Team Kaos

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The 2009 Nebraska road racing season opened Saturday at Le Tour de Husker on the Tractor Test Loop on the University of Nebraska's East Campus.

The half-mile oval featured slightly banked curves that made it hard to find the right line. All of the day's races -- including the preceding college slate -- featured a number of crashes and plenty of contact.

In the Men's 1/2/3 race, Team Kaos/Alegent Health's John Vondracek sprinted out of the pack to finish third. Teammate Chris Spence broke away with eventual winner Kevin Limpach (Midwest Cycling) with around 25 laps remaining. However, just as their lead was cemented, Spence was disqualified for a rules infraction, handing the win to Limpach.

Meanwhile, in the chase pack, Vondracek and Bryan Redemske -- who finished seventh -- were able to shut down attempts to reel in the leaders. Devin Bethune (Elkhorn Valley Cycling) finished second, while Nick Zeimet (The Bike Way) was fourth. 

Jon Protaskey finished second in the Men's 4 race, which finished with a large pack sprint. Teammates Brandon Fenster and Rich Pearson were seventh and eighth, respectively. Pearson was involved in an early crash, but quickly returned to the race minus several patches of skin.

Protaskey, after winning a prime, spent several laps off the front. After threatening to stay away for the remainder of the race, he was reeled in.

In the Men's 5 race, Ashton Lambie made his Team Kaos debut. He rode near the front of the pack until recording another first -- hitting the pavement in a multi-rider pileup on turn 2. He got back into the race with a wheel change, but couldn't regain his early form.

Le Tour de Husker continues Sunday with a team time trial at Lincoln's Pioneers Park, followed by a criterium at Lincoln Southwest High School.

Just a few short months after knee surgery, Team Kaos/Alegent Health rider Lou Andersen has returned to competition.

A USCF Cat. 4 rider on the road, Andersen finished 41st of 120 in the recent Lifetime Fitness Sprint Triathlon. Andersen had his right knee scoped in early January to repair a torn meniscus. Andersen turned in strong swim and bike legs, but had to back off on the run.

"The newly updated knee still won't let me run too hard," he said.

CLIMBING HILL, Iowa -- Racing for the first time in blue and white, Team Kaos-Alegent Health opened the 2009 road racing season at the Twin Bing Classic on Saturday.

Hosted by Sioux City Velo, the event featured a 68-mile A race (USCF Cat. 1/2/3) and a 45-mile B race (USCF Cat. 4/5, women and juniors). In its first race since beginning its partnership with new title sponsor Alegent Health, Team Kaos scored a pair of top-10 finishes. Bryan Redemske was ninth in the A race, while Rich Pearson (above) was fifth in the B race.

Located southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, Climbing Hill played host to 98 riders for the first-year event. Temperatures were in the mid-to-upper 40s at the start and were well into the lower 60s by the finish.

In the A race, Redemske (right) emerged from a starting group of 26 riders in his first race as a Cat. 3 rider. The race splintered on the first climb of the second lap,

forcing a number of riders to chase back to the main field. Aaron Pool (Lincoln Industries-Highgear) and Cody McCullough (Powerade-Independent Fabrication) launched an attack at the beginning of the third lap and formed a breakaway group with Devin Bethune (Elkhorn Valley Cycling) and Jared Osterloh (All9Yards).

Pool came away with the win after powering up the hilltop finish. Osterloh was second and McCullough was third. Bethune was fourth a few minutes back. Redemske sprinted up the climb out of the chase group to take ninth.

The B race featured a 72-rider field, which made road space hard to come by. Though there were no crashes, riders reported plenty of contact and rubbing wheels. Much as in the A race, the B field split several times as gaps opened up over the hilltops.

Pearson made it to the final corner, just before the finishing climb, in the lead group of 15 to 20 riders. As the climb approached, the pack slowed to a crawl in an effort to gather a few more moments of strength.

Dan Ertz (The Bike Way) got to the top first for his second win of the season. He was followed by Pete Duryea (Extreme Wheels) and John Spray (Elkhorn Valley Cycling) to round out the podium. 

Team Kaos' Brandon Fenster was 22nd, followed by Jon Protaskey in 24th. Both came unhitched from the lead group on the hard set of rollers on the north side of the course. Scott Tarry was 30th, Gary Schmidt was 44th, Steve Cramer was 50th, Doug Semisch was 51st, Suzanne Wilson was 55th and Mike Miles was 57th (after flatting on the back side of the course). 

Though the course was tough, the weather was ideal for mid-March. Race organizers are hoping to make the Twin Bing Classic an annual event.

The Nebraska road-racing season kicks off in a few weeks at the Le Tour de Husker in Lincoln on April 18 and 19. 

Photos by Brandie Fenster. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Team Kaos riders Rich Pearson and John Vondracek competed Thursday and Friday at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships at Tiffany Springs Park near Kansas City.

Because of light snowfall earlier in the week, the course was slippery on Thursday. With the temperature around 35 degrees, a thin layer of mud covered the frozen earth beneath. The corners were well-churned from the B races earlier in the day. On a few of the off-camber turns it was almost impossible to stay upright, and many riders either fell or dismounted and ran. On some of the uphill sections riders had to stay seated to keep from simply spinning their back wheels in the greasy mud.

In Thursday's Masters 55-59 race Pearson got a slow start but worked his way up to mid-pack. He fell three times on the same slippery corner. But after each fall he ran through the muddy section, remounted and actually gained on competitors who stayed on their bikes. Finally, on the last lap he skipped the fall and just ran through the corner.