Team Mountain Khakis: Tour de Grove Update

Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop took to the dark streets of downtown St. Louis for Friday evening's Midtown Rally Grand Prix, day 1 of the 3-day Tour de Grove series. Despite forecasts for rain showers, the roads stayed dry and the racing was exceptionally fast on the wide-open, long rectangular course. A field sprint was the predictable outcome of the race.

With 25 minutes remaining, the field was neutralized by a significant crash on the start/finish straight. Fortunately no TMK riders were involved. TMK negotiated the chaotic final laps in pairs, with Adam fighting the wind for Luke, and Ben for Neil. Luke and Neil crossed the line in 8th and 11th, respectively.

1. Jonathan Cantwell - Fly V Australia
2. Isaac Howe - Kenda p/b 5 Hour Energy
3. Brad Huff - Jelly Belly
4. Ben Kersten - Fly V Australia
5. Eric Young - Bissell Pro Cycling
6. Mike Northey - Pure Black Racing
7. Demis Aleman - Jamis Sutter Homes p/b Colavita
8. Luke Keough - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop
9. Zack Allison - Sonic Boom Racing
10. Colton Barrett - Kelly Benefits Strategis - Optimum Health
11. Neil Bezdek - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop

Tour de Grove, Day 2 (NRC and USA CRITS) - Adam 7th and Luke 11th

Adam and Luke put their 'cross skills to use in a slick and technical race at Day 2 of the Tour de Grove. Held in an edgy St. Louis' neighborhood called "The Grove," tonight's NRC and USA CRITS race was the marquee event of the weekend. 150 riders from the best teams in America were on the start line with many of the top teams like United Healthcare and Team Type 1 fielding squads of specialist Criterium Riders. The pace was on right from the start and the peloton was quickly stretched out in a long thin line.

Rain showers, rough pavement, and a winding 7-corner course made for an animated and unstable race from the gun. Midway through the event, Adam joined a 4-man break that quickly grew to 10 riders and held off the main field all the way until the finish. The peloton chased hard for 25 minutes as teams who had missed the break tried to pull them back but the gap stuck at 25 seconds. With 2 laps to go it was clear the gap was never going to come back 3 Slick, rain-soaked and really technical corners leading into the home straight prevented a clean run-in to the finish, and Adam took 7th place out of the shattered lead group. Luke won the field sprint for 11th.

It was a bitter sweet performance for Adam. He would have preferred being in a position to set up one of the younger riders in this marquee event, but it is also his role to ensure the team is represented in breakaways. Happy that the team was represented in the winning move he was also a little disappointed in not being able to put himself in better position for the finish. This was a great result for Adam and the team.


1. Mike Northey - Pure Black Racing
2. Jake Keough - UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis
3. Christian Helmig - Elbowz Racing
4. Jonathan Cantwell - Fly V Australia
5. Ty Magner - Team Type 1 Development
6. Juan Pablo Dotti - Aerocat Cycling Team
7. Adam Myerson - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop
8. Chris Monteleone - Kenda Pro Cycling p/b 5 Hour Energy
9. Louis Crosby - Pure Black Racing
10. Eric Young - Bissell Pro Cycling
11. Luke Keough - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop

USA Crits Overall Standings

After completing the Tour de Grove, the second of 10 events in the USA Crits series, the team has 3 riders in the top 10 overall and is in second place in the team competition. A fantastic start for the guys!

TEAM
1 UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team presented by Maxxis - 1288
2 Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop - 1127

Men's Overall
1 HELMIG Christian - ELBOWZ RACING 484
2 KEOUGH Jacob - UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 450
3 KEOUGH Luke - Team Mountain Khakis 394
4 VIDAL Euris Rafael - Foundation/CRCA 330
5 MONTELEONE Christopher - Kenda/5-hour Energy 316
6 VANPOPPEL Boy - UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 306
7 DOTTI Juan Pablo - Aerocat Cycing Team 282
8 MAGNER Ty - Team Type 1-Development 280
9 MYERSON Adam - Team Mountain Khakis 272
10 BEZDEK Neil - Team Mountain Khakis 265

Full schedule and standings: http://usacrits.com/site/

Tour de Grove, day 3: Another race in the rain, another top finish for the team

For the second day in a row, Sunday's Dutchtown Classic Criterium was a wet and windy battle on the rain-soaked streets of St. Louis. But unlike Saturday's Tour de Grove, Sunday's event was a race off the back, as less than 40 riders out of over 130 made it to the finish of the technical and demanding 6-corner criterium.

TMK riders spent much of the day exchanging blows at the front the pack, but the contest finished as a bunch gallop by a significantly smaller field than what had started the event. Luke put together the ride of the day, winning both the mid-race prime and taking 4th in the field sprint ahead of the team’s ever-sharpening leadout train. After sheltering Luke throughout the final laps of the race, Adam and Neil held on for two top-20 finishes.

Once again, a reliable combo of TRP Brakes and Maxxis tires kept TMK riders safe and upright throughout the race despite numerous crashes in the field.

1. Jake Keough - UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis
2. Jonathan Cantwell - Fly V Australia
3. Bernard Sulzeberger - Fly V Australia
4. Luke Keough - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop
...
14. Adam Myerson - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop
18. Neil Bezdek - Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop UP NEXT: Willington Grand Prix
The guys will be loading up the van this weekend heading to Wilmington Delaware. This year’s Grand Prix is set for May 20-22 and has expanded to three days of racing. For the fourth straight year, the Grand Prix has been named to USA Cycling’s prestigious National Racing Calendar (NRC) and, in fact, is one of only three Omniums on this year’s NRC circuit.

http://www.wilmgrandprix.com/


The Sprinter packed up and ready for the road. Having a vehicle that holds all the guys and their equipment makes long trips on the road a little easier.