Category Archives: Race

Race, Team Event, Top Stories

COS Racing Eyes Upcoming Mad Gravel Race

ELBERT COUNTY, CO – This Memorial Day weekend, COS Racing will be headed to Elbert County and the Peaceful Valley Scout Camp to compete in three days of off-road racing at the 2023 Mad Gravel event present by Rattler Racing. This event will consist of a gravel circuit race, gravel road race, an XC MTB event, and a trail run.

In addition to historically being one of the home races for COS Racing, this event is particularly significant because Mad Gravel has incorporated the HEMI gravel race into its program.  The HEMI was previously a separate gravel event held in Kansas in remembrance of Craig Henwood – the son of COS Racing team members Kristine and Steve Johnson – who was killed in a gravel race in 2019.

Rattler Racing is also partnering with team sponsor and coach Daniel Matheny of Matheny Endurance to provide coaching services in preparation for this event.

We are anticipating significant COS Racing participation in this event and encourage the off-road cycling community to join us for an exciting three days of racing.

Team Event, Thunderbird RR, Top Stories

2021 Thunderbird Road Race Cancelled

COLORADO SPRINGS (25 August 2021) – Due to public safety concerns amid an uptick of COVID cases, the United States Air Force Academy has withdrawn approval for us to conduct Sunday’s Colorado Road Race Master and Junior RR Championships on the Academy. We regret the missed opportunity to host a great road race on a stunning and challenging course. We hope to see you again next year.

We are currently working on issuing refunds to those who pre-registered.

COS Racing

See also: BRAC

Race, Top Stories

Dragomirov Takes 2021 Colorado State ITT Title

KEENESBURG, CO – On June 12th, 2021, longtime COS Racing rider Vladimir Dragomirov took the State Championship title in the Men’s Category 3 40K Individual Time Trial (ITT) with a time of 52:26.8.  Starting second-to-last in an 11-person field that also included teammate Seth Hurley, Vlad powered to a decisive 30-second victory over the next best rider.

Vlad averaged an impressive 45.76 kph (28.64 mph) and almost 300 watts over a largely flat course that featured two U-turns. 

Congratulations to Vlad and all those who participated in the State ITT Championships.

Full Results

Race, Race Report, Top Stories

Big Race Weekend for COS Racing

ELBERT, CO – Ten miles away it was sunny and 65 degrees. At the Peaceful Valley Scout Camp for the start of the Mad Gravel race, the day started cold and foggy with temps in the 40s and a 10-25mph wind ripping out of the north. Despite that, COS Racing’s 15 riders had a very successful day at today’s inaugural edition presented by Rattler Racing. Today’s racing featured three courses – 123mi, 78mi, and 43mi. It also featured a CX-style singletrack climb through a dozen tight S-turns to the finish. The majority of COS Racing competitors participated in the 43-mile “Sprint” event.

Dave Neis of COS Racing took an impressive 8th Place overall in the 123mi “Ultra” event behind multiple past- and present professional riders to include Grant Koontz, Greg Daniel, Jonathon Cavner, Jürgen Eckmann, and Alex Howes, making him one of the top amateur competitors in this event. Johanna Neuber also finished 4th in the women’s category.

In the 78-mile “Marathon” event, five riders also participated with Ellie Malfeld taking 2nd overall in the women’s category. Vladislav Dragomirov reportedly crashed hard while riding in the breakaway, surviving but breaking his handlebars in half in the process.

At least nine riders crossed the start line along with 116 other riders in the Sprint. The highest placing were Jeffrey Turner (4th) and J Erik Hartel (6th), overall, with Wendy Kimmel Stalnaker taking 8th in women’s. In age group results, Jeff and Erik took the top two podium positions in MM 50+, while Tracy Sharples, Jean-Baptiste Lafon, Kevin Healy, and Mike West took positions 2nd through 5th in MM 60+, which featured an unusually deep field of over 18 riders.

