Kaos Makes Repeat Visits To Podium In Tour De Husker

Team Kaos hammered through wind and cool weather in the Tour de Husker race weekend to garner podium finishes in all three events.

Kaos’ Kevin Limpach took first place in the Cat. 1-2-3 road race, followed by Kaos’ Chris Spence in second and Kaos’ Jarred Berger in third. Limpach broke away early in the race with teammates behind him blocking the peloton from bridging. Spence and Berger worked to corral Ian Robertson (Flatwater Cycling) which allowed Limpach to cross the finish line with an 18-second lead. He finished the 59-mile course in two hours and 37 minutes, an average speed of 21.65 mph. Spence and Berger followed in a furious sprint. Kaos’ Joe McWilliams followed a few minutes later, about two minutes in front of the main pack, which include Kaos racers Marc Walter, Vaughn Pierce and James O’Donnell.

In the Cat. 4 race, Kaos’ Jordan Ross took fourth place in a breakaway quartet of strong riders comprising teams such as Midwest Cycling and Central Plains Cycling. Kaos’ Travis Furman crossed the line four minutes later in sixth place. Kaos’ Rich Pearson crashed on the second lap but managed to hold ninth place after a 15-mile solo effort.

Gusts only strengthened later in the day as the start time neared for the time trial, which had many racers questioning their wind-catching disc wheels. Despite the wind, Berger blasted a 34:37 time in the 15-mile loop, averaging 26 mph. The effort got him first place. Spence came in 51 seconds later for second place. Walter and Limpach capped the Kaos showing with fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Kaos’ Cat. 4 contingent garnered second, fourth and sixth places with finishes by Ross, Furman and Pearson, respectively.

On day two, the criterium turned out a duel between Flatwater’s Robertson and Limpach. Limpach, trying to dig into a minute-and-a-half deficit on the general classification standings, broke away for a solo effort. Two others were able to bridge to him and the trio quickly gained a 30-second gap, with Robertson giving chase at the head of the peloton. But the chase group suffered while the trio stretched their gap. McWilliams sprinted away to gain 10 seconds on his own. Meanwhile, Limpach squeaked by the two others in his group in a first place effort decided by inches. McWilliams soloed across for fourth place and the main group sprinted in with Robertson taking fifth, Pierce taking sixth and Spence taking seventh.

The Cat. 4 criterium field splintered early, but Pearson, Ross and Furman stayed with the front group. In the final sprint, Ross took third, Furman took sixth and Pearson took 10^th.

The overall general classification finishes for Kaos out of 14 finishers:

CAT. 1-2-3:

Berger – first

Spence – second

Limpach – fourth

Walter – sixth

McWilliams – eight

O’Donnell – 10^th

Pierce – 12th

Cat. 4 (22 finishers):

Ross – second

Furman – fourth

Pearson – sixth

The racing was held April 16 and 17 for the third annual Tour de Husker at Branched Oak State Park and Lincoln Southwest High School.