlin had just attacked off the front of it. And at that point in the race, most of the riders who were still feeling strong and were legitimate contenders for the race had made their way towards the front of the field.
However, after the unfortunate crash and ensuing 20 minute delay, riders cooled off and all those from the back made their way up front. The officials restarted Schroetlin with a small gap but didn't give one to the other riders. With a fresh field behind him, his solo move lasted approximately two blocks.
All in all, a frustrating day at the office for the team, but it could have been worse. We hope the best for the riders who crashed, and that they are back in action soon.
Superweek Days 8 & 9: Rain, Pain & Return to the top 10
The last two days the tired legs and minds have started to show at Superweek with eight of racing remaining! Fortunately, the forced off-days due to school and work has helped the ABD/GEARGRINDER riders and in Saturday’s eighth stage in Waukesha Rob White made the break of 13 riders to ultimately finish 8th and return the team to a top ten in the results. Jeff Schroetlin’s strong riding continues as well, as he escaped the field with four laps remaining in the race and held them off as he solo’ed to 14th place.
The course for Friday’s stage in Ripon features tight turns and two challenging hills, so when the skies opened up it wreaked total havoc on the field. Several riders were dropped or crashed out every single lap, including overall leader Sterling Magnell, who fortunately returned to action on Satruday. ABD/GEARGRINDER rider Brett Stewart was the only finisher from the team, and although he rolled across the line last in the field, he still finished in 29th place!
The course for Friday’s stage in Ripon features tight turns and two challenging hills, so when the skies opened up it wreaked total havoc on the field. Several riders were dropped or crashed out every single lap, including overall leader Sterling Magnell, who fortunately returned to action on Satruday. ABD/GEARGRINDER rider Brett Stewart was the only finisher from the team, and although he rolled across the line last in the field, he still finished in 29th place!
7/18/2008
Superweek Day 7: the Columbian Caused Carmage Continues
Superweek headed north yesterday for it's first stage "home" in Shorewood, Wisconsin. The course features long straightaways that favor the powerful riders. Mike Farrell referred to the pack sprint in Shorewood in 2006 as looking like a "charging herd of Clydesdales" as the sprints wound up their huge gears. Well, there was no bunch sprint this year- but pure power prevailed.
A break containing a Columbian National Team Rider (we'll have names soon) and Rock Racing's Pete Dawson stayed away from a KBS/Medifast lead peloton. ABD/GEARGRINDER's Jeff Schroetlin and Ryan White both raced, but once the break was established Schroetlin said the day was pretty much over for everyone else. "The last couple of days the Columbian guys are really making the domestic teams look bad. Their riders are powering these breaks that big teams can't chase down, and then the other Columbian guys are taking quite a few primes."
The ABD/GG pair are looking forward to this weekend, when the rest of the team rejoins them.
Sent from handheld.
A break containing a Columbian National Team Rider (we'll have names soon) and Rock Racing's Pete Dawson stayed away from a KBS/Medifast lead peloton. ABD/GEARGRINDER's Jeff Schroetlin and Ryan White both raced, but once the break was established Schroetlin said the day was pretty much over for everyone else. "The last couple of days the Columbian guys are really making the domestic teams look bad. Their riders are powering these breaks that big teams can't chase down, and then the other Columbian guys are taking quite a few primes."
The ABD/GG pair are looking forward to this weekend, when the rest of the team rejoins them.
Sent from handheld.
7/17/2008
Superweek Day 6: Schroetlin Goes for the Late Flyer
Superweek returned to Bensenville for it’s sixth stage and for the first time this year a solo rider take the win - but unfortunately wasn’t one of our guys and the ABD/GG Top 10 streak counter will be reset going into Day 7. A Columbian National Team Rider escaped the field before the final point sprint and held on to a 25 to 45 second margin for the entire race, despite the chase of the entire Rock Racing team.
In a late bid for glory, Jeff Schroetlin was part of a six man chase group that formed with just four laps to go. When they group stopped working cohesively, he set out on a solo mission for second place with a lap and a half remaining. He held on to the slimmest of margins as he came through the start/finish on the bell lap, but the sprinters’ teams swallowed him up on the back side of the course.
Joining Jeff in the race were ABD/GEARGRINDER teammates Andy Skeen and Josh Carter, but after six straight days of racing Carter admitted it was time for a rest, “I probably should have taken today and Thursday off to be ready for the weekend, but now I’ll take off Thursday-Friday and get back in to it on Saturday” Fortunately, Schroetlin will be joined by the White brothers as the race heads North - the pair should be fresh after a few days off from racing. With 11 stages remaining, there is still plenty of time for the team to grab more stage wins.
