CVC Women Host Cyclocrossers at Badger Prairie

A beautiful but windy fall day welcomed racers at Badger Prairie County Park in Verona, WI and a great field including a number of out-of-towners turned out to compete in the second race in the WCA Series. The women of the Capitol Velo Club always enjoy making a challenge for racers and this race was no exception with a course featuring a short hill run up, many twisting technical corners and a fast three barrier section near the start.

In the A Men's race a strong field was present with several riders stopping in Madison on their way home from contesting the UCI race in Michigan. However, the course proved a challenge for some of the A Men, and a number of crashes factored into the outcome. Riding a clean race, Jed Schneider
(Alan Factory Team) made the corners, up hill run and fast three barrier section look easy. Although initially he was part of a lead group of three, he soon broke away, and his lead only grew as the race progressed. Finishing in second, Jacob Stechmann (Subway Express) chased furiously after a mid-race crash dropped him from the lead group but he wasn't able to get back up to Jed to challenge for the win. In third place Milwaukee racer Andrew Hargarten (Hampshire Cycle Club) kept the pressure on the front runners and was the top Wisconsin finisher.

In the Women's A/B field Rebecca Cleveland (Team Bike Hub) is back for a season of cross racing and was out to a strong start with a commanding win. Patti Kaufmann (Team Wisconsin) finished a strong second to move into the lead in the overall series. Samantha Kaplan (Capitol Velo Club) rounded out the podium with a strong race which was hampered by having been up at the crack of dawn to oversee marking the course.

The race also featured First Timer race categories, a singlespeed category and a Junior girls category to encourage even more people to get involved in the great sport of cyclocross. The new racers were some of the most enthusiastic racers and couldn't wait to try it again.

The Capitol Velo Club would like to thank its sponsors Williamson Bicycle and Fitness, Willy Street Coop and Bagels Forever for their support. We would also like to thank everyone who came out to race, volunteer or just cheer.

For pictures and video from the race visit Capitol Velo Club member Renee Callaway's website at www.madcros.org.

Race Results