Story by James Watson
The 2007 Wichita Cycle Fest proved to be another exciting 3 days of racing. With a 15 K Time Trial, 36 Mile Road Race, and approx 13 Mile Crit, the weekend was set to satisfy even the most eager racers. There were 14 handcyclists registered ranging in category from HCA to HCC1. Three athletes who traveled from NY, CA, & FL received Warren Strickland Memorial Scholarships. All racers received a Warren Strickland Memorial T-shirt.
Brian Mitchell-KC MO, Keane West-FL, and Patrick Cottini-CA, burned up the course, each winning their class in the Time Trial, Road Race, and Criterium. It was HC-B racer Keane West, however, that dominated the weekend on his LC-1 Freedom Ryder, besting even the "C" class.
15K Time Trial
The time trial was a fairly flat fast course with a moderate South wind. The eyes were on the"A" Class which showed with 5 racers, unheard of in Handcycle Racing these days. Patrick Cottini went off 2 ahead of James Watson-KS (Handcycle Race Promoter) who looked strong going out, gaining steadily on Cottini in the first 5 miles. It looked for sure like Cottini would be passed by Watson as Cottini dug up the dirt, going off the road after not making the turn around. Watson continued to push hard after the turn into the wind but Cottini showed his training superiority and great endurance as he cranked up the speed a notch and held it to the finish. Soon Watson ran out of gas and fell back to a snails pace for a bit before recovering and finishing almost 2 minutes slower than Cottini. Next in was Wayne Romero-KS, new to Handcycling but not to intense competition. The 2 time Paralympic Quad Rugby player made an excellent showing for only his 2nd competition in a handcycle. Cyclefest veteran "A" class racer Dale Pausewang-KS on an old XLT 7-speed "tank" was next followed by another Cyclefest veteran racer, Doug Jackson-KS.
The "B" Class was smokin' with Keane West looking like a "C" Class racer with an average speed of over 18mph. Next was Ken Bestine NY, who was just happy to get to ride after a winter of snow, snow, and more snow. Finishing 3rd was the local favorite and only woman, Jennifer Kreutzer zipping along on her 99xlt 7-speed. The official race cheerleaders and awesome volunteers, Tammy Watson and Rebecca Strickert, were in consensus that "Jenny and Dale need new bikes". With only one woman in this year's race, it raised the question: "where was last year's women's racer, Heather Grace?"
The "C" Class TT was lead by Brian Mitchell who like West also smoked out an 18+ mph avg. Next in was Jake O'Connor-CO on his sharp looking new Shark "S" with a dropped axel and no camber. Mark Stever-KS, went out strong but was having crank problems and did not finish.
36 Mile Road Race
This is always a great race. There are only 6 turns in this 36 mile course....yeah that's right.....one turn every 6 miles!!! Where else can you ride and get these kind of miles and straight aways in a RR??? ....In Kansas where the winds...over 20mph...and gusting 30 to 40+ mph, as they whipped through the area all day. Oh by the way, the race took place approximately 3.5 hours east of Greensburg, Kansas where an F5 tornado pretty much demolished the whole town. "It was a windy SOB of a ride" said Brian Mitchell of Lee's Summit MO. "Riding 6 miles into a 30+ mph crosswind, then 6 miles into a 30+ mph headwind, and then 6 miles into a 30+ mph crosswind proved to be both mentally and physically demoralizing.....but that 6 mile tailwind was sweet!!!!!"
The race started and the field quickly broke into 2 packs of riders, then 3 packs of riders, and then before long that road race transformed itself into a nasty 36 mile time trial. Keane West of Lake Placid Florida looked very strong throughout the whole race. After he, Mitchell and O'Connor traded busting through the wind for the first four miles, O'Connor began to fall off. Mitchell dropped back and picked up O'Connor and the two tried to ride back into West's draft unsuccessfully. West broke away fast and powered his way home to a 1st place finish....TT style. O'Connor with limited training after his recent move to CO soon dropped back, leaving him and Mitchell to battle the wind alone.
Meanwhile the "B" and "A" racers had started in a pack. Mark Stever was pulling the group. Ken Bestine tucked in tight behind. Cottini, Watson, Romero, and Pausewang all jumped on board. Soon Pausewang dropped back, caught up and finally dropped for good. Romero was struggling. Stever and Bestine pulled ahead of the rest of the group and Watson moved to the front to pull them back up. Then Romero dropped off. Cottini took the lead and Watson dropped back to pull Romero back up then moved to the front to pull the group back up to Stever and Bestine. Romero dropped back again and this time Cottini pulled him back into the group. Just before the three caught up Romero dropped again and Watson made a final attempt to keep him on as Cottini swung in behind Stever and Bestine. That was it for Watson. He sprinted and hung a few meters back for a while then dropped back to continue on solo. Stever lead Cottini and Bestine for several miles at a fast pace before losing steam and having crank issues again. At that point Cottini pulled out of the draft and passed by with the huge tail wind boosting his lead over the others. Stever soon came to a halt and waited for a sag, not willing to push on fighting his crank problems. He loaded his bike and helped volunteers Sherlyn and Brittney Stever provide sag support. Bestine continued on alone for a few miles until caught by Watson. The two traded off breaking the wind for several miles, then the hills got steeper. Watson pulled ahead leaving the two racers alone against the ferocious wind and on the steepest climb of the day. Several miles back Romero and Pausewang were fighting the hot sun, and wind. Romero ahead of Pausewang kept his pace. Pausewang looking for the advantage on the climb with "mountain drive" suddenly popped a tire and chose to sag in.
