Mackenzie Woodring topped the women’s podium at the Barry Roubaix. © Cyclocross Magazine
We did a brief race report and video interviews with the winners of the 2013 Barry Roubaix gravel race, but here our intern gives the local Michigan racer perspective on how events played out. Want more gravel? Make sure you pick up Issue 20 of Cyclocross Magazine, coming to newsstands soon!
by Cody Sovis
The 2013 Barry Roubaix is in the books, and Michigan’s race season is truly underway.
Over 3,000 people poured into the charming hamlet of Hastings, Michigan, for the Killer Gravel Road Race. The town was a perfect host for the event, and the incredible support of the community was immediately apparent for the racers making the trip from all over the Midwest. The massive importation of spandex was an impressive sight and one the town’s mayor graciously supported at the start finish.
For those expecting mud, the temperature never got high enough to melt the roads. That did mean, however, that the ice and snow pack stuck around in spots. The roughest part of the course was in the opening miles, when the 300 rider waves were still jockeying for position as the hills, descents and pot holes tore apart the pelotons.
In the Men’s 62 mile category, a select group slowly tore away containing sixty or so riders, with the rest of the field scrambling to form up numerous grupettos to survive the long, cold day in the saddle. Aaron Beebe, a pre-race favorite, suffered the first of his two flat tires early on, and spent the rest of the day hopping those small groups in an attempt to regain contact with the first groups on the road.
Luck wasn’t on the side of a number of riders early, with front tires and spokes giving up over the pounding roads and slick ice. Mike Anderson and Justin Lindine slipped away, and Anderson’s BISSELL teammates locked up the chase group, keeping the big names in check behind the leaders. With Lindine and Anderson holding a three minute lead, the chase began racing for second with a lot of road left to cover.
Lindine took the win ahead of Anderson by a convincing 17 seconds, taking a huge win and marking a changing of the race’s allure around the country. Anderson was close to defending his 2012 win, but he will be satisfied with his second place and a solid showing from his team. BISSELL put Jordan Dikema in third and Alex Vanias in eighth for three riders in the top ten. Leadout’s Dan Korienek confirmed his gravel pedigree with tenth, while Jorden Wakeley managed 14th behind Mike Simonson in 13th.
A special nod to 40+ winner Jake Wade, just ahead of Jason Suppan and David Fanslow. These guys would have been safely in the top fifty of the open race. On a cold day over 62 miles, that’s very, very impressive.
The Women’s race was never in doubt after the opening run of climbs, with Einstein Racing’s Mackenzie Woodring putting ten minutes over the field. It was a dominate showing, with Woodring slotting in with the Master’s chase group and putting the power down over many of the climbs. Kim Chapman led the way in contesting Woodring’s win, with the Algoma Bicycle Co rider giving chase and bouncing through the chase groups all day. Sam Brode and Janet Edwards were locked within a minute all day, and were separated by just two seconds on the line. Hagerty’s Lauri Brockmiller finished fifth to close out the top five, just three seconds from Stephanie Swan.
Rudy Peterson won the 36 mile overall, 1:44, just three seconds ahead of some dude with a bad name. Joe Thomas took third, with Jason Acker and Cam Timmer rounding out the top five. The Women’s 36 overall was nearly as close, with Cindi Bannick just a minute ahead of Marie Dersham. Keri Pawielski took third place, seven seconds behind Dersham.
All results are available here.
