BioWheels/United Dairy Farmers UCI Cyclo-Cross at Harbin

Numbers were slightly up over last year's race

Taking over the Midwest UCI train from the Detroit-double 2 weekends ago, the BioWheels/United Dairy Farmers Cincinnati event pulled a solid and talented group of Elites down to Harbin Park’s super-fast and twisty course. 136 riders total made the trip from all over the midwest and east, and the increased number of riders made the racing all the more exciting. 50 degree temps with a brisk wind was the weather for most of the day, with a misty rain settling down over the course late in the day. The slight chill in the air was no match for the rockin’ 90s tunes (courtesy of Squirrel) and Irey’s Kentucky Spicy Gumbo.

With a 6th and an 11th in the Detroit weekend, Alan Factory’s Matt Kelly may not have been the sure pick to win the Cincinnati event – but with his history as the only rider ever from America to win a world (junior) cyclo-cross championship, he could not be counted out. After a first-lap spill that send him back towards the middle of the field, Kelly worked his way up to a lead group of seven on the second lap. The lead group, consisting of Mike House (former U23 Nat. Champ) and Kevin Atkisson (Texas Roadhouse), Jeff Weinert (former Masters Nat. Champ) and Jon Card (Cane Creek), Nathan Chown (Fuji Canada), and Phil Noble (BioWheels) took turns throwing shots at each other, and by the halfway, it was down to 5. A dropped chain put Kelly off the back with 2 to go, but a quick recup helped pull him back up, where he quickly came through and launched his winning attack. Kelly wound up taking a hard-fought 20 second win over Chown, who won the sprint for second over Weinert and House. BioWheels’ Noble went down hard and broke(!) his ankle in the last lap, but toughed it out to save fifth place.

Oxford, Ohio's Mike House set much of the tempo for the race

The women’s Elite race saw North Carolina’s Mandy Lozano (CCA/Kona) go to the front in the first lap with teammate Cara McCauley, stringing out the field. Massachusetts’ Kathryn Roszko (NCC/BikeReg) stayed within shouting distance of the two early. As Lozano went out front on a solo tear, Georgia’s Kim Sawyer (Travelgirl) started to wind it up from midpack. Last year’s winner Anne Schwartz (Flying Rhino) rolled a tire in the first lap, taking her out of contention for this year’s win, and making her day a race of catch-up. By the end she was able to work her way back up to fifth, while Sawyer passed Roszko for third. McCauley held just enough of a cushion over a charging Sawyer to hold onto second for a CCA/Kona 1-2.

The Masters men’s field swelled this year to 38

This twisty section needed repairing at least a dozen times

riders between 35+ and 45+ categories. A four-man lead group rolled out from the 35+ field, carrying Ohio’s John Gatch (Montgomery), Michigan resident Michael Wissink (Specialized), Louisville’s Bob Bobrow (Papa Johns), and Massachusetts’ Steve Roszko (NCC BikeReg). An early spill in the sand by Bobrow sent the rest of the group on the attack – but the Papa Johns rider made it back on and spent the rest of the race punishing his companions relentlessly. The three managed to stay on his wheel, so it came down to a four-man sprint to the line. Wissink uncorked a mad sprint around Bobrow in the final 70 yards to take this year’s win.

The Men’s B field also swelled this year to 38 riders, showcasing the growing popularity of cyclo-cross in the Midwest (it doesn’t always take us 10 years to catch onto stuff). The crazy tight turns in the beginning of the course (which sadly will not see a return next year, in lieu of a road start) saw six riders manage to pull clear early. Pittsburg’s Chris Mayhew (Fort GPOA), TJ Turner and Mark Lauterwasser (BioWheels), Dan Ott and Matt Bell (Darkhorse), and single-speeder Ezra Taylor (Kenwood Racing). Some mid-race spills in the slippery turns saw Mayhew, Taylor and Lauterwasser ride clear of the others, and work together towards the final lap. Mayhew was in control in the finale, but an acceration going into the final turn by BioWheels’ Lauterwasser earned him his first-ever cyclo-cross victory.

What a couple of cuties!

The BioWheels Racing team wants to thank everyone who came to Cincinnati to race with us, as you all helped to raise over $400 for the Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance trail advocacy group. It’s groups like these that help keep parks like Harbin open to bicycle use. We also want to thank United Dairy Farmers for their outstanding support of the event, and of Cincinnati-area bicycle racing in general. See ya next year!

Photos by Renee Callaway

Men’s Elite Results