IOWA CITY—Kyle Fleener placed fourth at the muddy and challenging Jingle Cross Rock race on Saturday.

Cool temperatures greeted Fleener as he lined up in the second row of a 70-plus rider field. Once the gun went off, Fleener wasted no time in getting to the front of the field. A crash 150 meters into the race also helped to separate the field.

The challenging Mt. Krumpit helped to further seperate the field and allowed Fleener to showcase his climbing strength. The 150-meter run-up provided spectators a chance to see riders suffer and challenge their bike carrying skills. After completing six laps Fleener came to the line in fourth place.

Fleener plans to wrap up his season at the Illinois state cyclocross championships on the shores of Lake Michigan next weekend.

WOODSTOCK, ILL.—Kyle Fleener led the category four cyclocross race from wire-to-wire at the ninth race of the Chicago cyclocross cup series.

A strong start helped Fleener to his second cyclocross victory of the year. The relatively dry course and challenging terrain made for exciting racing all day.

“I knew I had to put in a solid start since there are so many strong riders. Once I got into a rhythm, I just kept the hammer down. ” Fleener said.

His first place finish puts him fifth in the series points out of 96 competitors. Fleener plans to attend Jingle Cross in Iowa City and then will wrap up his season at the Illinois state championship on the shores of Lake Michigan.

ALTOONA—With the cyclocross season well underway, the team has been busy racing around the midwest.

Fleener races in Chicago cyclocross series
Kyle Fleener came away with a victory at the Prarie ‘Cross race in  Prarie du Chien, Wisc. early in the season. The following weekend he placed second in the Carpenter Park cyclocross race. After a weekend off, Fleener took another second place at the St. Charles cyclocross race.

Vanderhorst at Cross Out Chrons
Dave Vanderhorst made the trek to Newton for the ‘Cross out Chrons race at the beginning of October. The challenging race was a benefit for Chrons disease. Vanderhorst placed 13th on the hilly course in Newton.

Oyen at Iowa cyclocross state championships
The state championship race, benefiting the Iowa SIDS foundation, was a relatively flat and fast course in Altoona this past weekend. After 30 minutes of racing, Oyen found himself battleling with Dave Mable (all9yards.com) for the final two laps. After playing possum most of the way to the finish, Oyen outlasted Mable and crossed the line in sixth.

DES MOINES—Dave Vander Horst and Jacob Oyen kicked off the cyclocross season at the Capital City Cross race in McRae park.

Oyen made the trip to Des Moines on Saturday for the first race of the year, and his first cyclocross race ever. The quick start on a relatively difficult course proved to be challenging however, Oyen finished seventh out of 21 racers.

Vander Horst joined Oyen for the race on Sunday. The technically challenging course provided a lot of excitement with some fast sections and some really slow technical sections. Vander Horst opted to race in the CX4 category instead of with the masters. After battling with some park equipment while crossing the sand pit, he placed 11th out of a 26 man field.

Oyen came in eighth after going toe-to-toe with Dave Mable (all9yards.com) for most of the race.

The team is headed to Newton next weekend for the Cross Out Chrons race.

ST. LOUIS MO.—Steve Reynolds showed the fruits of his labor in St. Louis with two top five finishes at the four-day Gateway Cup.

The first day of the four day cup series started with the Tour de Lafayette, a flat and fairly fast course. Lee Current, the only team member that made it for the race, made a break for a mid-race prime, but was unsuccessful. Current finished 46th out of the 90 competitors.

Reynolds joined Current for the Emerson Motors Criterium on Saturday. The one mile figure-eight style course proved to be exactly that, fast and crazy. Steve Reynolds showed his strength and placed third. Current suffered a puncture with only two laps to go. Disappointed, he was forced to call it day early.

Sunday’s Giro Della Montagne proved to be the hilliest of the four days of racing. Current was caught up in an early race crash, but made it to the wheel pit for a spare wheel. Reynolds finished the day 21st and Current was just behind in 33rd in the large pack of racers.

Monday’s final day of racing at the University City Loop helped put the exclamation point on an outstanding weekend. Reynolds placed 5th and Current followed through in 39th.

For most of the team, the racing is now complete for the 2008 season. Some will opt for the final Elkhart Time Trial and others have started to gear up for cyclocross season.

PELLA—Doug Klahsen and Jacob Oyen received their Category 3 upgrade approval from USA cycling after a full season of races.

The upgrade tops off a successful 2008 campaign for the two racers. Klahsen had a second place finish at the Green Days race in Johnston and a third place finish at the Bicycle Blues and BBQ Criterium in Clear Lake this year. With multiple seasons of racing under his belt, Klahsen also racked up numerous top 10 finishes.

Oyen had a second place finish at the Northfield Criterium in Northfield, Minn. and a fourth place finish in the Kansas City Kansas Criterium. He also had numerous top 10 finishes over the course of the season.

