Tyler takes the Collegiate Jersey, GB took all 3 podiums spots in the collegiate competition

After 6 days, 300+ miles and close to 8K of elevation gain the ToOH has come to an end. The team put in a great effort on the last 3 Stages.

Stage 4
Saw Team GB go after it in the first crit of the ToOH. 10 guys got away about 10 laps into the race. Along with Sean and Jim the GC guy from Jittery made the move. The break eventually lapped the field, and that’s were things got interesting. Due to the number of guys in the break, many tried to get their day of glory and there were many attacks. The last came going into the last climb and caught Jim and Sean in bad position. They came across in 7th and 8th but did not really represent how well the team rode. The best news was Jim moved into 3rd in the GC.

Stage 5
By far the hardest day of racing in the ToOH. Though the course was only 50 miles, the climbs, wind and circuits all took it’s toll on the field. The goal of TeamGB was get some more top 10s and get Craig some more points in the KOH. A small move of 6 got away early with Craig and Andre. This was good as it gave Craig the best chance of gaining more points. However, guys started sitting on and the move started coming back. The guy wearing the points jersey attacked the group and Sean followed. Upon entering the campus the gap had gone from over 2 minutes to about 30 seconds. Sean attacked up the 2nd KOH and went off the front solo. He took the 3rd KOH and 3rd in the 4th securing the KOH jersey for TeamGB. The tough course had riders all over the course. Tyler, Craig and Tom all made a select group of 5 chasing the 2 leaders. On the circuits there was much team contribution to help get guys back up and in contention. In the end TeamGB finished 4th, 6th, 7th and 9th on the stage. Jim rode a great race finishing just behind the top 10 and fighting to stay in the top 3 on GC. Dave had the hard luck on the day dropping his chain twice up the climb but still fighting to finish on the lead lap.

Stage 6
TeamGB wen into the final crit with hopes of moving Dave back into the green jersey and keep Jim in the top 3 in the GC. However, there were many deals being made and broken by other teams to try and take the yellow jersey. Shortly after the first intermediate sprint a group or 4 got off the front. Though there was some unwillingness to work by some, the break soon started gaining time. Tyler and Sean made the 4 man move, drove the pace, and gave TeamGB good numbers. Though this killed Dave’s chances of taking back the Green jersey, the team set out to get the stage win. With about 8 laps to go the break lapped the field. There was some great team effort but in the end we came up just short of the stage win, finishing 2nd, 3rd and 8th. The crowd was great as GOBA (Great Ohio Bike Adventure) had a stop in Elmore.

In the end TeamGB finised with:
Collegiate jersey and top 3 spots
KOH jersey
4 guys in the top 10 of the GC
1 stage win
4 podiums
19 tops 10
and a season worth of experience.

The team continues to ride well at the Tour of Ohio. After 3 stages, we are close to the top of the overall GC, but currently possess the Polka-dot Climbers Jersey (Craig McKinney), the Red Collegiate Jersey (Tyler Hawes), and the Green Points/Sprinters Jersey (David Forkner).

Stage 3 was a 77mile road race ending in a 5 lap downtown circuit in Nelsonville, OH. David Forkner took 2nd on the stage with Tyler Hawes in 6th, and Noah Metzler in 10th. The team executed a fantastic race, delivering Craig to the KOM points, David and Tyler to the finish.

Finally, all the races we have done this year getting beat up by the big professional teams is paying off. Everyone is riding well and racing smart!

3 more stages to go with lots of chances to capture Yellow!

David, Craig, Tyler Stage 3 podium

Stage 3 podium

Globalbike Rocks

The team raced a great race today to kick off the 6 day Tour of Ohio. The 57 mile course was fantastic with great roads and a few lumps of hills. Craig McKinney was in the early break of 2 that stayed away through the KOM points summit and till the last 10 miles of the race. Once back together, Globalbike lined up a good leadout train to propel David to Victory. He had plenty to do on his own in the last 300m to out-sprint Kenda and Jittery Joes riders. Forkner will start stage two wearing the Yellow Jersey.

David Forkner wins Stage 1 Tour of Ohio

To my friends, sponsors, and teammates. I’m going in for the biggest race of my life Monday morning at 6am…….. After having a Renal Artery Ultrasound and Cat-scan on Monday; a softball sized tumor was found in my right kidney. The good news is it looks to be confined to the kidney but they will be removing the kidney Monday morning. Needless to say my season has come to a quick and painful end. I was really looking forward to being a part of Team Global Bike and racing with this great group of guys. I feel as if i made some good friends and hopefully helped out when racing. Thank you to all of our sponsors and best of luck to the team the remainder of the season. I look to make a full recovery and possibly return to racing next season but time will tell on that one. Right now i’m planning on winning this one as it is the biggest race of my life. For those of you who pray; please say a prayer for me and those of you who don’t…… please wish me the best of luck as i will miss seeing you this year. Your friend and teammate…….. Derek

I guess consistency pays off. Even though I have only one win this year, I have managed to top the rankings for the Maters 45-49 Criterium for the week of June 6^th 2009.

