Schouten and Eppen win WORS season opener

Tristan Schouten (Mafia / Felt) and Kim Eppen (Mercy-Specialized) won the first race of the 2011 Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) on Sunday at the Iola Bump & Jump. Despite late-season snowfall in recent weeks, the sandy course was dry and fast, thanks to Herculean efforts by the race organizers, including drainage of standing water in the ski jump bowl. Still, cool temperatures and gusting winds presented a challenge in the open.

It was not the wind, but the steep climbs that fractured the men's field early in the race. A group of four broke away within minutes of the start after setting a blistering pace on a series of ascents. They were never caught. Tristan Schouten, Brian Matter (Gear Grinders / Trek), Brian Eppen (Mercy-Specialized), and Mike Anderson (Trek 29er / SRAM) worked together through the first lap to extend their lead on the rest of the field. During the second lap, Schouten began to pull away on another steep climb and only Matter could hold his wheel.

The two rode together until the fifth lap, when Schouten pulled ahead to take the win in 1:37:07. Matter followed in second at 1:37:11. The two Sheboygan racers train together, and share a love of both mountain bike racing and cyclo-cross. Both Matter and Schouten have won the WORS Overall three times in the last decade, and both are planning to contend for the series overall in 2011, as well as cyclo-cross Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin, this January.

In hot pursuit of Schouten and Matter at Iola, Eppen and Anderson traded places and worked together. During the fifth lap, Eppen pulled into the lead in an open section and held his advantage to the finish, crossing the line at 1:38:10, seven seconds ahead of Anderson. Mike Phillips (Adventure 212 / Specialized) led the charge from the chasing field of more than 60 elite men to finish in fifth at 1:39:25.

The women's field also started fast, with past WORS Overall winner Kim Eppen leading the charge closely followed by defending 2010 champ Abby Strigel (Trek Stores of Madison). More than half the racers were still together in their first pass into the jump bowl when Diana McFadden (Trek Mountain Co-op / Adventure 212) dropped her chain. Within seconds, she'd been passed by more than 20 women. She remounted her bike in last place, determined to chase back.

"I red-lined it," said McFadden. "I just rode as hard as I could until I saw [Adventure 212 teammates] Michelle [Peariso], Sarah [Agena] and Lisa [Krayer]. Within a half lap, McFadden had caught her teammates, and the four women began to chase Eppen together. While McFadden chased from behind the defending champ Strigel, who had been riding with Eppen, broke her chain and was unable to finish the race.

In pursuit of Eppen, the Adventure 212 women rode together through the first lap. "It was cool coming through the spectator area all together," said Agena. "I had a great time all riding as a group."

Teammate Lisa Krayer agreed. "We've all been out there by ourselves during a race, and this was just so much more fun to all race together and push each other."

In the second lap, McFadden began to pull away, still chasing Eppen, who was now minutes ahead. "It happened gradually," said McFadden. "I could still see Sarah [Agena] behind me for a while."

Eppen never looked back, and grew her gap to an insurmountable lead. Her finish time of 1:28:59 was nearly 10 minutes ahead of McFadden who finished in 1:38:14. The remaining podium positions went to Adventure 212, with Agena (1:39:29), Krayer (1:40:59), and Peariso (1:42:16) rounding out the top five. Although McFadden will not compete in the Series Overall, her teammates will be back for the rest of the WORS races and will be a force to be reckoned with in the Series Overall.

"I love this course," said Eppen after her win. "I especially want to thank all of the volunteers who make this race possible. They do an amazing job."

The race attracted 682 total competitors despite temperatures in the 40-degree Fahrenheit range.

