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.

O’FALLON, MO – The Pella bike racing team took two members and headed south for the Tour de Winghaven on Sunday. Situated in the western suburbs of St. Louis, the course consisted of two roundabouts and a few short climbs that provided some exciting racing.

A combined 3/4 field greeted Doug Klahsen and Jacob Oyen early Sunday afternoon. With almost 125 riders in the peloton, the race proved to be one of the largest the racers will see this year. With the temperature well into the 90s, hydration played a key role in the race. The high winds gusting down the finishing stretch helped to keep the peloton together for most of the race.

Klahsen rode smart by staying in the group and avoiding trouble. In doing so, he finished just behind the peloton in 66th. The heat affected Oyen severely and he was dropped out of the peloton with three laps to go. He continued on to finish as the last rider on the lead lap in 73rd.

The racers head east next weekend to Davenport for the Hummer Hammer Criterium.

ROCK ISLAND, ILL.–The Pella Bike Racing team headed east to race over the long Memorial Day weekend. The weekend marks the biggest race weekend in Iowa and includes competition from all over the Midwest.

Steve Reynolds began the weekend earlier than his teammates at Friday’s Burlington Road Race with a seventh place finish in the standings. Reynolds followed up the road race with a very challenging and competitive Snake Alley race on Saturday unfortunately resulting in a DNF.

Doug Klahsen and Jacob Oyen joined Reynolds for Sunday’s Melon City Criterium. The challenging course, which had high speeds and included a speed bump, saw over 62 competitors in the category four race. After 14 laps of hard racing with the peloton all together, Oyen led his teammates through the finish placing 14th. Reynolds placed 18th and Klahsen 29th.

The team completed the challenging weekend at the Quad Cities Criterium. The flat and fast hour glass course saw high speeds and challenging competition. Lee Current joined Klahsen and Reynolds in the Masters 30+ 4/5 race. The race proved challenging, with a late three man break going away. While the chase was fruitless, Reynolds used it to his advantage to place sixth overall earning a small but rewarding paycheck. Current and Klahsen finished 13th and 14th.

After completing the masters race, Reynolds joined Oyen in the category four race. The exceptionally large field consisted of almost 70 competitors and saw only 42 finishers because of the high pace. Reynolds’ exceptional fitness in his second race of the day was demonstrated by a 12th place finish while Oyen was shuffled farther back in 24th.

The racing in Iowa takes a natural break for the next few weeks and allows racers to recover from a long weekend of challenging racing. The team looks towards the Hummer Hammer Criterium as their next in-state race.

DUBUQUE — Jacob Oyen made a three hour trek to Dubuque for the Eagle Point Criterium on Sunday and finished fifth overall. The race, previously part of the Iowa Cup, had smaller fields than years past despite the great weather.

The race had a small five man break early which cut the field in half. Halfway through the race, a rider from HBA rolled off the front only to be brought back on the final lap. A sprint finish completed the day with Oyen taking fifth in the sprint.

“I always enjoy coming to Eagle Point to race,” Oyen said. “The course is technical and challenging for all riders. It also gives us that first taste of criterium style racing early in the season.”

The Pella Bike Racing team is headed to Iowa City area next weekend for the Iowa City Road Race and the Old Capital Criterium.

TIFFIN — Doug Klahsen took a seventh place category finish in the Kent Park Classic on Saturday. Klahsen led his Iowa Orthopaedic teammates finishing 26th in the overall race standings.

The Kent Park classic is often used to gauge early season fitness and the race lived up to its usual challenging standards. A fast start, and a large pack allowed racers to get a good taste of what is to come for the 2008 racing season.

Steve Reynolds, Jacob Oyen and Lee Current lost the main pack early but finished in strong packs. Reynolds and Oyen were 16th and 17th respectively in the category standings with Current placing 24th.

The team is headed to the Altoona Road Race next weekend, a grueling 54 miler outside of Pleasant Hill.