In a late bid for glory, Jeff Schroetlin was part of a six man chase group that formed with just four laps to go. When they group stopped working cohesively, he set out on a solo mission for second place with a lap and a half remaining. He held on to the slimmest of margins as he came through the start/finish on the bell lap, but the sprinters’ teams swallowed him up on the back side of the course.
Joining Jeff in the race were ABD/GEARGRINDER teammates Andy Skeen and Josh Carter, but after six straight days of racing Carter admitted it was time for a rest, “I probably should have taken today and Thursday off to be ready for the weekend, but now I’ll take off Thursday-Friday and get back in to it on Saturday” Fortunately, Schroetlin will be joined by the White brothers as the race heads North - the pair should be fresh after a few days off from racing. With 11 stages remaining, there is still plenty of time for the team to grab more stage wins.
7/16/2008
Superweek Day 5: Schroetlin Keeps the Top 10 Streak Alive
Today Superweek moved to the Chicago suburb of Bensenville, which was the site of the ABD team's first ever Superweek win- by none other than Josh Carter last year. This year Bensenville is hosting two consecutive days of racing, but on an all new course. It was similar to Sunday's course in that there was a tight technical section that teams could use to slow the field down significantly.
Although this was the fifth day in a now of racing for many riders, the attacks started once again from the gun. The ABD/GEARGRINDER squad of Josh Carter, John Meyers, Jeff Schroetlin (back from spending a whole day in the office) and Zach WAtson all went with as many moves as they could, but eventually a group of 8 riders escaped up the road that included Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati, two KBS/Medifast riders and team San Jose's Carlos Vargas. With those riders having solid teammates back in the field it didn't take long before the eight leaders made their way around for the lap. But just before they caught the field, Reid Mumford (KBS/Medifast) put in an attack and was joined by ABD/GG riders Schroetlin and Watson, along with his teammate Johny Sundt and Jitter Joe's Chad Hartley.
Eventually the group grew to 15 and were the leaders on the course after the initial group of eight had lapped. It appeared that it would be a group sprint for 9th place, but with two laps to go a Columbian National Team rider slipped off the front for 9th, and with just over a lap to go Jeff Schroetlin followed suit to nab another ABD/GEARGRINDER top 10. Watson continued his strong "re-debut" with 17th and Carter came across in the money as well in 22nd.
7/14/2008
Superweek Day 4: Watson is at it Again
The fourth stage of Superweek took place at another new venue in the Chicagoland area, and again it was ABD’s Zach Watson that made the break and ultimately lapped the field en route to a 5th place finish.
The team was down to just three riders today as the majority of the squad needed to head back to put in a few hours at their weekday gigs, but lining up for another round in Richton Park were Watson, Josh Carter and John Meyers. With only three riders it was difficult to cover every move and a couple of times it looked like the team would only have stories about the one that got away, but then Watson bridged across to a large group and was joined shortly thereafter by Carter. The group swelled to 16 but continued to attack one another until only a group of seven remained, including former ABD’er/now-KBS rider Reid Mumford.
The group lapped the field with 11 to go and although Meyers and Carter worked to set Zach up for the sprint, the earlier effort (and no doubt yesterday’s breakaway effort as well!) had taken a bit of a toll. Regardless, his 5th place finish added to what has certainly been one of the team’s strongest starts ever at Superweek.
The team was down to just three riders today as the majority of the squad needed to head back to put in a few hours at their weekday gigs, but lining up for another round in Richton Park were Watson, Josh Carter and John Meyers. With only three riders it was difficult to cover every move and a couple of times it looked like the team would only have stories about the one that got away, but then Watson bridged across to a large group and was joined shortly thereafter by Carter. The group swelled to 16 but continued to attack one another until only a group of seven remained, including former ABD’er/now-KBS rider Reid Mumford.
The group lapped the field with 11 to go and although Meyers and Carter worked to set Zach up for the sprint, the earlier effort (and no doubt yesterday’s breakaway effort as well!) had taken a bit of a toll. Regardless, his 5th place finish added to what has certainly been one of the team’s strongest starts ever at Superweek.
7/13/2008
Carter Wins the Olympia Fields stage of Superweek
Josh Carter scored ABD/GEARGRINDER’s first win of Superweek, winning out of a break of four that had also been powered along by pseudo-teammate Zach Watson. The four riders escaped with 30 laps remaining, and in the finale Watson set Carter up to handily take the sprint.
