TOAD Stage 2 Report

Rain and a short lightning delay did little to slow down the second stage of the Tour of America’s Dairyland. This course was a brand new, tight, 4-corner affair in Thiensville and riders on the front went full gas from the gun to stay out of trouble and make life miserable for anyone behind them. Ryan Freund was one rider on the back from the gun because he left work in Cary, IL at 3:45pm and arrived at the race 5 minutes before the start. He rolled up to the line as the first riders were clipping into their pedals- he hadn’t even buckled his helmet yet (which the officials quickly noticed!).

Around the midway point of the race Mike Sherer escaped with two other riders, including ABD alumni and current Kenda p/b Geargrinder pro rider Rob White. The three built a lead of up to 45 seconds that stayed around 30 seconds for most of their escape. However, as the roads dried with about 20 laps to go the Mountain Khaki’s team went to the front and strung the field out, taking off about two seconds per lap of the break’s advantage.

The move was caught with 5 laps to go and four riders counterattacked. The move included Burlington road race winner and Argentinian national champion Juan Pablo Dotti of Team Aerocat, local man Jim Stemper of Kenda p/b Geargrinder and John Grant from Roadhouse. They dangled precipitously off the front of the still-Mountain Khakis led peloton and on the final lap Grant made a hard move on the backside to keep the move alive. Grant had a two bike-length gap going into the final turn with 150 meters to go but Dotti closed hard and fast to take the win. Mountain Khakis rider Isaac Howe slipped past Stemper for 3rd. Defending ToAD champion Chad Hartley (Kenda p/b Geargrinder) finished in 7th and with enough points to take the overall lead.

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