WEST BRANCH—Steve Reynolds brought home a bronze medal for taking third place at the Iowa State Road Race Championships.

Epic riding conditions greeted the racers from Pella for a much talked about 54 mile road race. The wind was out of the east, but it didn’t provide much relief from the temperatures that were in the low 90s at race time. The first 15 miles were pretty relaxed with the DICE team doing most of the work in the early miles.

With 20 miles behind the riders, a small break formed which included Reynolds. The peloton let the small group get almost a half mile lead before the peloton brought things back together. Doug Klahsen, playing the role of domestique for Reynolds and offered up a fresh bottle and a load of luck for the finish.

With 10 miles to go, Shawn Loomis (Colorbiotics) took a long pull off the front, but was unsuccessful at breaking things up. Within five miles of the finish everything was back together, setting the race up for a field sprint which was hotly contested. Reynolds came through in third just behind Michael Morrison (unattached) and Gerald Johnson (Rasmussen Death Squad 5000). Klahsen came through in 23rd. Dave Vander Horst and Lee Current placed 32nd and 33rd respectively.

The team will take a short break from the racing action next weekend to volunteer their time at the Dutchman half-ironman triathlon in Pella next weekend, while some will head south to compete in the Tour of Kansas City.  The team is also continuing their preparation for the Iowa Criterium Championships in Pella on August 23.