Nebraska Cycling News

Bryan Redemske and Kevin Limpach battle in the Category 4 criterium at the Norfolk Classic. Photo by Mark Stursma

Saturday’s road race saw 74 riders roll to the starting line in Stanton prior to heading out onto the 32 mile race loop. After a short neutral roll out, the riders headed east into increasingly steep hills before a long downhill section back to the beginning of the race loop. Category 5 men, Category 4 women, and Juniors completed one loop while all other racers had to rode two circuits before the final sprint back to the start/finish line.

The Category 1/2 field saw Chris Spence and Ian Gray, both of Team Kaos, ride off the front maintaining the lead for most of the race. Spence crossed the line ahead of Gray. Rounding out the field were Kevin Burke (Lincoln Industries-Highgear), Marc Walter (Independent Fabrication-Powerade), and Matt Landen (Team Kaos).

In Category 3 17-year-old Olympic speed skating hopeful Colton Barrett (MNJRC) of S. Saint Paul, Minnesota took the win ahead of John Vondaracek (Team Kaos) and Ryan Heine (The Hub Cycling Team). The Women’s Open field was cut short when a crash in the field on lap two took out Bike Master’s Roaxzanne Abbott, leaving Janna Vavra (Yankee Hill Veterinary Clinic/Team FIRE) in position for an uncontested win ahead of Linda Stevens.

Other class winners were Paul Webb - Category 4, Joe Hamlin - Masters 35+, Mark Brackenbury – Masters 45+, Rich Pearson – Masters 55+, Nick Zeimet – Category 5, Kim Carveth – Category 4 Women, and Jeremy Eisenhauer – Junior Male.

After thunderstorms and tornadoes ripped through Nebraska Saturday night, the Nebraska State Championship Criterium was held Sunday in downtown Norfolk. Competitors were allowed to enter more than one race which led to some riders leaving with multiple medals. First off was the combined Masters race. Joe Hamlin took his second win of the weekend taking first in the combined field and first in Mas.er 35+. Following Hamlin were Greg Shimonek of the Midwest Cycling Community, Jeff Elam (Central Plain Cycling), Vondracek (45+ winner), and Joe Savoie (Elkhorn Valley Cycling pwrd by Monster). The 55+ category winner was Fred Galata who crossed the line in ninth place overall. State Champions were Shimonek, Vondracek, and Galata.

The Cat 5/Junior race pitted Zeimet (EVCC/The Bike Way) against Barrett who left the remainder of the field in chase mode the entire race. The two lapped the field, most of it more than once. Zeimet won the Cat 5 race and was State Champion.

The combined Women’s field saw Sydney Brown (Team Revolution) run away with the race, with Morgan Chaffin (Team Kaos) second, Sara Bickerstaff third and Vavra fourth. Jamie Bachmann (Elkhorn Valley  pwrd by Monster) taking fifth and first Cat 4 women. Brown and Bachmann were State Champions.

Unexpected train traffic which compromised one of the last corners of the course caused some turmoil in the combined 1/2/3 race. Midway through the race, trains caused the race to be stopped only to be restarted again once the course was clear. In the end it was Landen, Gray, Spence, Shimonek (Category 3 winner), and Brackenbury (2nd in Category 3). State champions were Landen and Shimonek.

The last race of the day was the Category 4 race which saw Bryan Redemske (Team Kaos) jump out to an early lead. The field then regrouped and raced as a pack for some time until a crash between the last two corners of the course took out Michael Miles and Sean Kennedy (Team Kaos). Miles’ helmet was crushed by his impact with the concrete and his injuries appeared significant enough to cause him to be transported from the venue by ambulance.  Miles reported later that he sustained no serious injuries. Kennedy lined up again for the restart of the race and eventually finished ninth.

In the end, Justin Schnee (Colorbiotics) took not only all the primes for the race but the overall win as well. The rest of the top five were Jeremy Smith (Team Bicycles), Chet Henry (Lincoln Industries-Highgear), Paul Webb (Midwest Cycling Community), and John Spray (Elkhorn Valley Cycling pwrd by Monster). State Champion Category 4 rider was Chet Henry.

There were a total of 88 riders lined up in five fields and 18 entrants in the noontime Kid’s Race sponsored by radio station US92 making this the largest single day event in the history of the Norfolk Classic.

Saturday's Road Race Results...

Sunday's Criterium Results...