Criterium- .8 mile loop with 4 right turns (approx 13 miles total)
This was a super fast fun race. One interesting thing to note is that they ran the handcycles with the CAT4 Women.....and yes two handcyclists rocketed past the CAT4 Women and never looked back....yeah baby score one for the two gimps who kept an approximately 21 mph pace throughout the Crit....the CAT4 Women never led and was approximately a half mile behind when the two handcyclists Keane West and Brian Mitchell crossed the finish line!!!
The Crit started at a rocket's pace and never let up quickly splitting the field into two packs of riders. Keane and Brian quickly stripped Jake O'Connor off the main pack, who joined the ladies for a while "We think Jake may have been trying to get a phone number or two" said Brian Mitchell of MO. West and Mitchell traded out the lead with West edging out the "C" class racer at the finish line. "I feel Great, lets do it again" said West with a grin from ear to ear. O'Connor stuck in the middle, too fast for the 2nd group but not fast enough to hang with West and Mitchell found himself just riding hard. Smiling big as he went by the crowd and other racers. Bestine, Cottini, Watson, traded the lead while Romero and Pausewang hung tight and drafted for several laps. The pace picked up and Watson and Cottini hung with Bestine who was looking strong, trading out the lead almost every lap. Cottini was leading as O'Connor lapped the group and Cottini made a break for O'Connor's draft but didn't make it. Watson showing great acceleration shot out seconds after and caught O'Connor for a racing lesson he won't soon forget. Watson looked great as they shot ahead of Bestine and Cottini with 5 laps to go. O'Connor seeing Watson hugging his rear wheel kicked it up a bit, pulling near 17mph into the wind. Watson lost the draft. O'Connor looking to help his buddy (or teach him a lesson) backed off the gas and Watson sprinted back into the draft. After the two repeated this several times Watson dropped back for good, not looking so strong anymore. Bestine and Cottini easily ran him down and pulled into his draft for the last lap and a half. Nearing the next to last turn Bestine pulled out and passed Watson to take the lead with Cottini in tow with a good tail wind. Watson launched a ferocious attack and shot past, gaining a big lead going into the last turn before the finishing stretch. Cottini bided his time and as Watson ran out of gas he kicked on the afterburners and edged him out for his 3rd victory of the weekend. Bestine finished just behind Watson with Romero and Pausewang finishing soon after to end an awesome 3 days of racing.
For photos and more about handcycling in Kansas, please visit: wcsports.org
RESULTS:
TT
HCA- Doug Jackson 1:06.09, Dale Pausewang 51:05.00, Wayne Romero 48:25.00, James Watson 40:58.00, Patrick Cottini 39:04.00
HCB- Jennifer Kreutzer 1:01.44, Ken Bestine 41:31.00, Brian Mcmillan DNS, Keane West 29:02.00,
HCC- Mark Stever DNF, Jake O’Connor 32:04.00, Brian Mitchel 29:22.00
RR over all
1st Keane West, 2nd Brian Mitchel, 3rd Jake O’Connor,4th Patrick Cottini, 5th James Watson, 6th Kennith Bestine, 7th Wayne Romero, Mark Stever DNF, Dale Pausewang DNF, Brian Mcmillian DNS, Doug Jackson DNS
RR by Class
HC-A, 1st Patrick Cottini, 2nd James Watson, 3rd Wayne Romero, Dale Pausewang DNF, Doug Jackson DNS
HC-B, 1st Keane West, 2nd Kennith Bestine, Brian Mcmillian DNS
HC-C, 1st Brian Mitchel, 2nd Jake O’Connor, Mark Stever DNF
Criterium over all
1st Keane West, 2nd Brian Mitchel, 3rd Jake O’Connor,4th Patrick Cottini, 5th James Watson, 6th Kennith Bestine, 7th Wayne Romero, 8th Dale Pausewang, Mark Stever DNS, Brian Mcmillian DNS
Criterium by Class
HC-A, 1st Patrick Cottini, 2nd James Watson, 3rd Wayne Romero, 4th Dale Pausewang, Doug Jackson DNS
HC-B, 1st Keane West, 2nd Kennith Bestine, Brian Mcmillian DNS
HC-C, 1st Brian Mitchel, 2nd Jake O’Connor, Mark Stever DNF
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