Strigel wins 2012 WORS season opener in Iola

Abby Strigel (HoneyStinger / Bontrager) and Brian Matter (GearGrinder / Trek) won the first race of the Wisconsin Off Road Series, in Iola, Wisconsin on Sunday. Heavy rains left the usually sandy course water-logged and muddy, giving extra incentive for a fast leadout over Iola's start climbs into the first sections of singletrack. In the women's race, Strigel was already alone and working her way through the tail end of the men's elite field before she hit singletrack.

"I was going to stick with everyone, and see how it went, but I felt OK and just decided to go," said Strigel. "Sometimes it's harder in singletrack when there are more people around and it's that muddy. So I thought it would be easier if I just got away. And I ran into a lot of elite men. There was a lot of running. But, that was OK because I just ran straight through the puddles that other people were trying to go around."

At the front of the men's race, the field was spread out early by Strigel's teammate Matt Shriver, who set a blistering pace over the initial climbs.

"I can start pretty hard and definitely went a little too far into the red today," said Shriver. "I like to get out in front and not have to bump bars with anybody or get gapped out at the front because there's always a selection. If you're too far back, you're going to miss the group so it's nice to get out front and stay out of trouble."

The mud at Iola derailed his game plan as the entire field hit an extremely steep climb out of the ski jump bowl, and everyone was forced to dismount and run through the mud. Brian Matter, Mark Lalonde (T6/Lalonde Brothers) and Issac Neff (Williamson Bike Works) moved into the lead. Also making the initial selection were Shriver, Nathan Guerra (Wheel & Sprocket / Vision) and Kevin McConnell (Mercy-Specialized). By the middle of the second lap, Matter and Lalonde had opened a 30-second gap, and then Matter then broke away for a solo effort.

"I just kind of wanted to go to the front," said Matter. "I just let the skills take over and started having fun. Too much fun, maybe, because I burped a tire in the second lap and had to be careful after that."

Matter was riding a Trek Top Fuel as usual, but not his own bike. In fact, he borrowed his wife Andrea's bike for the race at Iola.

"I'm riding the boss's bike," joked Matter. "I had to change my tires Friday because they were worn from Arizona, and on race day I was a little nervous about them holding pressure. So, I figured this bike was ready to go, and the small size was good for handling skills."

Matter cruised in for the win at 1:35:36. Behind him, Shriver was chasing hard and overtook Lalonde for second in 1:36:29. Lalonde (1:36:59), who took third in his return to WORS after a break from competition of nearly two years, held off relative newcomer Isaac Neff (1:37:52). Nathan Guerra (1:38:17) rounded out the podium in fifth place by edging out Mike Phillips (1:38:26) in the final stretch.

In the women's race, Strigel was untouchable at 1:29:52. Adventure 212 teammates Lisa Krayer (1:33:37), Diana McFadden (1:35:07), Michelle Peariso (1:37:23) and Sarah Agena-Wright (1:38:10) rounded out the women's podium in 2nd through 5th place.

