One word: dust. There was a lot of dust. So much dust that when Wunger cleaned his ears and blew his nose afterwards, dust came out. There was also an abundance of sand, dirt, and POWER.
That’s right, it was the night of the Power Section (and the Boonenberg). There were 20 points up for grabs on the Power Section and 10 on the Boonenberg. There were some absences at the start but most noteworthy was Kyan Olshove missing his second tour stage, thus forfeiting his lead in the tour. From the start, Max Werner settled into first, Wunger was close in second, and Drew Cummins in third. By Wood Chip Hill, Mathew Kushman and Reese Cummins had formed a paceline to catch Drew. Once Wunger reached the power section, he picked up the pace in order to catch Max and get the 20 points.
At this point, Drew Cummins and Carter Schmidt formed a chase group in an attempt to hunt down Wunger. Luckily for Wunger, he chose to ride his cross bike. He wasn’t able to catch up to Max but he was able to get the 20 extra points and keep Drew Cummins from catching up. Next was the Boonenberg. When Max reached the hill, he slowed down to recover. This gave Wunger the perfect opportunity to close the gap. He sprinted out of the saddle all the way up the hill. He was able to close the gap to less than 20 feet and get all 10 points on the Boonenberg.
Unfortunately for Wunger, there was lots of sand and bumps to come, both of which don’t fare too well on a cross bike. As soon as they reached the first downhill, Max rocketed out of Wunger’s sight. All the while, Wunger was just trying not to fall. Wunger made up time on Anita’s and the hills after that but then lost it again on the downhills. Max rode on to finish first with a time of 43:39, Wunger finished second with a time of 43:51, and Drew Cummins may not have been able to close the gap, but he still managed to beat Carter Schmidt (Carter, GET STRAVA) and finish third with a time of 48:48.
Some honorable mentions go to Alex Schwartz for making his SOL debut and illustrating the point that even though it’s his first time this year, he can still (as the #YOUTHS say) shred some gnar and send it big. In the Junior SOL overall, Wunger is still in the lead with 98 points, Drew Cummins has moved up to second with 63 points, and Max Werner is now occupying third with 55 points.
In the Mini SOL division, Tyler Standfest took the win with a time of 24:06, Liam Weirsba placed second with a time of 24:29, and Jack K. placed third with a time of 27:08. Congrats to Ella Debruyn for starting out SOL with a bang! She was up there in 6th place with some of Mini SOL’s hardest pedal smashers. In the Mini SOL overall, Grady Ellis is winning with 55 points, Tyler Standfest is in second with 37 points, and Jack K. is in a close third with 35 points.
The Junior SOL overall standings can be found right here.
The Junior SOL Tour Competition standings are right here.
The miniSOL Tour Competition standings are right here.
The Mini SOL overall standings can be found right here.