ELKHART—Iowa Orthopaedic took three racers to the flatest section of road in central Iowa for the second edition of the Elkhart Time Trial series. With a better than expected turnout, 30-second start intervals were used to get all of the racers in before the sun went down.

Lee Current rolled out of the start house just after 7 p.m. looking to set a fast time.  Moving quickly across the flat course, he came through to finish just under 19 minutes at 18:57, an average speed of 23.6 mph. Current’s performance marked an eight second improvement over last month.

Thirty seconds after Current took the course, Jacob Oyen took off on a season’s best performance coming to the line in 18:21. His time was fourth fastest in his category with an average speed of 24.38 mph.

Both Current and Oyen competed in the Eddy Merckx category, which limits the riders access to aero equipment.

Rick Gritters was the last of the Pella riders to take to the course. Gritters, using his streamliner recumbent, put down a blistering pace, averaging 28.67 mph and tied the fastest time of the night at 15:36.

The team will take the following weekend off in preparation for the Memorial Day weekend bike races on the east coast of Iowa.

IOWA CITY — A soggy weekend of racing provided a unique challenge to Lee Current as he raced the Iowa City road race and the Old Capitol criterium.

Scattered showers make for a scattered peloton
The road race kicked off the weekend of racing for Current as he rolled up to the start line. With rain falling off and on most of the day, the course would prove to be exceptionally challenging given the conditions.

At the end of the first of three laps, Steve Reynolds (all9yards/Bike World) made his move to separate the field. Current missed the break, and spent the remainder of the race bridging the smattering of riders.

Current caught the tail end of the lead group as they started the third and final lap when another attack was made. Spending time between groups, he made caught on to a small group to make their way to the finish. Current finished the day in 28th.

A slippery Sunday
The Old Capitol criterium has been a racer favorite for years however, this year the racers were greeted with rain showers holding on from the previous day.

Current made his way to the line for the Cat. 4 race. After a slow start he climbed his way up through the pack just in time to get caught up in a mid-race crash. Missing out on the field sprint, Current grouped up with other crash victims and chased the field to come through in 17th.

The race team team will take a short break before heading to regional races on Mother’s day weekend.

DUBUQUE — The first criterium is in the books as the race team took two to the bluffs of Dubuque for the Eagle Point Criterium.

Lee Current kicked off the racing on the winding one mile course in the the cat. 4 race. With the race staying together most of the way, the peloton kept things in order as they made their way to the finish. Staying in the group to the finish, Current came through in seventh in the field sprint.

Jacob Oyen toed the line for the cat. 3 race next. A small group of just 14 riders joined him for the 20 mile race. After a quick start the attacks began with four riders getting up the road just a few laps into the race. As the peloton struggled to work together, the gap steadily increased through the course of the race. The lead group lapped the main field on the last lap and Oyen caught a tow to the line to take sixth.

The racers head to Iowa City next weekend for the Old Capitol Criterium and Iowa City Road race.

ELKHART — The Iowa road racing season is finally underway after many early season weather delays. Mother Nature cooperated long enough for the racers to head up to the five-race Elkhart time trial series for the first test of the season.

Averaging 26.10 mph, Rick Gritters put down a time of 17:10 over the mostly flat course.  Although he was the only person in the recumbent class, his time was good enough to place him sixth fastest for the night. Gritters also put out a call to open the class up to anything that is pedal powered. His call was answered by the race organizers and he looks forward to new challengers.

Lee Current has built a solid foundation for the start of his season with a time of 19:05. Current’s time placed him fifth in the Eddy Merckx category which restricts riders to using non-aerodynamic equipment.

The racers have a short break before heading up to Dubuque for the Eagle Point Criterium this weekend. Mother Nature will continue to harass the riders with the forecast calling for rain. The adverse conditions look to make the race interesting for the riders and exciting for the spectators.

PELLA—A smaller and more focused squad will represent the Pella Bike Racing team for the 2009 season.

While there may be fewer riders for the 2009 racing season, the goals have been set high. Lee Current and Todd Toom are looking forward to racing in the category 4 races as well as giving the masters racers a run for their money.

Rick Gritters will continue to compete in HPV races with his stable of recumbent bicycles. Gritters returns to racing after spending much of the 2008 season riding across the United States to raise money in the fight against poverty.

Jumping up to the category 3 races for 2009 is Jacob Oyen. Oyen has a diverse schedule of events throughout the midwest planned.

Dave Vander Horst looks to tackle the cyclocross scene. His passion for racing doesn’t end there though. Vander Horst is planning a much anticipated cyclocross race on the shores of Lake Red Rock.

Renewed support
The Iowa Orthopaedic Center continues their commitment as the title sponsor of the Pella team. Digital Solutions Inc. and Iowa Bike and Fitness have also committed to the team’s 2009 campaign. All of the racers thank these gracious sponsors for their support.

A new race
The team is making plans to host the Dirty Wooden Shoe cyclocross race on the shores of Lake Red Rock on October 3. The cyclocross race will offer a new challenge racers young and old. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

The 2009 roster includes the following racers:
Lee Current
Rick Gritters
Jacob Oyen
Todd Toom
Dave Vander horst

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.