Added firepower from Wakeley, Tjosvold and both Owens take toll on heroic young maillot jaune. 

It’s a very different race when half a dozen of the fastest riders in TC show up, and that added depth complete changed the complexion of the 2017 Tour Competition. Last week, the youthful duo of Braiden Voss and Garrett could hang with the punches, but the body blows turned knockout for them on Stage Two.

Voss’ yellow jersey was on the line early, with the race largely following script; Sovis pulls from the start, Wakeley/Owens/Owens try to drop everyone on the CC Climb, and a lead group of around 10 hit the Power Section, with Sovis and Jenema dangling off the back, playing the gap for the green jersey. This time, Jenema couldn’t quite make the bridge with the wily, aged Sovis, who can still put in a good eight to ten minutes even into his advanced age. Jenema wouldn’t give up, finally settling into a rhythm with his fellow top three rider, Kyle Macdermaid, as they set off to save their Tours.

Ahead, Wakeley, Ryan Kennedy and both Jeff and Cam Owens were gamely putting in turns on the front, with only Kennedy in the GC hunt of that crew. Sixth place after Stage One, John O’Hearn was content to mark wheels, as was the yellow jersey. As Sovis finally (and briefly) made contact at the end of the Power Section, things were looking brilliant for Voss, albeit it isolated.

Kennedy and O’Hearn were just barely gapped over the Boonenberg, where Wakeley, Owenseseses and a flying Luke Tjosvold drilled it. Still the young yellow jersey looked in control, and as the lead group spilled to the foot of Anita’s, all was a picture of control. Anita’s unraveled the race leader, with a small gap turning into a nightmare. He lost time to the leaders, eventually getting caught and finishing alongside Sovis.

Still, Voss’ solid first Stage and a fighting finish means he isn’t completely out of the GC picture. Indeed, like the other Tour going on right now, losing yellow just makes that picture more muddled than ever. While Kennedy sits with a 67″ lead over Voss, second place through sixth are all within exactly 30″, with O’Hearn up to third, Sovis fourth, Macdermaid fifth, and the indomitable Garret Jenema sitting 1:37 down.

Sovis holds green after his Power Section gamble, 8 points up on Ryan Kennedy. Voss still holds the polka dot jersey by six points, with Stage Three double points in the mountains.

Rob Frank sits with four minutes on Steve “Love Is A” Lagerquist in the Best Old Rider classification, with Lars Welton, Jeff Galsterer and Jason Stuart in a battle for third and the all-important WorldTour points.

Voss and Jenema have handed Hagerty a sizable lead in the Team Competition, with ERSB jumping up into second after strong rides from Luke Tjsovold and Kennedy. kolo t.c. is third, with Norte sitting fourth after two stages.

You can see the full Tour Competition standings after two stages here. 

Here are the weekly SOL times. 

miniSOL and Junior SOL: Tour Stage Two, Team Time Trial Night

The weather is a fickle thing — the forecast for last week’s Stage One kept most of the competitors away but saw those who showed up race in near perfect and 100% rain free conditions, whereas the weatherman’s promise of no rain for Stage 2 brought out the young racers in droves only to see them finish their race in a fine misty rain.  But no one seemed daunted and after a brief presentation to congratulate Hagerty juniors Emma and Griffin Schwabl who are going to the mountain bike national championships this week,  the young racers took a crack at one of cycling’s most challenging disciplines: the team time trial.

JuniorSOL riders were divided into four teams of four racers each, while miniSOL featured one team of four riders and one team of five, basically because we couldn’t figure out how to divide Riley Jenema in two.  The rules were simple: the time of the third rider across the finish line would be assigned to all the riders on that team, thus each team could only afford to “lose” one rider (and Riley).  This is my favorite format for the young riders because the stronger riders can’t just hammer around the course alone, they have to help pull their not-so-strong teammates to ensure the third rider crosses the line in a decent time; meanwhile, it encourages the not so strong riders to try harder to help their teammates.  WorldTour points, in the meantime, were still awarded on the basis of a rider’s individual actual time, so the faster riders still got some reward for individual achievement.  And, in special big news, thanks to the generosity of the Pancake Ride riders and the Northern Michigan Mountain Biking Association, the members of each winning team gets a FREE entry into the upcoming Traverse City Trail Fest mountain bike race on July 22.