The one Win that I do have is from the North Carolina State Championships that were held on May 25^th, Memorial Day in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  I raced the Masters 35+ race first, but missed the main break of the day that had Charlie Brown and Pete Cannell, but was in a chase group of 9. Charlie and Pete got away from the original break and caught our chase group. Ryan Jenkins pulled the chase group with CB and PC so that we all lapped the field. I ended up placing 5^th. After a few hours and a few rain showers the Masters 45+ race got under way. After several breakaways formed and were brought back, I made it into a group of 4 that finally put some distance on the field. David LeDuc bridged across to our breakaway and our group was gone for sure now.  All I had to do was outsprint the group and I managed to do that. So I am now the 2009 North Carolina Master 45+ Criterium Champion and Ranked #1 for the Master 45-49 age group.

CRASH! That about sums up the first night of racing in Tulsa 1/2 races are interesting in that there are no well organized pro teams to keep the race fast and predictable. It’s not to say that the races aren’t fast, because they are, there are just these foreboding lulls in the pace when you can tell something stupid is about to happen. Add in the fact that there was a lot of money up for grabs in Tulsa and it makes sense why the first race of the series was a crash fest. I personally got caught in one of the gravity storms on Friday night. Someone coming up the outside got their bars tangled with mine on one of the straights and that was all it took to send a few of us down. I wasn’t too banged up, got a wheel from neutral, and the official threw me back in. Sean and I were up front for the last few laps and had a bit of bad luck or tactics, call it what you want. Sean ended up 16^th and I was 12^th. The result was a little disappointing but we were both in the money and the top 20 for the omnium. The victory of the night was that Noah, Andre, Sean, and Myself were not in the hospital.

Saturday could have definitely gone better. After Friday’s mayhem I was bound and determined to get up the road so I went with or chased everything. That didn’t work out too well and the race stayed together the whole time. Andre got himself near the front for the last lap and managed 12^th in the sprint. That was our only result for this race.

Sunday brought globalbike’s best result on the weekend. The course was a very tough survival type course. The temperature was in the upper 90’s and each lap saw the field hitting a little wall of a climb for about 20 seconds. From there the course waivered up and down a bit and them bombed down to a sharp turn and the finishing straight. Only 26 people finished the race and I ended up 10^th.

There was an overall omnium for the 1/2 field at Tulsa Tough. Going into the last day Andre and I both in the top 20 of the omnium. Andre had some bad luck and fell to 24^th and with my result I moved up to 12^th.

First, I would like to thank our HOST family Randy and Sandy Branstetter for allowing to stay in their terrific home, preparing incredible meals and taking us out on town. We look forward to seeing you both again next year. DO not forget about those rides here in the SE.

I lined up Sat on a HOT 93 day with about 50 guys for a mixed 40+/55+ Masters race. I knew a few of the guys in the race and thought it would be an easy top 3. Another familiar character showed up in one Dave LeDuc. (Guess who I watched) Well there were numerous attacks early and there were a few teams with 4-5 guys. I got off front for a prime and then was joined by 4 others, LeDuc was there. So after about 2 laps, 2 guys start sitting on. I took a long pull and the another guy (strong) attacked and Leduc with went with him. The other 2 guys would or could not follow and we all drifted back to pack. However, Leduc soon joined us a few laps later after being dropped by the other guy (did I mention he was strong). We rode around a few more laps and there was another attack. This time I was 5 guys and no LeDuc. Again 3 of us were pulling. I went back and decided to sit on, as I had another race coming up in less than 3 hours, when 2 guys just rode away. I decided to not chase as they were the 2 that had been helping pull. The 3 of us then played attack and chase, with me doing most of the chasing. After about 2 laps of this, I just sat up and let one guy ride away. I and the other gut went back to the field. I sat for about 4 laps and watched LeDuc as I knew an attack was coming, and sure enough with about 2 laps to go he hit it. I got pinched on the inside of a turn and attacked a little late. He had about 200 meters on me. I closed the gap to about 50 but could not get any closer. I came through for 6th. When talking with Leduc about the race and coming from guy that was won more times than well MOST, he said something that stayed with me. “That’s what I love about this sport, you are never to old to learn”.
Ahh so true and I learned plenty that day.

Sunday’s was a little cooler as we started at 11am but still a nice 85. There were far fewer guys in the race that day as there was a nasty HILL each lap that would break things up. I just sat and watched 3 guys based on my epiphany from the day before . At about 4 laps in the decisive break happened. 6 of us got up the road. With LeDuc and the guy that won the day before being there. We were all pulling and gaining time fast. I pulled the bottom of hill and another strong guy (whom later would get 2nd in the 1/2s race), attacks the top to break the 6 up. Not good, as I was caught on the curve behind the 2 weaker riders who just SAT UP. The 3 strongest riders rode away and when I finally did get out, the 3 had 200 meters on me. I chased for about 4 laps, losing ground but thought I could stay away for 4th as the field was broken up. I stayed away for another 3 on my own and then was joined by 2 guys. I guess their race was too me as both sat on once they got there. We were eventually caught by the 10 guys left in the field and would be sprinting for 4th. I got caught behind a rider that needed a slow moving sign on his back through the hairpin less than 90 degree turn off a down hill and came out 10th wheel. Sprinted past a few for 8th on the day. By the way LeDuc won.
Ahh things learned or not in my case!

Other thoughts
Tulsa was a pleasant surprise and the races were top notch!
Never text while riding a motorcycle on the freeway at 70 mph.
If traveling West on I-40 DO NOT stay at the Best Value Inn in Forrest City, AK. No need to visit the carnival either.
Do stop and go to the Mexican restaurant attached to the Holiday Inn.
Noah’s hair is too soft for corn rolls.

Sean

aka MoS dos