Last weekends Tulsa Tough event may have been dominated but one team but the final day saw Stefano break the stranglehold on the podium after the toughest day of the 3 races. After spending a few laps off the front spolo he was joined by a group of riders which would stay away. As the final laps came down the break had spilt into pieces and by playing his cards perfect Stefano grabbed the third spot behind a Toyota United duo to become the only rider that wasn’t wearing red and blue to stand on the podium.

After a successful collegiate season racing for the Colorado School of Mines Zak Grabowski lined up on Saturday for the first team with his THF Realty Cycling teammates Brent Hanlin and Dan Schmatz  at the Wheels of Thunder criterium in Denver.  In typical fashion the attacks started early and didn’t stop till the end. About 20 minutes in Zak bridged across to a small group which later grew to about ten riders. After splitting the group with about 7 laps to go Zak had it down to three and started setting up for his final move which came at one lap to go. As the three  made the turn after the start finish Zak put in a dig which got him about 15 seconds that he held to the line for the victory.

Saturday April 12th

Brian Dziewa (java) takes the top step at Tilles Park.

Under cloudy skys in cool temperatures the THF Realty Cycling  team lined up 5 rider to do battle with the top riders in the St. Louis area. The race was fast from the gun and featured a impressive two man break away with Nolan in it that spent most the day off the front. While Nolan was away the Tim, Austin, Brian and Terry were able to sit back and follow moves but with the high winds and chasing pack the break came back with about 15 minutes left to race. A strong solo move by Brian gained about 20 seconds and as the laps counted down his time gap didn’t. In the end he crossed the finish line alone for the teams 5th victory of the season. As Brian crossed the line the field was in full flight with Tim driving on the front to keep the field together and setting Terry up for a 5th place finish.

A weekend of ups and downs ends with Stefano on the podium in the green points leaders jersey at the San Dimas Stage Race.

Check back for details for San Dimas and Hillsboro soon.

Stefano was on again last weekend at the University of Northern Colorado Cycling Promontory Park Criterium. He found his way into a tough group and finshed second on the day to Henk Vogels. The podium spot is nice but more importantly the weekend served as a tune up for the upcoming San Dimas Stage Race and Redlands Bicycle Classic. For San Dimas the THF Realty Cycling Team will have Brain Alfermann and Stefano. For Redlands they will be joined by Terry Kennan, Nolan Froese, Pete Lopinto and Brian Dziewa.

While Brian and Stefano are battling in San Dimas the St. Louis contingent will take part in what has become one of the classic road races in the area, in fact the Hillsboro-Roubaix has be consistently voted as the top road race in the area. Along with the excellent event the promoter is also offering a chance for everyone involved to Fight Cancer and Support the Montgomery County Cancer Association.

We would like to thank Serge Desrosiers for these photos:

Stefano opens the weekend by taking the top step at the Metro State RoadRunner Time Trial on Saturday and Pete Lopinto closes Sunday on the top step at the DU City Park Criterium!

TT RECAP:

So after some big changes to the Time Trial bike I decided it would be a good idea to try the new position at a local race called the Roadrunner Time Trial since there is no better way to simulate racing than by racing! Once there I was glad to see that there were  quiet a few good riders and that I was going to have to work for it. The course was an out and back in one direction and then out and back again in a different direction, sort of like a dog bone shape starting in the middle with some pretty technical corners in the first part and two nicely sized rollers on the second half. Also, the description of the course on the flier read “between 8 and 9 miles”. That one mile can make a pretty big difference in a Time Trial like that but I talked to a couple people and knew that the best times for the other categories was right around 20 minutes, so that was good enough.

Anyways, on with the racing. Started out pretty hard till I set into the pace but managed to take some seconds on my 30 second man, who happened to be one of my former team mates last year and pretty much held it there for the rest of the time. At the end I finished with a time of 18:57 which was good enough to win over my former team mate and 30 second man Justin England who was 6 seconds behind me.

After picking up my “huge winnings” I made my way back home for some rest before Sunday’s criterium at City Park.

Thanks for reading

Stefano      

Two day omnium.

Day 1 – The Criterium was 10, 90-degree corners in 1 mile with two blocks up hill. When I rolled to the line, everyone was line up, but I was still able to start front row. This was huge, as people began getting dropped 4 minutes into the race!! I followed the first two moves, but it became painfully obvious that I had to meter out my efforts; otherwise I would become the next to be dropped. I followed the important moves, and stayed near the front, and that’s where I was with 1 lap to go. I had a chance to move up with 6 corners to go, but decided to slot in as opposed to going into a downhill corner 6 wide. I was passed by one other rider between there and the line, and finished up 10th on day and stood 10th overall going into the road race.

