“University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cycling Club brings road racing back to Lincoln”
By UNL Cycling Club.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cycling Club brought road racing back to Lincoln this past weekend. The now resurrected “Tour de Husker” featured criterium-style racing through the iconic roads of Pioneers Park.
Riders from Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, and Kansas converged on the park at 8am on Saturday April 19th for a chance to show their strength. The weather was great for a race; 45 degrees, sunny, and little wind (unheard of for April in Nebraska). The course was around 2 miles in length, had 3 climbs, and featured several stunning views of the park.
The morning started off strong with the Men’s Cat 4/5 race. Five riders lined up at 8am sharp for 30 minutes of high-speed racing, burning legs, and fast descents. The lead group split off quickly consisting of UNL teammates Dahlke and Addison, with Oatis from the Move Up squad in the mix. These three battled the entire race, trying to get a gap or search for any way to get an edge. Finally, Dahlke broke away in the final moments to come home with the win. Addison and Oatis came in second and third respectively to round out the podium.
Men’s Cat 4/5 podium. 1st– Matthew Dahlke, UNL. 2nd– Owen Addison, UNL. 3rd– Marcus Oatis, Move Up. Photo credits: @cornbeltmaverick on Instagram.
After a short break, the Women’s Cat 4/5 race began. Saksena of Harvest Racing-Trek and Olsen of Parallel 44 p/b Sanford took to the circuit. The two riders remained close by a majority of the race until the bell lap when Saksena broke away, and kept the gap to seal the win for the Harvest team. Olsen battled with a broken chain on the last lap, but in a real statement of determination, walked it all the way in to the finish for second.
Women’s cat 4/5 podium. 1st– Yun Saksena, Harvest Racing-Trek. 2nd– Claire Olsen, Parallel 44 p/b Sanford. Photo credits: @cornbeltmaverick on Instagram.
Next up was the Men’s Cat 1/2/3. This heat had several heavy hitters from Omaha, Lincoln, and Colorado Springs, it was bound to be an interesting race. Fry of Viking Cycling Club had a sizeable gap by the 3rd lap. The field remained conservative most of the race, allowing Fry to attain almost a 40 second gap at the halfway point. Kohll was the first to try and chase down Fry with only a few laps remaining. A chase group of three broke away from the field to keep Kohll in their sights. Kohll made a great effort and managed to get the gap to Fry down to only 20 seconds, but with only two laps to go he decided to hold up and join with the chase group. As Fry rode away for a seemingly inevitable first place, the group of four (Cullison, Kohll, Avilla, Rokke) were jostling for the best position for what was going to come down to a sprint finish. The final 400m of the Pioneers Park circuit is a slight uphill, bringing in another factor other than wind resistance to positioning and timing of a sprint. Kohll was able to launch an attack for second place, with Avilla closely behind to round out the podium.
Men’s Cat 1/2/3 podium. 1st– David Fry, Viking Cycling Club. 2nd– Samuel Kohll, Harvest Racing-Trek. 3rd– John Avilla, Viking Cycling Club. Photo credits: @cornbeltmaverick on Instagram.
The final race of the day was an interesting one. The club decided to hold a ‘gravel bike’ race on the pavement loop. As a majority of cyclists in Lincoln are interested in gravel riding and racing, they wanted to provide a low-cost, entry level opportunity for people to race on a closed course with their gravel bike. This field saw many different bikes, ranging from typical drop-bar gravel bikes, to flat bar mountain bikes with 2.2” tires. While the distance was short and the stakes low, the competition was still high. The Men’s podium was filled by Medina of Slowtwitch Goodlife Racing, Addison of UNL, and Baker. The women’s podium was dominated solely by Miller in first.
Men’s gravel bike podium. 1st– Guadalupe Medina, Slowtwitch Goodlife Racing. 2nd– Owen Addison, UNL. 3rd– Colin Baker. Photo credits: @cornbeltmaverick on Instagram.
Women’s gravel bike podium. 1st– Ashley Miller (and her support team). Photo credits: @cornbeltmaverick on Instagram.
Overall, the Tour de Husker went very well. The club is hoping to host the race again next year and expand to have more categories, bigger prizes, and attract more competition from out of state. Road racing has once again secured its place in the Lincoln cycling scene.