One the juniorSOL front the event quickly developed into a slugfest between Norte’s Squad D (Julian Hilt, Carter Schmidt, Gwen Urbane, and Isaac Stone) and Hagerty’s Team B (Griffin Schwab, Peter B. Worden, III, Ashton Edson, and Sage Day on special loan from Norte).  Hilt and Schmidt, who have been powerhouses whenever they come out to race the SOL course, combined with Stone in an impressive debut established an early lead.  However Hagerty’s Griffin, apparently under the impression that he is going to ride his bike all the way to the national mountain bike championships in West Virginia next week, refused to give in and ground out a steady chase that gradually reeled in the orange brigade.   Edson and Worden somehow made themselves two sizes smaller in order to find a draft off the diminutive younger Schwab and cling to his wheel.  Despite a bauble on Anita’s that saw both Edson and Worden go down while Griffen pulled ahead, the three were able to stay ahead of the chase group to claim the win.

But the big news of the night in juniorSOL was the absence of the Jean sisters, which left the juniorSOL Tour without a female contender.  Though this apparently has been a regular SOL tradition for some time it came as something of a disappointment to see last year’s miniSOL Tour winner drop out of contention.  Hopefully we will see them come back soon to go after some stage wins.

Meanwhile over on the miniSOL front, Jameson Schmidt decided to bypass the team time trial concept in favor of an incredibly strong individual effort, crossing the finish line first with a comfortable lead over the other riders but then having to wait with growing anxiety to see when the third rider on his team would arrive.  As it happened Rocco Elkins came in at 0:33:03, enough for his Squad A (Caden Stuart, Sander Stuart, Rocco, and Porter Kochis) to overcome Jameson’s Squad B (Jameson, Sophia Kochis, Adrian Edson, Moses Coco, and Riley Jenema).

Adrian Edson, in fact, had more adventure than he’d planned in his second miniSOL outing as first his bike developed brake issues and then he managed to catch a stick that ripped off his rear derailleur.  Fortunately he was in the company of sweeper Marie Voss and course marshals Heather Jordan and Erin Ferguson, who managed to convert his bike to a single speed so he could limp home.  “Limp” pretty much covered it, as his brakes were just relentlessly clamped down on his rims and he some extra boosting to even keep going on the flats.  And then, of course, it started to rain.  Despite it all he stayed in good spirits and never let it get him down.

Griffin Schwab, Ashton Edson, Peter Worden, Sage Day, Caden Stuart, Sander Stuart, Porter Kochis, and Rocco Elkins — you have each won an entry to the Traverse City Trail Fest race on July 22!  PM Peter Worden or Cody Sovis to get your coupon code for your entry!

Here are the juniorSOL results and current Tour GC standings — we are now down to four GC contenders, with Peter Worden, III still holding the yellow jersey but Griffin Schwab not far behind and Hunter Frank always looking for revenge.  Meanwhile Max Jordan just needs to hang in there and if any of the other riders don’t finish the Tour he’ll be on the podium in Paris.  Griffin still has a lead in WorldTour points at 74, with Peter Worden III in second at 62 and Julian Hilt coming in third at 52.

And now the miniSOL standings; Caden Stuart, still propelled by the power of this PJ pants, is in the lead on WorldTour points at 79 but younger brother Stuart is nipping at his heels at 73 points.  Liam Wierzba is falling to an increasingly distant 54 points, brought on by his not appearing for the second week in a row.  WorldTour points are about consistency!  However the GC podium saw no changes in position and no losses of riders, and the battle between Caden and Stuart for yellow in Paris remains tight.

Many thanks to miniSOL volunteers Marie Voss (professional sweeper, educator and child therapist), Heather Jordan (course marshal and race photographer), Erin Ferguson (course marshal and dog whisperer), Kora Voss, Johanna Schmidt, and Jeff Wrona; and on juniorSOL, Chad Jordan once again for riding sweep, and Bill Unger, Dave Happala, and their squad of Norte Dads.