Superweek’s third stage was held on a tight, technical course that was just under a half-mile in length. Early on in the race a Columbian National team rider broke away solo and maintained a steady gap over the field. Rock Racing took the front in order to set up Rahsaan Bahati for the intermediate sprint points and at that point ABD/GG rider Jeff Schroetlin joined in the chase effort. The rider was caught just before the final point sprint, which Bahati won, and that’s when Carter immediately attacked with Watson glued to his wheel. A lap and a half later a chase group of six riders formed, and soon after Bissel rider Richard England and a Kahala-LaGrange rider jumped from that group to get across to Carter and Watson.
Back in the field, and on such a tight course, John Meyers and the White brothers just had to stay near the front and follow wheels to protect the gap. Not the easiest of jobs, but they handled it well.
[An update on who Zach Watson is and why he’s wearing traditional ABD clothing. The real question should be coming from Zach and is “who they heck are all these new ABD people?”. Zach was actually one of the original members of the ABD team back in the mid 1990’s that included Lucas Wall, Dalton Koprek, Brian Miles, and current US National Crit Champion Kirk O’bee. He took a hiatus from racing for a few years, married fellow racer and Iowan Erin Anderson, and the couple settled in Boulder, Colorado. He got back into racing a few years ago and when he asked us if he could fly the ABD colors again we were ecstatic. He wasn’t sure how much racing he could do with the team being so far away, so he’s signed up under the USAC registered “ABD Cycling Team” instead of the USAC registered “ABD/GEARGRINDER Team”. Either way, we’re happy to have him back in the fold and that he’s on our side! -Ebert]
Superweek’s third stage was held on a tight, technical course that was just under a half-mile in length. Early on in the race a Columbian National team rider broke away solo and maintained a steady gap over the field. Rock Racing took the front in order to set up Rahsaan Bahati for the intermediate sprint points and at that point ABD/GG rider Jeff Schroetlin joined in the chase effort. The rider was caught just before the final point sprint, which Bahati won, and that’s when Carter immediately attacked with Watson glued to his wheel. A lap and a half later a chase group of six riders formed, and soon after Bissel rider Richard England and a Kahala-LaGrange rider jumped from that group to get across to Carter and Watson.
Back in the field, and on such a tight course, John Meyers and the White brothers just had to stay near the front and follow wheels to protect the gap. Not the easiest of jobs, but they handled it well.
[An update on who Zach Watson is and why he’s wearing traditional ABD clothing. The real question should be coming from Zach and is “who they heck are all these new ABD people?”. Zach was actually one of the original members of the ABD team back in the mid 1990’s that included Lucas Wall, Dalton Koprek, Brian Miles, and current US National Crit Champion Kirk O’bee. He took a hiatus from racing for a few years, married fellow racer and Iowan Erin Anderson, and the couple settled in Boulder, Colorado. He got back into racing a few years ago and when he asked us if he could fly the ABD colors again we were ecstatic. He wasn’t sure how much racing he could do with the team being so far away, so he’s signed up under the USAC registered “ABD Cycling Team” instead of the USAC registered “ABD/GEARGRINDER Team”. Either way, we’re happy to have him back in the fold and that he’s on our side! -Ebert]
7/12/2008
Superweek Day 2: Carter takes 7th, White Tied for the Sprint Lead
Day two of the International Cycling Classic found the ABD/GEARGRINDER squad in the Chicago neighborhood of Blue Island. Josh Carter managed finished seventh in a chaotic field sprint that was won by Rock Racing’s Rahsaan Bahati. “I was right on Bahati’s wheel with only two turns to go because he was definitely a guy to watch”, said Carter. “Then in that second to last turn one of the Canadian guys totally chopped me in the turn [for Bahati’s wheel], and then what really killed me was that he couldn’t even hold Rahsaan’s wheel!”
The racing was aggressive all day as riders attempted to establish the breakaways typical to Superweek. At one point ABD/GEARGRINDER riders Jeff Schroetlin and Zach Watson both made it into a promising break of 14 riders, but after a few laps it too was swallowed up by the field.
At the end of the day Rob White managed to maintain first place in the points competition, but now he shares that lead with both Bahati and formerABD’er Chad Hartley, who now rides for Jittery Joe’s.
The racing was aggressive all day as riders attempted to establish the breakaways typical to Superweek. At one point ABD/GEARGRINDER riders Jeff Schroetlin and Zach Watson both made it into a promising break of 14 riders, but after a few laps it too was swallowed up by the field.
