Written by: Sean Sindt
The third stop of the Texas Spring championship series took place in Waco, Texas last weekend. Beautiful skies and perfect temperatures in the 60’s greeted the racers for a great day of racing. The Outback Blowout is a rider favorite race because of the unique course. Cameron Park has a lot of smooth, well-maintained trails that allow riders to get into a rhythm. Mixed in with the top grade singletrack is also a good portion of tricky technical sections and a few punchy climbs.
25 racers took to the line in the men’s pro race hoping for a high place. Off the start it was Scott Henry (Hammerhead), Rick Wetherald (Solar Eclipse), and Matthew Davis (Mad Duck) into the singletrack first. It didn’t take long for Scott and Rick to pull away from the field and they rode together for most of the first lap until Scott started to pull away and ride solo. Scott won easily by a minute and a half over Wetherald in 2nd.
“Scott is just too good right now. I couldn’t match his pace and pulled away easily.” said Wetherald. “I had a great day,” said Henry. “I felt really good and I’m hoping I can keep this form for awhile.” At this point in the series, it seems like these two riders have proven that they are the strongest riders in the Texas pro men’s field. It looks like they will be leaving everybody else to fight for 3rd overall.
Finishing 3rd on the day was David Hanes (Ride Away Bicycles). David had an interesting day. He didn’t get the best start, starting almost dead last. But the start didn’t keep him from taking a high place. He worked all the way up to 3rd by the end of the day. Pretty impressive for being 20-some places down off the start! David has been rapidly improving this season and has now become one of the front runners of the pro field. “I had trouble getting clipped into my pedal right away, and started in the back. I felt good and had a lot of power on the climbs. Overall it was a great race for me, I just wish the start was better.” said Hanes. Rounding out the top five was Lucus Bresseau (Bicycles Plus) and Matt Gordon (Six Lounge) taking 4th and 5th.
With 3 races in the books, the point standings are starting to shape up. Wetherald is at the top of the standings with consistent top 5 finishes. Sitting 2nd is Hanes, 3rd is Sean Sindt (Austin Flyers/Bicycle Sport Shop), and climbing up from 12th to 4th is now Scott Henry. Scott was down in the standings because he didn’t race the 2nd stop of the series at St. Jo. Considering that, if he would have been at St. Jo he would be firmly at the top of the standings by now. With Scott riding the way he did today it won’t take him long before he is at the top of the standings.
In the women’s race Christina Smith (Veloforma) won easily. She is the defending Texas state series Champion and it looks like she will not have any competition again this year. Her closest competition was nine minutes behind her and she cruised to an easy victory.
Race #4 of the TMBRA series will be next weekend, March 29, in Warda, TX.
Outback Blowout Results
TMBRA Race #3
3/22/09
Waco, Texas
Pro Men
1 Scott Henry Hammerhead 1:36:23
2 Rick Wetherald Solar Eclipse 1:37:24
3 David Hanes Ride Away Bicycles 1:38:00
4 Lucas Bresseau Bicycles Plus 1:38:05
5 Matt Gordon Six Lounge 1:39:08
6 Payson McElveen Austin Flyers/Bicycle Sport Shop 1:39:08
7 Kevin Fish Austin Flyers/Bicycle Sport Shop 1:39:48
8 Keith Hargis RBM/Matrix 1:39:51
9 Will Ross Cycle Progression 1:41:16
10 Alex Morgan Cycle Progression 1:41:20
Women 30-39 Cat 1
1 Christina Smith Veloforma 1:49:32
2 Melanie Etherton Cycle Progression 1:58:08
3 Sara Krause Team NRC 1:59:34