The teammates will continue to prepare tirelessly for their 2009 campaign.

PELLA—Steve Reynolds led his teammates through a challenging state championship event hosted by the Pella Bike Racing team.

The racing started late in the day for the team. The first half of the category four race was uneventful with nobody getting away. With 15 laps to go Jacob Oyen turned on the gas and had a small, but unorganized group off the front for a lap and half before it was reeled in.

With three laps remaining in the race, Doug Klahsen went to the front and strung the field out in a leadout attempt. With Reynolds and Oyen in tow, the team was positioned well for the finish. As the final lap began, Klahsen peeled off and let the team go to work. When the peloton entered the third turn, a DMOS rider crashed. Reynolds squeaked through and avoided disaster placing seventh.

Oyen wasn’t so lucky as he ran out of road and took a tumble into the grass. After picking himself up, he limped up to the finish line where he finished 17th. Lee Current finished just behind him in 18th.

The team now starts to look towards the off-season as the road season in Iowa is mostly complete. Some racers are headed south for the Gateway cup over Labor Day weekend, and others have already started their off-season training plans.

AUSTIN, MINN—Kyle Fleener is headed to the World Championship Duathlon in Rimini, Italy, Sept. 28.

Fleener, a category 4 cyclist for the Pella Bike Racing team, qualified for the world championships at the Apple Duathlon this past spring. He also raced two half-ironman triathlons this year in preparation for his trip to Italy. The Austin Post-Bulletin wrote an article showcasing Fleener’s world championship training.

Not only is Fleener a contender on the world duathlon stage, but also an up and coming cyclist. He pulled off back-to-back victories in the Category 5 races at the Bicycle Blues and BBQ Crit and Road Race only one month ago. He also hopes to dive into the cyclocross scene this fall to keep his winter fitness.

ELKHART—Jacob Oyen led the Eddy Merckx category at the fourth edition of the Elkhart Time Trial Series with a time of 18:02.

Oyen rode his fastest time trial of the year, with an eight second improvement, on a night when conditions were near perfect. Averaging a blistering 24.8 mph for the 12 kilometer course, he was 1:21 faster than his closest competitor.

There is now an 11 point difference in the Eddy Merckx category between Oyen and the season-long leader, Jerome Rewerts (all9yards.com). The final edition of the race series in September should prove to be exciting as the two racers go head-to-head for the top spot in the category.

The race team is making their final preperations for the State Criterium Championships in Pella on Aug. 23. The race will mark the end of the Iowa road racing calendar.

OVERLAND PARK, KAN.—Jacob Oyen had three top 15 finishes at the three-day tour of Kansas City.  The tour, known for it’s challenging and technical courses, provided Oyen the opportunity to race in a large field.

Kansas City Kansas Criterium
The Friday night criterium in Kansas City kicked off the weekend of racing with a four corner crit. The course included a technical descent as well as some field splitting climbs. Oyen, riding without any teammates, spent most of the race staying out of trouble at the front of the pack in the smallest field of the weekend with only 54 riders.

As the race progressed, different teams tried to split up the race unsuccessfully. With the field together going into the last lap, Oyen started to move toward the front. As the sprint unfolded coming out of the last corner, the sea of riders parted as Oyen opened his “magical cloak” and surged to the finish taking fourth.

Cliff Drive Classic
The Saturday circuit race in this historic part of Kansas City also brought challenging weather conditions for the 20-mile race. With some heavy rain falling before the race, the 82 racers were unsure of the course conditions as they started.

As the riders eased into the racing action, the elements proved to be the deciding factor in the race. For the riders that stayed upright, the road conditions brought an additional challenge. Construction on the bottom side of the course reduced visibility and coated the riders with a layer of mud and grime.

With the race half-over, Oyen found himself off the front after leading the pack up the challenging goose-neck hill. After being caught, Oyen rested up for the final build up to the finish. With a massive acceleration up the final climb, Oyen placed himself in 12th for the finish.

Overland Park Grand Prix
The relatively flat and fast figure eight style course in the old part of Overland Park proved to be the most exciting race of the weekend. With an average speed around 25 mph, there was no room for error.

Shortly after the race started, two riders rolled off the front and put a considerable gap on the field. The peloton had a difficult time organizing themselves to chase which resulted in many crashes. The two leaders were also pushing the pace hard enough that one crashed out, leaving a solo rider off the front with only a few laps to go.

The field chased feverishly, but it proved to be unsucessful as the peloton was treated to a field sprint. As the riders setup for the sprint, Oyen lined himself up in the top 15 to make his move in the last two turns. As the sprint unfolded the tempo kept increasing before Oyen put the power down to come through in 11th.

The racers now have a two-week break before the Iowa racing season comes to a close with the State Criterium Championships on August 23 in Pella.