The next WORS event will be the Crystal Lake Classic on May 22, 2011. Visit www.wors.org for complete event details.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tristan Schouten (Mafia/Felt)1:37:07
2Brian Matter (Gear Grinder Trek)0:00:04
3Brian Eppen (Mercy-Specialized)0:01:04
4Mike Anderson (Trek 29er/SRAM)0:01:10
5Mike Phillips (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:02:18
6Darrin Braun (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:04:01
7Nathan Guerra (Wheel&Sprocket/Vision)0:04:44
8Ted Hanes (Fond du Lac Cyclery)0:05:36
9Tyler Gauthier (Culvers Racing)0:07:11
10Ronald Stawicki (Team Polska)0:07:18
11Isaac Neff (Williamson Bicycle Works)0:08:09
12Ryan Krayer (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:08:34
13Todd McFadden (Trek Mountain Co-Op)0:08:53
14Kevin McConnell (Mercy-Specialized)0:08:57
15Corey Stelljes (Chainsmokers)0:10:02
16Ben Koenig (RMC CleanPowerLight & Motion)0:10:10
17Dallas Fowler (Titletown Flyers)0:10:20
18Ryan Voss (Muddy Cup)0:10:54
19Trevor Olson (Muddy Cup)0:11:13
20Justin Piontek (Bike Hub/Specialized)0:11:26
21Jeff Melcher (Team Pedal Moraine)0:11:40
22Tyler Jenema (Mafia Racing)0:11:40
23Seth Lenss (Titletown Flyers)0:11:41
24Mike Budd (Wheel & Sprocket)0:12:17
25Chad Boyles (BVC-Nomad Cycling)0:12:27
26John Lirette (Hayes)0:13:13
27Matt Gehling (Trek Store of Madison)0:13:29
28Tim Racette (Team Wisconsin/MC2)0:13:36
29Dan Holsen (Heavy Pedal Velo Club)0:13:36
30Matt Millin (Mountain Outfitters)0:13:45
31John Gatto (Twin Six)0:13:53
32Brian Hertzberg (5 Nines Cycling)0:14:03
33John Shull (Expo Racing)0:14:56
34Aaron Swanson (Swanson Financial Services)0:15:08
35Adam Swank0:15:17
36Kenneth Statz (Element Mobile)0:15:27
37Luke Batchelor-Clark (Magnus)0:15:36
38Carlos Haeckel (Alterra Teamngle / Voodoo)0:16:44
39Eric Fossell (Spokes N Spines)0:17:05
40Joseph Maloney (KS/ Team Wisconsin)0:17:05
41Patryk Limanowicz (Pact-Dish Network)0:17:06
42Bill Nigh (Team Pedal Moraine)0:19:02
43Scott Golomski (Bike Hub/ Specialized)0:20:09
44William Hausdoerffer0:20:14
45Jesse Shoemaker (Performa Cycling)0:20:29
46Greg Jones (Hayes Brakes)0:21:14
47Tim Jennings (Element Mobile)0:22:07
48Karl Tillman (Bikes Limited Inc)0:22:12
49Sanjay Ganju (Alterra MTB)0:22:31
50Dan Tavela (Treadhead Cycling)0:23:03
51Mitch Moen (Rbikes.comtTruckParts.com)0:23:10
52Glenn Kirst (Wheel & Sprocket)0:23:46
53Brian Braun (Stout Dirt Devils/EXPO Racing)0:24:31
54Nick Sabel (Fond du Lac/Oshkosh Cyclery)0:25:52
55Barry Winters (Element Mobile/Bring's)0:27:24
56Nicholas Holzem (City Bike Works)0:28:54
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kim Eppen (Mercy-Specialized)1:29:00
2Diana McFadden (Trek Mountain Co-Op)0:09:14
3Sarah Agena (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:10:29
4Lisa Krayer (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:12:00
5Michelle Peariso (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:13:17
6Robin Williams (Mercy-Specialized)0:13:18
7Rachel Horstman (Erik's Bikes &Boards)0:16:11
8Anna Ganju (Polska)0:18:29
9Brittany McConnell (Mercy Specialized)0:19:31
10Lori Sable0:19:57
11Rachael Gatto (Twin Six)0:21:42
12Katy Steudel (Team Pegasus/Beans + Barley)0:24:07
13April Dombrowski (Team Pedal Moraine)0:26:52
14Brenda Zimmermann Thorpe (Rib Mnt Cycles/Red Eye Brewery)0:36:21
15Christine Czarnecki (Alterra CoffeeMTB Team)0:37:40
