The Perry Road Race went on as planned with temperatures warming into the mid-40s. Road crews cleared the roads from the recent snowstorm that hit the area and volunteers swept the course to make sure it was safe and ready for riders to take part in the first race of the 2013 series.
This year’s winds, while not as strong as they have been in the past, still made traversing the long dam difficult. The climb to the start/finish on each lap proved to be the undoing of many riders, especially those who hadn’t recovered from the long, exposed flat sections of the course.
With no real breakaway attempts, the men’s category 5 race stayed together up until the finish with the final climb determining the winner. Blake Stephenson of Team Sho-Air KC/PrologueCycling.com won the race, “It was a fun course. The pack stayed together the whole race”.
Jason Rew, also of Team Sho-Air KC/PrologueCycling.com took the win in the men’s 4 race. This race played out in much the same way as the 5s had with only a few breakaway attempts. Rew stated, “Everyone was holding off until the end. There were a few short breakaways but nobody really got any distance out of them.” Once the riders hit the final turn into the bottom of the finishing climb Jason attacked out of the group forcing the rest of the peloton to chase hard all the way to the finish.
Brian Jensen took the cat 1/2/3 race with Kent Woermann and Lee Bumgarner taking 2nd and 3rd respectively. Lynn Wilson won the women’s 1/2/3 race. In all, 160 riders made it out to Perry Lake today. Next Sunday brings the second of three races in the series.
Photo Credit: Roger Harrison
