Junior Racing in Kansas - VeloTek Gran Prix
Toto, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.
This is what the general thought was on Saturday at the start of the 1st Annual Velotek Grand Prix Lance Armstrong Junior Olympics Race Series (LAJORS). You see, this is Kansas not California or Colorado, we don’t normally see a large juniors field line up at a race. But that was the case on Saturday May 1, 2004, at the start of the Individual Time Trial, there were close to 50 juniors suited up, race face on and motors running. Multiple Junior teams from throughout the region traveled to this remote site in North East Kansas to compete in the only free LAJORS race in the nation. Teams traveled from states such as Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and Colorado for this inaugural race at Clinton Lake. Each of these teams possessed with in their ranks national champions, so the weekend’s races were going to prove to be quite challenging for the local teams.
The colors of spring were quite evident in the array of jerseys that paraded in front of the race official’s tent at the start of the Time Trial. The location of the time trial proved to be very convenient for the teams, as they did not have to travel even more to get to the crit in the same day.
The time trial was a fast 1.1 mile course that went out in a very large loop and back to the finish. The temperature was in the low 60’s at start time with no wind (yes it was in Kansas). Local (Kansas) favorites Chris Hall of Team X and Benjamin Robertson of GP Velotek placed 3rd & 5th respectively in the Junior 17 - 18 TT. In the 15 - 16 age group, local favorite Hervey Wright IV of OZ Jr Racing placed 3rd. Joseph Schmalz (GP Velotek) led the 13 -14 juniors in the TT followed by other local racers Garrick Valverde (GP Velotek) in 3rd and John Nelson (OZ Jr Racing) in 4th. In the 10 -12 age category, Alex Edwards of Santa Fe edged out others for 1st, while Josh Wade (OZ Jr Racing) took 2nd followed by Blake Albrecht (GP Velotek) 3rd, Ian Reynolds (Sante Fe) 4th and Blake Eastman (GP Velotek) 5th. Amanda Kline (12) of OZ Jr Racing also raced in the TT and beat all her male counterparts in the same age group.
The leg/arm warmers came off as the start time drew closer for the criterium race. The morning chill had faded away into nice
70 degree late morning condition for the start of the criteriums. The juniors 10-12 race saw Amanda joining the boys at
the starting line. With all of the competitors fairly evenly matched, the race was close throughout the entire event.
All competitors seemed to be working together, sharing the load and taking turns pulling the train. Throughout the race
there seemed to be no major attacks but in a field of six, with a RR the next day, why? Coming around the final corner,
Josh and Amanda jumped for the sprint. In the final twenty yards, between these two, it seemed any body’s race.
Josh edged ahead of Amanda by three seconds with Blake Albrecht crossing thirty seconds later.
The main pack of juniors 13 -14 was joined by National Champion Keely Shannon at the starting line. Through the entire
race the main pack was pretty much staying together, with a few attacks here and there but none to successful. Several
racers got dropped about mid way through the race. And like the race before it, the finish came down to the final corner
with the 200 meter sprint. That 200 meter sprint was a hard fought sprint with Joseph Schmalz edging past the field and the
top six only being separated by one second. The 15-16 and 17-18 criterium ages were combined into one field for the two
groups, 26 man field. The race proved to be a very fast one, probably the fastest juniors field Kansas has seen in far too
many moons. With the two groups being combined, it made for a confusing race for the spectator to keep track of just who
was on first and what’s on second and I don’t know who’s on third…. Some of the lapped 15 -16 racers jumped back onto the chasing pack, which added to the confusion. After the race was all said and done, and after
some parents/coaches offered a challenge to the results, I think all the issues were resolved. One element that led to all the confusion was based on the idea that this was the first “time based” stage race that many had participated in. This is by no means a co mplaint, just a whole lot of green racers and adults learning about this new sport they have been thrust into.
The Junior 10 -12 road race was limited for safety reasons to just an out and back for a total of about 12 miles. The finish came down to a final sprint between Amanda Kline and Blake Albrecht with Amanda edging out Blake. This being a timed event, Amanda finished with the lowest overall time in her age bracket, beating out the boys in here field. Josh Wade came in 1st overall for the boys. The road race out a Perry Lake offered a very challenging 27 mile hilly course with Kansas wind added for good measure. The full loop around the lake was accented by a long up hill finish after having battled a very strong cross wind immediately before that hill.
The Junior 13 -14 road race consisted of one lap around the lake and again saw local favorite Joseph Schmalz laying the hammer down on the competition. Joseph finished all three events in first and won the leaders jersey.
The 15 -18 year olds had to compete two laps around the lake and this proved to be too much for some racers with some deciding to bail out after one lap. The local teams were given a lesson this weekend, courtesy of the wind and the visiting teams. The lesson was on just how stiff the competition can get within the national ranks.
A lot of events are billed as “1st Annual” and never make a repeat, but this event; I hope to see again next year! It is only an event like this that the Mid-West can draw in some of the top in the nation to compete, and free to boot! Keep track of all of these competitors’ names, you just may be seeing their names in headlines in years to come, and you can say you saw them here in Kansas, of all places. Several of the out of state racers/coaches/parents indicated to me that they came to this race because it was a free race for the Juniors.
The following is a run down of how the local teams faired in the top five of their field.
Junior 10-12 Women
1. Amanda Kline
Junior 10-12
1.Josh Wade, OZ Jr Racing
2.Blade Albrecht, GP Velotek
3.Ian Reynolds, Santa Fe Trails
4. Alex Edwards
Junior 13-14
1.Joseph Schmalz, GP Velotek
3.Garrick Valverde, GP Velotek
4.John Nelson, OZ Jr Racing
Junior 15-16
5.Austin Fick, GP Velotek
Junior 17-18
2.Chris Hall, Team X
Complete results from the VeloTek Gran Prix .