16Denise Coppock0:37:41
17Jennifer Whitedog0:42:21
DNFAbigail Strigel (Trek Stores ofMadison)Row 17 - Cell 2
DNFClaire Cannon (Trek Store of Madison)Row 18 - Cell 2
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Cat. 1 Junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ben Senkerik (Nova Cycle Sports / ISCorp)1:26:48
2Mitchell Bogardus (EXPO Racingg)0:03:37
3Casey Hildebrandt (Maplelag/Skinnyski/RMC/Polska)0:04:02
4Ian Haupt (Team Expo)0:04:38
5Pete Karinen (Trek 29er CrewuranceTrust)0:06:57
6Myles Beach (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:07:41
7Brett Poulton (Exop Crew)0:09:03
8Cameron Schave (Eriksen Cycleslery)0:10:39
9Caleb Lenss (Expo Racing)0:12:36
10Andrew Senderhauf (Wheel and Sprocket)0:13:25
11Michael Dutczak (South Chicago Wheelman)0:15:15
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Cat. 1 Junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sarah Huang (Hayes Disc Brakes)1:47:59
2Nina Karinen (Trek 29er Crew)0:03:31
3Liz Shull (Expo Racing)0:06:20
4Rachael Jensen (Geargrinder)0:23:51
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Cat. 2 Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Carey Grumelot1:26:45
2Christian Brekke (Trek 29er Creww)0:02:58
3Dave Bender (Michaels Cycles/JVC)0:03:22
4Brian Schwaller (Velocause)0:03:41
5Vincent Steger (Eriks Bikes & Boards)0:04:28
6Matthew O'Meara (On The Rivet)0:04:37
7Kurt Schwiesow (Tower Clock EyeCenter)0:05:17
8Nate Jasperson (Performance Cycling)0:05:21
9Tyson Schwiesow (Tower Clock EyeCenter)0:05:32
10James Buddenbaum (Silver Cycles)0:06:06
11Scott Diedrich (Attitude Sports)0:06:28
12Bill Burkholder (Kegels Bikes)0:06:58
13Bryan Frazier (Wildside Velo Club)0:07:05
14David Poulton (Clif Bar)0:07:07
15Michael Humpal (GeorgeGarnerCyclery.com)0:07:16
16Bill Street (Kuhl Midwest Regional Team)0:07:16
17Aaron Sturgis (Twin Sixports)0:07:17
18Marc Ano (KS Energy Services Team WI)0:07:18
19Steve Herriges0:07:52
20Nathan Langhurst0:07:54
21Bob Phelps (Alterra Coffee)0:08:00
22Ben Marchewka (Team Pedal Moraine)0:08:05
23Mark Melton (Kegels)0:08:11
24Dan Wierzba (rib mountain cycles)0:08:20
25Gabriel Ion (Treadhead Cycling)0:08:23
26Marc Engelhardt0:08:29
27Mark Olski (02 Cycling)0:08:29
28John Riley (Trek)0:08:39
29Chris Cook (Bikes-N-Boards)0:08:41
30Steve Pribek0:08:44
31Christopher Gabrielson (Wildside Velolub)0:08:46
32Jeff Sympson (Big Ring Flyers/Kegel's)0:08:49
33Jeremy Vogels (Performa Cycling)0:08:51
34Kevin Pomasl (KS Energy Services / Team WI)0:08:53
35Peter Coenen0:09:11
36Patrick Dowd0:09:28
37Tony Wagner0:09:47
38Wade Loberger (Wheel & Sprocket)0:09:48
39Eric Weidman (Muddy Cup)0:09:53
40Tyler Welnak (Wheel and Sprocket)0:10:12
41Lee Hildebrandt (Magnus)0:10:14
42Ross Lemke (Pedal Moraine /Hammer)0:10:30
43Tony Pacini (Mission 1)0:10:33
44Shane Veldhuizen (Schwag)0:10:34
45Eric Stanke (Schwag)0:10:41
46Dan Szczepanski (BelGioioso/Titletown Flyers)0:10:41
47Chris Fellows (Trek Store of Madison/WORS)0:10:42
48Wade Bergner0:10:48
49Glen Stroik (Chiropractic Partners)0:11:19
50Ken Krebs (chicagoperformance.com)0:11:22
51Scott Neperud (Magnus)0:11:28
52Anthony Ferrara (Twin Six / NewMoon)0:11:33
53Scott Mullins (Team Velocauseer)0:11:41
54Ryan Carlson (Team Wheel & Sprocket)0:11:43
55Fred Kueffer0:11:46
56Patrick Scheibel0:12:07
57Steven Forss (Kegels)0:12:10
58Cole Jacobsen (Titletown Flyers)0:12:12