This weekend, team members also raced at the Royal Gorge Six and Twelve MTB Race and Lookout Mountain Hill Climb yesterday, and Louiseville Criterium. At Royal Gorge 6 & 12, David Johnson and Guillermo Rosaly raced solo, while Michael Brothers, Dustin Holcomb, Zach Pickett, and Roy Pruett combined to compete in the team category. (As of publication, results had not been posted.) Meanwhile, at Lookout Mountain, at least three teammates raced. Ron Bdh (Buhdi) captured 3rd in the Master’s Men 50+ 4s. Other racers included Derek Bondy and Steve Cade.

Full results from the Mad Gravel event can be found at: LINK

Thanks as always to our sponsors for making this possible.

Race, Race Report, Top Stories

COS Racing wins Men’s & Women’s Categories at Pony Xpress 85

08 May 2021.  TRINIDAD, CO – Johanna Neuber and Vladislav Dragomirov won the women and men’s categories at today’s Pony Xpress 85 (PX85) gravel race in Trinidad, CO. Pony Xpress is part of the Colorado Gravel Grinder Championships.  This year’s event featured over 230 riders competing on 85K and 160K courses through the Sangre de Christo Mountains with epic altitude gains of 3,500ft and 8,400ft.

There was an impressive sea of blue-and-orange jerseys at the start, standing out boldly in a field of approximately 110 gravel riders for the 85K race.

Beyond Johanna and Vlad’s superb results, the team also swept the remainder of the men’s podium, with Michael Brothers and Jeffrey Turner taking 2nd & 3rd overall. In age group results, COS Racing swept the podiums of the Men’s 50+ and Men’s 60+ to 4th position. Jeffrey Turner, Ron Budhi, George Pollard York, and J Erik Hartel took 1st through 4th in 50+, while Tracy Sharples, Jean-Baptiste Lafon, Kevin Healy, and Mike West took the top positions in 60+. Similarly,  Johanna Neuber, LeeAnn Perea, and Cindi Brothers took top results in their age groups – Women’s 20-29, 30-39, and 40-49.

Other notable mentions included Andrew McAdoo, who completed the 160K route plus some bonus miles, and Benton Beltramo, Derek Bondy, and Aaron Sudduth, who each took 4th place in Men’s 20-29, 30-39, and 40-49, respectively.

Finally, for a few others teammates, this was their first race of the year. This includes Benton Beltramo, Chris Ferguson, David McDaniel, Curtis Potter, and others.

Full results at: http://racingunderground.racetecresults.com/results.aspx

Thanks also to our sponsors and Mr. Phil Schweizer of Koobi Saddles for hosting the race.

Race, Race Report, Top Stories, Uncategorized

COS Racing Competes at Pikes Peak Hill Climb

PIKES PEAK, CO (14,115ft) – COS Racing racers pulled off an excellent performance at Pikes Peak this weekend during the 11th Annual Broadmoor Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb race with four podium-finishes and multiple other top-fives in the USA Cycling race.

COS Racing’s Matt Bell won the Men’s Category 3 Race with a blistering time of one hour and 14 minutes, outpacing his next best competitor by over 6 minutes on this brutal 4,500ft ascent. Miles Juneau and Ron Buhdi both took 2nd places in the Men’s Cat 4 and Masters Men 50+, respectively. Dave Neis took 3rd in Masters 1/2/3 40+, while Sam Geiman, Aaron Sudduth, Erik Hartel, and Tracy Sharples seized 4th place in Men’s Cat 4, Masters Men 40+, Masters Men 50+, and Masters Men 60+.

The day featured strong winds above 12,000ft that nearly brought riders to a standstill during the headwind stretches. Over a dozen other COS Riders from across all three tiers competed, including Derek Bondy, Curt Butler, Jeff, Duncan, Marisa Farro-Miro, Kristen Lemond, Chris Milthaler, Alex Werden, and others.

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Posted by COS Racing on Sunday, August 9, 2020

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Race, Race Report, Top Stories

Encierro Velo Recap

KIOWA, CO — It was a great day of racing for COS Racing at the Encierro Velo 100K Gravel Race, particularly in the Masters’ field. Six COS Racing riders took to the start today on a grueling 60-mile course that featured several long climbs and dozens of shorter ones. The top COS Racing performance came from Vladislav Dragomirov – who finished just off the podium in 4th place overall and 1st in the Men’s 30-39 category. Several of our Master’s racers also took podium positions. J Erik Hartel came in 14th overall and third in Masters Men (MM) 50+ while Mike West, Kevin Healy, and Michael Jones took first, second, and fifth in MM 60+.

