CLEAR LAKE—Kyle Fleener won both category five races at the Bicycle Blues and Barbecue festival and Steve Reynolds managed to take a close second place in the Saturday night crit race. These solid performances showcased the team’s ability to make a statement to the Iowa peloton.

Starting with the Saturday night crit, Fleener challenged his competition late in the category five race. Making his move with two to go, he pulled away from the field for a solo victory. This was only the beginning for the triathlete turned road racer as he challenged the field in the 42-mile road race on Sunday. Keeping things together for the first 20 miles, Fleener made his move and took one competitor with him. The two riders traded turns in the gusty winds all the way to the finish where Fleener pulled ahead and won in a sprint finish.

More teamwork helps Reynolds to second and Klahsen to third
While Fleener took two victories in the category five races, the rest of the team was racing in the category four races. The action started early in the Saturday night crit with Doug Klahsen pulling away from the field on the first two laps. Once he was caught, Lee Current took his turn off the front but was quickly chased down. Jacob Oyen launched a dangerous break with Jerome Rewerts (all9yards.com) which was brought back after a lap.

The final attack proved to be the decisive move of the race. Klahsen and Reynolds developed a break that also included Rewerts, Tim Putnam (North Iowa Spin) and Shawn Loomis (Colorbiotics) that was allowed to roll of the front by Oyen and Current controlling the main peloton. Klahsen, Reynolds and Rewerts kept the pace high enough to shell Shawn Loomis off the back of their group and keep Putnam at bay.

The small break of four riders traded turns on the front until the last lap where Klahsen set up a sprint between Rewerts and Reynolds. The sprint came down to a photo finish where Reynolds was edged out by a narrow margin of just six inches. Klahsen rolled home in third while Oyen and Current finished 9th and 13th in the main group.

A windy road race
With two on the podium in the crit, the team had high hopes for the road race on the following day. A strong wind out of the west greeted the riders when they started the day. As the riders rode along Clear Lake, an easy tempo kept things together for the first 30 miles of the race. When the racers made the final turn to the north, the race began to string out and whittled the field down.

On the four mile long finishing stretch the action and the tempo kicked up. Starting the charge was Klahsen, who kicked the speeds up to almost 30 mph with the wind behind the field. Once he pulled through a second smaller group start to form off the front that included 10 riders. With 300 meters to go, the pace kicked up even higher, but Oyen and Reynolds couldn’t react quick enough and came through in 9th and 10th places respectively. Klahsen and Current finished in the main group in 12th and 18th.

The team takes a short break before heading to West Branch for the state road race on Aug. 2. Preperations have also begun for the Iowa State Criterium Championships in Pella on August 23.