Despite the downpour, the Iola Bump & Jump was well-attended by WORS Series racers. WORS has declared 2012 "The Year of the Junior" in support of youth competition in the Upper Midwest, and welcomed a large starting field of younger racers of all ability levels at Iola. A new women's open was also well attended, with some competitors new to the series riding well within the elite field. The series will race again in two weeks outside Rhinelander at the Crystal Lake Classic, where Brian Matter, a coach with MomentumEndurance LLC, will be leading a special expert level "Learn to Race" clinic.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Brian Matter (Gear Grinder)1:35:37
2Matt Shriver (HoneyStinger/Bo)0:00:53
3Mark Lalonde (Lalonde Bros-Tw)0:01:23
4Isaac Neff (Williamson Bicy)0:02:15
5Nathan Guerra (Vision/Wheel &)0:02:41
6Mike Phillips (Adventure 212/S)0:02:50
7Kevin McConnell (Mercy-Specializ)0:04:54
8Tyler Gauthier (Culvers p/b Mey)0:05:16
9Corey Stelljes (The Bike Hub/Sp)0:05:17
10Tyler Jenema (Kuhl Racing)0:05:53
11Ryan Krayer (Adventure 212/S)0:07:10
12Dallas Fowler (Kuhl)0:07:43
13Joseph Maloney (KS Energy Servi)0:07:51
14Maciej Nowak (Team Polska)0:09:09
15Ronald Stawicki (Polska)0:09:14
16Chad Sova (DTR)0:09:19
17Chris Peariso (Adventure 212/S)0:09:23
18Jeff Melcher (Team Pedal Mora)0:09:49
19Todd McFadden (Trak-Ski-Hut)0:10:22
20Darrin Braun (Adventure 212/S)0:10:42
21Scott Cole (Adventure 212/S)0:10:44
22Ben Koenig (The Bike Hub/Sp)0:10:48
23Tim Racette (KS Energy Servi)0:11:43
24Ted Hanes (Fond du Lac Cyc)0:12:42
25Colby Lash (Chocolay Ace/KM)0:13:09
26Brian Heifner (Magnus)0:13:24
27Drew Wilson (Almanzo)0:14:15
28Ben Senkerik (Vision wheel &)0:15:13
29Gabriel Ion (Treadhead Cycli)0:15:44
30Dan Holsen (Heavy Pedal Vel)0:15:45
31Joe Stephens (Bens Cycle Milw)0:16:23
32Matt Gehling (Team Wisconsin/)0:16:56
33John Lirette (Unattached)0:17:09
34John Wypiszinski (Titletown Flyer)0:18:43
35Luke Batchelor-Clark (Magnus)0:19:17
36Kurt Schwiesow (Bike Hub/Specia)0:19:39
37John Shull (EXPO)0:19:47
38Vincent Steger (Erik's Bikes an)0:19:57
39Christopher Tries (South Shore Cyc)0:20:06
40Bryan Frazier (Baraboo Sharks)0:21:32
41David Bender (JVC/Michael's C)0:21:40
42Sanjay Ganju (Trek Midwest Te)0:21:58
43Carlos Haeckel (Alterra Team)0:23:02
44Scott Neperud (Magnus)0:23:35
45Tyson Schwiesow (Bikehub Special)0:23:45
46Mike Budd (Team Wheel+Spro)0:24:54
47Nicholas Holzem (Sprocketz)0:25:34
48Tim Scanley (Alterra Coffee)0:25:35
49Mark Burkholz (Team Extreme/Tw)0:25:57
50Jim Peterson (Michael's Cycle)0:26:25
51Jason Gosse (Team WORS)0:26:30
52Greg Jones0:26:53
53Dan Schaefer (Team Fond du La)0:27:07
54Jesse Shoemaker (The Bike Hub/Sp)0:29:14
55Aristotle Peters (Expo racing)0:29:42
56Eric Oilis (Culvers Racing)0:31:04
57Jan Rybar (Pedal Moraine)0:32:39
58Jack Nielsen (RPM-Bews)0:35:35
59Bret Glembocki (ISCorp - Novacy)0:35:51
60Mark Cole (Adventure 212/S)0:37:57
DNFGlenn Kirst (Wheel & Sprocke)Row 60 - Cell 2
DNFKarl Tillman (Mt. Borah / Smi)Row 61 - Cell 2
DNFTravis Johnson (Heavy Pedal Vel)Row 62 - Cell 2
DNFBill Burkholder (Kegels)Row 63 - Cell 2
DNFJustin Piontek (The Bike Hub/Sp)Row 64 - Cell 2
DNFMyles Beach (Adventure 212/S)Row 65 - Cell 2
DNFCameron Schave (Eriksen Cycles)Row 66 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Dutczak (South Chicago W)Row 67 - Cell 2
DNFBill Nigh (Team Pedal Mora)Row 68 - Cell 2
DNFSteve SchaferRow 69 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Humpal (Specialized)Row 70 - Cell 2
DNFKyle Warras (Expo Racing)Row 71 - Cell 2
DNFChad Dean (5Nines Cycling)Row 72 - Cell 2
DNFJW MillerRow 73 - Cell 2
DNFJason MichalakRow 74 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Abby Strigel (Honey Stringer)1:29:53
2Lisa Krayer (Adventure 212/S)0:03:44
3Diana McFadden (Adventure 212/S)0:05:15
4Michelle Peariso (Adventure 212/S)0:07:30
5Sarah Agena-Wright (Adventure 212/S)0:08:18
6Rachel Horstman (Team WI / KS En)0:08:23
7Anna Ganju (Polska)0:12:10
8Nina Karinen (Trek / Cross Co)0:14:26
9Denise Coppock (Titletown Flyer)0:14:43
10Jennifer Whitedog (BikesLTD/Scenic)0:35:46
