ELKHART — The Pella Bike Racing team took two riders to the rain soaked fields south of Elkhart for the second edition of the Elkhart time trial series. The short but challenging 12 kilometer course provides the racers an opportunity to go all out against the clock. The series has five races.

Rick Gritters, riding his race recumbent, posted the fastest time of the evening with a 15:57, half a second quicker than Gerald Johnson (unattached). Gritters’ time converts to a 28 mph average speed which allowed him to win the recumbent category and earn 20 more points for the category title. Gritters had a 50 second improvement from last month.

Jacob Oyen posted a time of 18:10 for the evening which averaged out to 24.6 mph, a 35 second improvement from last month. Oyen placed fourth in the Eddy Merckx category, which mandates a stock road bike with no aero equipment.

Gritters will take a two-month hiatus from the Elkhart time trial series as he rides across the United States to raise money for the Reformed Church. The race team will visit Elkhart again on July 10 to race against the clock. The race team had also planned to head east this weekend for the Hummer Hammer Criterium however, due to the flooding in the region, the race was canceled. The team will race next at the Green Days Criterium in Ankeny on June 21.