It was The Tour Finale: The adults got to do two laps and the #YOUTHS got the satisfaction of beating their parents home (and on the course). Just like last week, there were 30 points up for grabs: 20 on The Power Section and 10 on The Boonenberg.
The start was very crowded and hectic. Max Werner and Hunter Frank quickly got away and occupied first and second. Carter Schmidt and Wunger were close behind trying to conserve as much energy as possible for The Power Section. Nearing Woodchip Hill, Carter Debruyn and Reese Cummins formed a paceline in attempt to catch Charlie Black. Meanwhile, Drew Cummins attacked and manufactured a small gap on Brody Day and Charlie. Right before The Power Section, Brody gapped Charlie and rode solo until he caught up to Drew. Meanwhile, Carter Schmidt pulled Wunger through the first eighth of The Power Section. After his pull, Wunger threw down some watts (over 100,000) and pulled the rest of the way. Wunger got a time of 9:31. Sadly, his skinny tires and drop bars weren’t enough to secure the 20 points. Max Werner was having the ride of his life and got a time of 9:09 and Hunter got a time of 9:17.
Wunger’s watts were big but not big enough: he ended up dropping Carter and made up some time on Max. Nearing The Boonenberg, Wunger hit it and got a time of 1:02. Hunter’s more powerful watts propelled him to secure the 10 points with a time of 1:01! Right before Anita’s Hill, Hunter had already slowly gapped Max but he attacked again and increased the gap to almost a minute! Meanwhile, Wunger was really feeling his 42×36 “easy gear” and lost the time he made up on Max. On the final downhill before the finish, Carter, Drew, and Brody made up a ton of time on Wunger and would have caught him if it wasn’t for his final emptying of the tank on the last little riser.
Hunter Frank placed first with a time of 41:20, Max was second with a time of 42: 04, and Wunger was third with a time of 45:43. Junior SOL honorable mentions goes to Sage and Brody Day for making their SOL debuts! In the Junior SOL overall, Wunger is in first with 134 points, Max is in second with 92 points, and Drew Cummins is in third with 91 points. In the SOL Tour, The Yellow Jersey goes to Hunter Frank, the Polka Dot and Green Jerseys go to Wunger, and the White Jersey awarded to the best young rider goes to Reese Cummins!
In Mini SOL, Gus Schwartz placed first with a time of 25:07, Jack Klau placed second with a time of 25:10, and Porter Kochis was third with a time of 28:42. Overall, despite his absence, Grady Ellis is still in the lead with 55 points. In second is Jack Klau with 43 points, and Tyler Standfest is in third with 37 points. In The Tour, Jack Klau takes the Yellow, AND the Green Jerseys, and Sophia Kochis takes the White Jersey.
There is one final Grand Tour, La Vuelta, which starts in three weeks and brings us to the season finale, the World Championships. Before that, we’ve got the Team Time Trial and VST Ribbon Cutting to start August.
August 2. Team Time Trial. At Bunker Hill, like always, 6:30.
August 9. VSTTT. Supply Road Parking Lot. 6pm.
To register your three-person team for the TTT, submit your three names here. Teams must be submitted by Wednesday night.