Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Moving up quickly
Our man Andrew is having a great go at this year so far, and quickly moving himself up the ladder. Any day now, he's going to have some more points and start bringing in even heftier results. Congratulations for bringing in 4th at .
Christian Leask
12:32 AM |
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Monday, May 21, 2007
Pacesetter gets another win!
Congratulations to Andrew Wetherington, one of our newest team members, for taking the big W at the in Lawrenceville, GA.
Christian Leask
9:30 AM |
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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
South Carolina State Champion!
An enormous congratulations to our very own Kip Humphries, who this past weekend, lined up at the ; also the South Carolina State Championships...
Kip went into the day with a strong set of legs and emerged as the Pro/Expert victor. Congratulations to Kip to bringing this title home!
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Pacesetter Steel's Kip Humphries rolled across the line in second place at the 6th annual Spartanburg Stumpjump Mountain bike Race. As the first South Carolinian to cross the line, he nails down a state championship for the team.
After nearly 2 inches of rain the day before, the course conditions were less than to be desired. A windy morning and several hours of sunshine improved the conditions somewhat, but it still turned out to be a hot and muddy technical slopfest, which is exactly what the Pacesetter racer wanted. At 36 miles, and almost 3 hours, the course has always been a race of attrition, and Sunday's race was no exception. Chainsuck, wet roots, and thick, muddy climbs were to be just some of the challenges of the day.
After hitting the woods dead last from a botched start, Humphries reeled in almost the entire field over the 3 hour slugfest. Humphries and Richard Pyle of Team BMC organized a concerted chase effort to catch the leader, Titus rider Trent Maddox. After putting in an attack and dropping Pyle on a 3rd lap climb, Humphries drilled it to catch Maddox on the fourth lap, but the first lap attack of Titus rider proved to be too much. Humphries crossed the line at 2 hours 54 minutes in second place.
The Pacesetter Mountain Team will travel next to Tsali to compete in the 6 and 12 hour races on May 19th. Stay tuned for the details!
Christian Leask
11:13 AM |
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Friday, May 04, 2007
Heads up in the Press
Keep your eyes peeled this summer and look to come across the June edition of . Pacesetter Steel Service Cycling Team will be featured in the June issue as part of a roundup feature on Atlanta's local cycling teams.
If you're not already a ready, cruise on over to and put it in your quiver!
Christian Leask
9:52 AM |
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Brownwood Bike Rally
For years now, one of Pacesetter Steel Service Cycling's own, Darren Comer, has been heading up and organizing a real gem of an event. The Brownwood Bike Rally p/b East Atlanta Kids Club has been growing into a real favorite among local events as of late, and the fat tire criterium is an especially fun event to watch or be a part of.
This event benefits the East Atlanta Kids Club, a non-profit community-based after-school mentoring and enrichment program. The club provides a safe space, supportive adult mentors and resources to promote the healthy physical, mental and emotional development of all the youth who participate in the program.
Come spend the day supporting a good cause and enjoying several of many events if you can!
Christian Leask
9:15 AM |
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Beyond the Ides of March
As the March racing came to a close, the Pacesetter Steel boys headed down to Perry, GA for a tough weekend on the red Georgia clay. The Madan family had the team over on Friday night for some excellent lasagna and chocolate cake (I mean - NO - scratch that - NO CAKE) to fuel up for the weekend, thanks to Kim, Sydney, and Chad...
Saturday AM was a rolling 9.5 mile ITT. The course was a fast out-and-back on a divided highway. Thankfully, the wind was mild and so the fastest time was under 19 minutes for the day! Tyler represented the team splendidly and put in a smoking time to finish 8th Place in the P1/2 field, Chad put in a solid first ride on his new Litespeed TT rig and rolled in for 21st, and Reid carried the caboose to struggle through the race against the clock. Joel and Darren battled hard in the Cat 3 field, and Andrew represented with a 4th Pl. in the strong 4's field. Tres had imbibed in a little too much liquid courage the night before (hey, what are team manager's for?), but rode a strong TT through the pain anyway.
In the afternoon, the boys were racing around a leg-burning 2-mile circuit. Andrew pulled off one of the first podiums of the year for 3rd Place! Joel and Darren caught some bad luck and missed the winning move, which eventually lapped the field, in the 3's race; both put in strong rides nonetheless and Darren was 2nd in the pack sprint for 11th overall. Tyler, Chad, and Reid were joined by Charles for the 50 mile circuit race. Everyone raced aggressively, and Chad made it into a promising move that stayed out for the bulk of the race. After they were pulled back, Tyler put in several attacks within the last 3 laps but it was not to be... Reid finally finished in the top 20 with Chad, Tyler, and Charles not far behind.
Instead of red Georgia clay, Sunday's dirt road turned out to be soft-packed red sand, and so the 2-mile section of 'pave' was the ultimate fish-tailing slip-and-slide! Tyler had the ride of the weekend by making the early break that gained nearly 4 minutes on the field. After double-flatting out of the break, Tyler spent 1 lap with the pack and then bridged back up to the break with 1 other rider... he was on mission. But his legs finally gave out and he fell off within the last 2 laps. The 90-mile race began to split, and Chad fought hard for a top-15, while Reid was in the top-20. Andrew polished off a great weekend with an 8th Pl. finish, while Joel battled flats and fatigue in the 3's field.
With predicted tornadoes in Rock Hill, SC, the team then traveled a bit north for the Rock Hill Spring Omnium. Tyler and Reid competed in the 500 meter match sprints on Friday night. Tyler had a stacked 1st heat and was knocked out even though he finished 5th in his heat; Reid survived the first 2 rounds to make it into the semi-finals, but was finally eliminated just 2 spots out of the top-10.
Saturday's criterium was a relentless downtown struggle. The course was a .8 mile, 6-turn that included a screaming down-hill, off-camber turn and an equally challenging uphill finish. In the 3's field, Darren was securely seated in 3rd position through the next-to-last turn on the last lap, but had his legs cut out from under him, so his race was done. Although he had a perfect chain-ring etched on his quad, he was OK to race for the rest of the weekend. Kip rode solid in the Cat 5's crit, and was granted his 4 upgrade afterwards... congrats! Chad, Tyler, Reid, and Ben had a new P1/2 teammate as Oneil Samuels joined them from Jamaica. Reid initiated the winning move early in the race, but after Jittery Joe's Thad Dulin bridged to make it a 4-man group the pace was too rapid and Reid was dropped. At the end of a 40-lap race, Chad and Reid survived to finish 17th and 19th respectively, and Oneil was in the pack as well. Ben rode great for his first weekend back, and Tyler hung onto the dear end but was split off with 10 laps to go.
Miraculously, the rains that had poured all Saturday night subsided early Sunday morning, and all of the riders were granted a dry start to the grueling road race course. Darren again met bad luck late in the 90-mile race, and flatted out of a worthy 6-man break. He fought on for a strong finish anyhow. In the P1/2 field everyone one was active at the front, but it was quickly apparent that the peloton was too energetic to let a break go away. The racing began on the 2nd lap, and Chad and Tyler were both present in the breaks of the day. Finally, the pack was sprinting for 3rd Pl. after the last turn that was 2 kilometers from the finish. The pack sprint was chaotic and on bad pavement, but Tyler was able to string-out the pace as Chad kept on open line for Reid. In the end Reid was 5th in the pack sprint for 7th overall and Oneil was 13th overall. The team rode great together and pulled off the biggest top-10 of the season... Oneil was a great addition and Ben was super strong for a tough first weekend back to racing. Good things to come as we follow the
Thanks for reading!
Christian Leask
9:00 AM |
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