Zwizanski, Veilleux 1-2 Tour de Grove

The NRC level Tour de Grove was initially controlled by the high heat and humidity which took its toll on the 46 professional and top amateur racers who started the race. However, after nearly 20 miles into the 79 mile race on closed roads in The Grove neighborhood of St. Louis, the field was controlled by two of the top cycling teams in the United States, Kelly Benefits Strategies and Jelly Belly presented by Kenda.

Scott Zwizanski, from Mill Valley, California and David Veilleux of Montreal, Quebec, both on the Kelly Benefits team pulled away from the field, which was being led in its chase by the Jelly Belly team. Zwizanski and Veilleux held a gap of about thirty seconds for several laps, gradually increasing their lead to nearly fifty seconds.

With about eight laps remaining in the race, or 24 miles, heavy rain and winds moved into the area. The pair held onto their lead as the chase pack, first decimated by the heat and fast race pace, struggled in the rainy and windy conditions. Ultimately the high winds and nearby lightning caused race officials to shorten the race by about four laps.

In the end, Zwizanski and Veilleux crossed the line together with Zwizanski’s front wheel just crossing the line first as had been agreed to by the two teammates as they approached the finish. Twenty seconds later, the chasing field was led home in a sprint by Mike Sherer of the Verizon U23 presented by ABD team. By the end of the day over half of the starting field failed to finish due to the oppressive heat and humidity and difficult race speeds.

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