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Cat. 1 Junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Casey Hildebrandt (POLSKA / RMC /)1:20:21
2Pete Karinen (Culvers)0:00:48
3Brett Poulton (Expo)0:03:04
4Parker McColl0:12:04
5Andrew Senderhauf (Wheel and Sproc)0:18:12
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Cat. 1 Junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Corrie Osborne (Team Extreme)1:07:09
2Liz Shull (EXPO)0:11:03
3Emily Shull (EXPO)0:12:13
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Cat. 2 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Matthew Bohm (Proctor Cycling)1:21:16
2Kyle Sarasin0:00:27
3Bill Street (Kuhl/Rocky Mtn)0:01:24
4Justin Michels (Gear'n Up)0:02:10
5James Buddenbaum (Team Seven Cycl)0:04:36
6Joe Lintl (Trek Bicycle)0:04:38
7Sam Weinberg (5Nines)0:05:00
8Christian Brekke (Trek 29er Crew)0:05:12
9Thomas Eaton (SRAM)0:05:12
10Mark Melton (Kegels)0:05:41
11Jason Vayre (Discover Chirop)0:05:44
12Andrew Wilcox-Hull0:05:57
13Christopher Berge (Magnus)0:06:09
14Ben Marchewka (Team Pedal Mora)0:06:25
15Christopher Schmidt (Treadhead Cycli)0:06:43
16Ben Schreiber (Team Fond du La)0:07:15
17Jason Ruesch (RMC)0:07:28
18Neil Zacharek (Bikes Ltd./Scen)0:07:46
19Ross Lemke (Team Pedal Mora)0:08:06
20Ken Naef (Titletown Flyer)0:08:12
21Steve Pribek (Mill Street Bre)0:08:20
22David Poulton (Activator)0:08:22
23Patrick Scheibel (2 Rivers Racing)0:08:25
24Dave Fetters (FMSC Racing)0:09:05
25Aaron Sturgis (Twin Six)0:09:15
26Daniel Gjertson0:09:19
27Reijer Den Hertog0:09:54
28Steve Forss (Kegels)0:10:04
29Tony Wagner (Sheboygan Bicyc)0:10:21
30David Knauf0:10:35
31Dan Wierzba (Rib Mountain Cy)0:10:47
32Sean Miller (JVC/Michael's C)0:10:56
33Danny Sonnentag0:11:51
34Mark Olski (Cranked Bike St)0:12:17
35Eric Grissom0:12:25
36Phil Fluegel (JVC/ Michaels C)0:12:39
37Eric Weidman (Muddy Cup)0:12:55
38Justin Keough (FMSC/FCA Racing)0:13:14
39Mark Clinton (Attitude Sports)0:13:35
40Erin Sikora (Bike Hub/Spesh)0:13:43
41Steve Jeske (Pedal Moraine)0:13:43
42Mike Daish0:13:56
43Mikey Verhagen (KS Energy Servi)0:14:13
44Chris Fellows (Team WORS)0:14:23
45Brett May (Team All Spoked)0:14:44
46Eric Johnson (KHS Bicycles)0:14:47
47Marek Kulesza (TreadHead Cycli)0:14:48
48Yosef Gadolens0:14:50
49Joshua Meyer (Heavy Pedal Vel)0:14:53
50John Hughes (Team Pedal Mora)0:15:05
51Jarrod Kerkhoff (Michael's Cycle)0:15:19
52Jeff Steckbauer (Rib Mnt Cycles)0:15:28
53Stephen Kobs (Team Pedal Mora)0:15:40
54Jason Mau ( Ben's Cycle)0:15:49
55Peter Cherchian (Chainsmokers)0:15:59
56Joe Villalobos (RPM/Belle City)0:16:05
57Jeremy Vogels0:16:15
58Thomas Kabacinski (XXX Racing)0:16:54
59Steven Schaefer0:17:05
60Aaron Pidde0:17:07
61Robert Zimmerman0:17:40
62Patrick Dowd0:18:02
63Marty Leum (Bikes Limited/S)0:18:07
64Scott Spoo (Wannabee Racing)0:18:20
65Rocky Gingg0:18:32
66Christopher Richmond (Heavy Pedal Vel)0:18:42
67Jimmy Toombs (Eriks Bikes n B)0:18:49
68Robert Schlegel (JVC/Michael's C)0:18:56
69Rick Walls (Muddy Cup \\ Tw)0:19:04
70Nathan Tock (BIkes Ltd / Sce)0:19:30
71Brett Stepanik0:20:24
72Jesse Jaehning (Bikes Limited)0:20:34
73John Timm (Team Extreme)0:20:52
74Mike Sherven (Bikes Limited S)0:20:56
75Lloyd Cate (catex5)0:21:10
76Jason Kayzar (KS Energy Servi)0:21:46
77Michael McKinney (Big Ring Flyers)0:22:32
78Participant 12370:25:27
79Brian Benson (Bikes Ltd/Sceni)0:26:58
80Jacob Jackson0:27:23
81Ken Kuehn (Red line Tri Cl)0:28:44
82Larry Reimer (JVC/Michael's C)0:32:41
83Lowell Johnson0:32:45
84Mike Worland (Big Ring Flyers)0:34:19
85Russell Jobs (Local Mofo)0:37:04
86Theodore Peters (EXPO Racing)0:39:16
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Cat. 1 / Cat. 2 Open women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Cooper Dendel (Culvers)0:59:49
2Amber Markey (Magnus)0:01:11
3Ridge Pidde (Silver)0:10:24
4Nicole Alexander (ACE)0:12:32
5Leia Schneeberger (Magnus)0:14:30
6Cassey Lynn (Kuhl)0:15:59
7Cyndi Ehrike (Safe Wheels MTB)0:17:45
8Sarah Lukas (Trek)0:20:16
9Brenda Zimmermann Thorpe (Rib Mountain Cy)0:24:59

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