Day 2 – Road Race. The flier said (4) 20-mile laps; the laps were actually 27 miles long for a grand total of 108 miles of racing in 40mph winds. As it was the day before, you needed to stay close to the front. The first break of the day started from the word go and lasted the first lap and a half of the race. When this break was being pulled back, I actually ended up in the 3rd group on the road. I thought the top 15-20 was far enough up front, but I was wrong. Two gaps opened in front of me; I was able to close one, but not the other. After a half lap of chasing, we regained contact with what was now the field due to the first group catching the break. Another two laps of hard racing went by with attacks and counter-attack and the next move that went was after the feed zone. The feed zone had a tail wind, so speeds were the highest through there. I held onto some good wheels, and made my way up front. At the end of the straight, I turned the corner and continued to roll. I didn’t attack, I just wanted to get back up to speed, but I ended up helping start the break. It was two of us to start, but we had three others join us within the next few miles. We continued to work for the next 30 miles and made it to the line a few minutes ahead of the field. The three late joiners to the break had a little more in their legs, so ended up fourth out of the break of 5. I was happy with the way it went, and didn’t feel that I could have done anything different to change the outcome of the race.

After the final point standings were figured, I ended up 9th overall. Great weekend of racing, which makes the next few weeks of training all the easier!!

-Brian

Under beautiful Arizona skies Brian Alfremann and Pete Lopinto captured the first win of the season for the THF Cycling Team.

In typical Arizona fashion the race got off to a fast start and nobody wanted to let any of the early moves gain any serious ground. Brian Spent the early part of the race covering the moves that looked good and patrolled the front so Pete could save his legs for the second half of the race. This also gave Pete a chance test out his legs and figure out the tricky downhill finish by grabbing some primes in the early going. At the halfway mark a serious move of 6 guys got away with all the major teams represented. The seasoned criterium racer Lopinto sensed this may have been the move of the day and before the group got too much of an advantage he leaped from the field to join them. Unfortunately the combination wasn’t right and their disorganization allowed the entire field to reel them back with about 20 minutes left in the race. Once the field was together with only a handful of laps remaining all the signs pointed to a field sprint. The Waste Management Team had lined up at the front and Pete got himself into position behind their lead out with just a few laps remaining. a half lap to go. With half a lap to go Brian found Pete at the front and the tandem went over the top of the lead out. As Brian started to run out of gas Pete made a quick jump for the corner and found a nice outside line then gobbled up the last 300 meters on his own to cross the line first.

First race of the season for the THF Racing team. The roster was Stefano Barberi, Brian Alferman and Pete Lopinto for the 3 day stage race in and around the Phoenix area.

Stage 1 time trial for 22k on an out-and-back flat course in Buckeye under some unusual cold and rainy weather. Stefano had only been on his Orbea Ordu TT bike once but still managed 8th place in what was his first race of the year. He finish only 33 seconds off the winner and was excited to get the season under way with a top ten result. Without TT bikes Pete and Brian used the TT to wake up their legs and finished in 77th and 88th.

Stage 2 road race in Casa Grande, 5.5 laps for a total of 90 miles After an hour of racing a break got off with 14 guys and quickly shot up to over 2 minutes. The THF boys weren’t on their toes and missed the moved. Fortunately the teams worried about the overall classification worked on the front and brought the break back with less then a lap to go. With about 10 miles a break of 2 rolled off and the Jittery Joe’s team began the chase. The gap didn’t come down quick enough so Brian and Pete threw their efforts in to help after Stefano gave the word he had good legs and wanted a shot at the finish. Brian and Pete worked hard and the break came back with about 2 miles to go. Stefano went for it with the last mile on the hill and got off the front with another rider and blew the field to bits. The attack came just a tad too early as he was passed in the last 200 meters and came in 6th place.

Stage 3 criterium in downtown Phoenix for 70 minutes. The race started off fast and pretty much stayed that way the whole day. Stefano, Pete and Brian kept their eye on the important moves with Stefano giving his all the second half to get a break going. Nothing would stick and a crazy field sprint was on tap. Pete battled away with the Rock Racing train and did his best to hold his ground among all the madness in the last 2 laps. He came into the last corner a few spots too far back but still  managed a 9th place finish on the stage.

Overall the team was happy with their first race of the season with top 10 finishes in each stage and Stefano at 9th place overall. Brian gained more experience during this weekend than he ever had before and looks forward to keeping the ball rolling.