As one might have predicted, this field was disproportionately stacked with professional gravel and road racers from throughout the region – most notably, team-friend Jonathan Cavner (Rodeo Labs) and former team member and neo-pro Henry York (Rio Grande) – all eager to race hard after a long COVID-enforced racing drought. At mile 5, on a section of road that featured strong crosswinds, Rodeo Labs launched a strong attack that shattered the field. Only Dragomirov was able to match the intensity – for a while, at least. Not atypical of gravel racing, the rest of the COS Racing contingent was left to race solo or in small groups soldiering through deep sand and over washboard conditions. Dragomirov described his race experience as a 54-mile individual time trial after losing contact with the lead trio. Most of our other riders shared his experience.

The race concluded with a Paris-Roubaix-style lap of the interior of the rodeo arena – a grueling slog through soft sand that had many riders dismounting to run their bikes across the line. The race was ultimately won by Nick Gould (Rodeo Labs).

This race was the first cycling event in the region since the lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions. Race organizer Phil Schweizer maintained solid control over the environment, enforced standards of social distancing and face-coverings in the start and finish areas, and had ample quantities of hand-sanitizer and other supplies on hand. Gravel racing is uniquely well-suited to social distancing since fields tend to splinter into small socially-distanced groups and individuals rather quickly. In this race, Rodeo Labs’ early attack set the conditions for a very dispersed race.

Additional solid performances came from David Johnson and George Pollard York, who placed 20th and 26th overall respectively.

Race, Race Report, Top Stories

Multiple Podiums for COS Racing at High Plains Grinder

ELBERT, CO – COS Racing made a significant impact on the podium during today’s High Plains Grinder – taking podiums three podium positions in the short-course race.

Ian Matteson, Matt Bell, and Vladislav Dragomirov took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place, respectively, in the short-course race Men’s Open Category. J Erik Hartel took 3rd and Kevin Healy achieved 4th in the short-course Masters 50+. According to initial reports, team member and former US National Champion mountain biker Daniel Matheny finished in 4th place in the long course event, while Peter Tonn finished in mathematically-impossible “billionth place.”

Podium - Mens Short Course Open
Podium – Mens Short Course Open

This year’s event was significantly larger and more competitive than last year’s edition. Approximately 190 riders competed – split almost evenly between the 40-mile short-course and the 70-mile long-course. Both routes consisted of rolling hills through the windy and exposed prairies in and around Elbert. Conditions were also challenging with no shortage of quality washboard, headwinds, and sand.

The quality of racers at this year’s event also added to the challenge. The fields for both races contained numerous national, regional, and local race teams, including Lucky Pie, Tierra Plan, Modern Market, Subaru Groove, Trek, and Clinch. Former UCI professional rider Tom Danielson (Clinch) headlined the long-course field.

At least nine COS Racing riders lined up at the start including Matt Bell, Vlad Dragomirov, J. Erik Hartel, Kevin Healy, and Ian Matteson in the short-course event and Nicholas Brummer, Chris Ferguson, coach and sponsor Daniel Matheny, and Peter Tonn in the long-course.

Race, Thunderbird RR, Top Stories

Thunderbird Road Race p/b Darkblade Systems Results POSTED

COLORADO SPRINGS — Final results for this weekend’s State Road Race Championships have been posted to RaceResult.com and are available for download here.

2019 Thunderbird-RR-2019-ResultsDownload

Thanks to all 263 racers who competed, as well as to the many volunteers who donated their time to this event. Thanks also to the US Air Force Academy for allowing us to host this challenging event on their installation.

Finally, thank you to Darkblade Systems for sponsoring this event for the second year. Darkblade Systems is based in Northern Virginia with personnel supporting Intelligence Community and Department of Defense customers in Colorado, various other domestic locations, as well as overseas.  Events such as this one would not be possible without outstanding corporate sponsors.

See you all at next year’s event.

COS Racing