At the end of the day Rob White managed to maintain first place in the points competition, but now he shares that lead with both Bahati and formerABD’er Chad Hartley, who now rides for Jittery Joe’s.
Superweek Day 1: Meyers Takes 5th & Rob White Scores the Points Jersey
The ABD/GEARGRINDER squad started off on the right foot last night at the opening stage of the International Cycling Classic in Beverly, Illinois.
The team started off racing aggressively and just 20 laps in Rob White joined three other riders off the front, and shortly thereafter Ryan White buried himself to help get both he and John Meyers into the group as well. Eventually the group grew to 11 riders total, but the earlier effort took it’s toll on Ryan as he fell off the pace but managed to recover well enough to finish in the chase group. So that left John and Rob to duke it with Pros from Kelly Benefit Strategies and Rock Racing, and with 10 laps to go the leaders lapped the field.
At that point Josh Carter and Brett Stewart moved to the front of the field, where Carter rode a quick enough tempo to discourage any late breakaways. Meanwhile, up the road in a chase group that now numbered 15 riders, Ryan had been joined by an ABD “original”, Zach Watson, in town from Boulder to race the first week of the ICC with the team.
In the final lap, Carter was able to position his teammates near the front and John Meyers had enough kick left to take 5th place on the day and Rob had earned enough points to take the lead in the Sprints competition, which means he’ll start tomorrow’s stage in Blue Island wearing the red jersey.
The team started off racing aggressively and just 20 laps in Rob White joined three other riders off the front, and shortly thereafter Ryan White buried himself to help get both he and John Meyers into the group as well. Eventually the group grew to 11 riders total, but the earlier effort took it’s toll on Ryan as he fell off the pace but managed to recover well enough to finish in the chase group. So that left John and Rob to duke it with Pros from Kelly Benefit Strategies and Rock Racing, and with 10 laps to go the leaders lapped the field.
At that point Josh Carter and Brett Stewart moved to the front of the field, where Carter rode a quick enough tempo to discourage any late breakaways. Meanwhile, up the road in a chase group that now numbered 15 riders, Ryan had been joined by an ABD “original”, Zach Watson, in town from Boulder to race the first week of the ICC with the team.
In the final lap, Carter was able to position his teammates near the front and John Meyers had enough kick left to take 5th place on the day and Rob had earned enough points to take the lead in the Sprints competition, which means he’ll start tomorrow’s stage in Blue Island wearing the red jersey.
7/09/2008
Check 1-2, Check 1-2: all systems go for Superweek.
This past weekend the ABD/GEARGRINDER team finished 1-2 at back-to-back races.
On Saturday at the UWW Road Race Rob and Ryan White executed perfect tactics to spring them both along with and one other rider to form the winning break of three. Then they alternated attacks until Ryan rode away for the victory and Rob won the sprint for second.
On Sunday, Jeff Schroetlin opted to use brute strength to win the race, lapping the field solo and then tearing through it to bridge up to the eight rider chase by himself before catching the field for the second time! Then he lead out teammate Josh Carter who'd been "along for the ride" in the chase group! Josh won the field sprint for second with Jeff rolling through safely for the win.
Schroetlin also has a "season recap" race report for your reading pleasure, posted at his blog: http://ihatechrissprock.blogspot.com/
There is also a pretty exciting video clip courtesy of the Keeley's that is the finish of the Grafton Twilight Criterium. Josh Carter is the only rider from the field to catch and pass Bissell pro Garret Peltonen in the final straightaway for the win!
http://www.abdcycling.com/public/grafton/Grafton.mov
On Saturday at the UWW Road Race Rob and Ryan White executed perfect tactics to spring them both along with and one other rider to form the winning break of three. Then they alternated attacks until Ryan rode away for the victory and Rob won the sprint for second.
On Sunday, Jeff Schroetlin opted to use brute strength to win the race, lapping the field solo and then tearing through it to bridge up to the eight rider chase by himself before catching the field for the second time! Then he lead out teammate Josh Carter who'd been "along for the ride" in the chase group! Josh won the field sprint for second with Jeff rolling through safely for the win.
Schroetlin also has a "season recap" race report for your reading pleasure, posted at his blog: http://ihatechrissprock.blogspot.com/
There is also a pretty exciting video clip courtesy of the Keeley's that is the finish of the Grafton Twilight Criterium. Josh Carter is the only rider from the field to catch and pass Bissell pro Garret Peltonen in the final straightaway for the win!
http://www.abdcycling.com/public/grafton/Grafton.mov
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