59Sean Miller (Michael's Cycles)0:12:14
60Joe Villalobos (Hayes RPM Cycling)0:12:16
61Ben Neubauer (the bike hubg)0:12:20
62Neil Statz0:12:22
63Brett May (Kettle MoraineFlyers)0:12:27
64Todd Bugnacki (Club Tread)0:12:30
65Robert Schlegel (JVC/ Michaels Cycles)0:12:49
66John Hughes (Team Pedal Moraine)0:13:04
67Jim Toombs (Eriks Bikes & Boards)0:13:13
68Christopher Berge (Magnus)0:13:21
69Wally Kunstman (Gear Grinderle Co)0:13:21
70Jarrod Kerkhoff (Spokes & Spines)0:13:22
71John Brown (Point Pursuit)0:13:25
72Bob Callaway (Bluedog Cycles)0:13:26
73David Lawler0:13:26
74Steve Jeske (Pedal Moraine)0:13:39
75Steve Kobs (Team Pedal Moraine)0:13:45
76Mike Darlington (Trek Stores ofMadison)0:13:51
77Michael Ziegler (Cyclenauts)0:13:53
78Michael Norton (JVC/Michael's Cycles)0:13:58
79Brian Krueger (Great Dane)0:14:09
80Matthew Block (Bikeman.com)0:14:25
81Mike Owens (Alterra)0:14:36
82Erin Sikora (Bike Hub/Specialized)0:15:15
83John Timm (Team Extreme)0:15:26
84Brian Kelley (Kelchiro/New Auburn Bld.)0:15:42
85Scott McClement (Flatlandia)0:15:46
86Edward Dutczak (South Chicago Wheenman)0:15:53
87Jesse Sharp (The Bike HubCenter)0:16:12
88Karl Skinner (JVC/Michaels Cycles)0:16:16
89Shawn Hoppe (Fond du Lac Cyclery)0:16:31
90Steve Schafer (Rbikes.com)0:16:54
91Luke Terlinden0:16:58
92Brian Petted (Team Extreme)0:16:58
93Adrian Icenogle (Attitude Sports)0:17:11
94Ken Naef (Titletown Flyers)0:17:23
95Jon Derksen (Wheel and Sprocket)0:17:37
96Donald Carr (IS Corp)0:18:17
97Jeff Dullard0:18:25
98Jeff Steckbauer (Rib Mountain Cycles)0:18:48
99Mike Billmeier0:19:07
100Terry Prewitt (Attitude Sports)0:19:24
101Russell Jobs (Haynes Brakeses)0:20:23
102Rick Walls (Muddy Cup/TwinSix)0:20:40
103Brad Tennis (Wildside Velo)0:21:06
104Michael Verhagen0:21:16
105Andrew Wiesner (Titletown Flyers)0:22:08
106Krystian Pac (Polska - MIODU!)0:22:11
107Jeff Gantz (Titletown Flyers)0:22:23
108Chris Harrison (Eriksen Cycless)0:22:43
109Jeremy Lentz0:23:45
110Matt Bolenbaugh (Rib Mountain Cycles)0:23:49
111Daniel Gjertson0:24:30
112John Senkerik (Team Extreme)0:24:56
113Aaron Douglas0:25:04
114Brian Benson (Bikes LTD/Scenic Concepts)0:26:51
115Bob Boone (Chippewa Valley Cycling Club)0:27:47
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Cat. 2 Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alyssa Severn (Magnus)1:24:55
2Maria Osowski (Element Mobile)0:02:35
3Emily Shull (Expo Racing)0:02:41
4Cassey Lynn (UW-Madison)0:04:24
5Katie Brekke0:04:28
6Heather Stelljes0:04:39
7Brittany Nigh (Team Pedal Moraine)0:04:53
8Elaine Vazquez0:08:34
9Leia Schneeberger0:09:09
10Ann Holsen (Heavy Pedal Velo Club)0:10:13
11Cyndi Ehrike (Rib Mountain Cycles)0:10:16
12Dana Buddenbaum (Silver Cycle)0:10:35
13Helmy Tennis (Wildside Velo)0:11:29
14Lynne Senkerik (Team Extreme)0:12:54
15Violetta Lovi0:13:04
16Kelli Piotrowski0:15:18
17Melissa Putzer (Wheel and Sprocket)0:15:25
18Andrea Lyman (Rib Mountain Cycles)0:18:35
19Becky Rands (Team Pedal Moraine)0:20:38
20Justina Smet (Titletown Flyers)0:20:48
21Caroline Warren (Nord-Lock / Safe Wheels)0:20:54
22Jenni Borell (Attitude Sports)0:21:06
23Andrea Newby0:21:54
24Arin Lemke (Team Pedal Moraine)0:22:34
25Grace Prewitt (Attitude Sports)0:23:56
26Maja Holbomb (Gear Grinder)0:25:50
27Sarah Gill (TekBolt.com)0:27:04
28Sue Borchardt (Team extream)0:53:02

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