BikeThrow.com

Minneapolis, MN-

Jake Helmbrect (Grumpys/LGR) and Linsey Hamilton (Grumpys/LGR) came out victorious at the inaugural ColdSprint competition on Friday evening. Over $300.00 was raised for the Second Harvest Food Shelf by the local cyclists and racing fans that ventured to the downtown Grumpy’s location to witness the spectacle of indoor roller racing. All sorts of cycling aficionados showed up to contest the first of four nights of racing for the 2007/08 ColdSprints Series. In addition to the racers the bar was completely full with over 200+ taking advantage of the $2 PBRs and watching over 65 participants battle it out over the qualifiers and head-to-head racing competition.

Grumpy’s/LGR rider Jake H. on his way to a victory in the semifinals.

(Photo Courtesy of Andy Gruhn)

A donation of $5 dollars gave every rider a chance to race a 20second qualifier. The fastest 16 men and top 8 women would then move on to head-to-head races of 500m (for the men) and 400m (for the women) before moving on to the final of 1000m (for the men) and 500m (for the women). The 1st and 2nd place finishers both received a nice cash prize that was greatly increased with donations from the crowd that passed the bucket to increase the purse, and the donation to the food shelf.

The racing was insanely fast as racers were valiantly trying to qualify for the head to head competition that would end the night. The organized racing community was well represented with trackies, crossers, mountain bikers and roadies showing up to go head to head against non-traditional racers that specialize in alley cat racing. It was after witnessing some of the incredible numbers that Paul McKinney (The Hub) grabbed the microphone out of the announcers hands to ask “Why don’t some of you come out and race the velodrome?” He was not alone in wondering this after viewing at the numbers non-traditional racers were able to throw up on the hand-made leaders board that kept everyone up to date with the standings throughout the night. One spectator even equated the board to the “qualifying pole at the Indy 500!”

In order to calculate the distance traveled during the 20second time period the organizers measured the number of rotations, this measurement was called a “blip.” It is then entered into a formula that correlates the “blip” into the distance traveled. Throughout the night the computer and technology was in perfect working condition as everything moved along in a timely manner. The battle to get into the ‘Sweet 16′ for the men and the ‘Elite 8′ for the women was competitive all night. The top men were paced by Tim W. (U/A) who produced a distance of 1366.6ft which was just enough to beat Tim H. (Grumpy’s/LGR) and Ezra T. (Kenwood) for the top spots into the bracketed challenge.

An even fiercer competition was held in the women’s field as organizers were pleasantly surprised by the 18 women that showed up to fight for the 8 spots that were allotted to them. The women were paced by Suzy L. (u/a) who was able to hold off challenges from in-line skater Martha (u/a) and Linsey H. (Grumpy’s/LGR). Suzy is planning on trying out organized racing this coming season and judging by the effort she was able to produce, she will be a feared racer during the 2008 season. The rest of the women’s field was tight as other prospective racers were able to qualify and produce some incredible times.

After the qualifying was over the stage was set for the bracketed competition. The brackets were developed a little differently than most with the #1 seed facing the #9, rather than the more tradition #1 vs. #16. This was put in place in order to ensure a more competitive playing field for the competition throughout and the system did not disappoint. All of the heats were neck and neck on both sides of the competition and it wasn’t until the finals that a clear winner emerged.

Women racers throwing down in front of a packed house.

(Photo: Andy Gruhn)

A ton of local cycling personalities showed up to witness the event. While not all of them raced they assured the organizers that they will be stepping up to the rollers at the next ColdSprints event on Friday, December 28th at the same location. In fact, due to the success of the racing on Friday night the next night of racing is going to be held in the main room on the large stage with a large projection screen. This will further the chances of all to see the spectacle that is ColdSprints Roller Racing.

The event was sponsored by Grumpy’s Bar and Grill, Behind-Bars Bicycle Shop, One on One Bicycle Studio, Burlesque Design, RetroSoft and Little Guy Racing. All proceeds went directly to Second Harvest Heartland.

The following were the results of the top 16 men and 8 women.

Male Qualifiers:

1. Tim W. (U/A) 1366.6 ft
2. Tim H. (Grumpy’s/LGR) 1352.5 ft
3. Ezra T. (Kenwood) 1346.2 ft
4. Doug L. (Larson Cycles/Behind Bars) 1333.6 ft
5. Pike! (U/A) 1328.1 ft
6. Jake H. (Grumpy’s/LGR) 1317.9 ft
7. Cream T. (U/A) 1313.2 ft
8. Andy L. (Mpls Messenger) 1310.8 ft
9. Tim J. (U/A) 1303.8 ft
10. Tony (U/A) 1302.2 ft
11. Steve R. (Cat6) 1288.8 ft
12. Landon (U/A) 1284.9 ft
13. Mike S. (U/A) 1277.1 ft
14. Tyler D. (Cat6) 1276.3 ft
15. Daniel F. (U/A) 1274.7 ft
16. Sean K. (U/A) 1270 ft

Women Qualifiers:

1. Susan L. (U/A) 1089.3 ft
2. Martha (U/A) 1075.2 ft
3. Linsey H. (Grumpy’s/LGR) 1070.5 ft
4. Erin M (U/A) 1069.7 ft
5. Kathleen M (U/A) 1062.6 ft
6. Liz H (U/A) 1026.5 ft
7. Molly Y. (U/A) 1010.8 ft
8. Amy C. (Grumpy’s/LGR) 1000.6 ft

Male Head To Head Races:

Round 1 (400m)

Jake H. (19.5 secs.)
Daniel E.

Cream T. (20.1)
Tyler S.

Andy L.
Sean K. (20.2)

Tim W. (21.5)
Tim J.

Tim H.
Tony C. (20.0)

Ezra T.
Steve R. (19.4)

Doug L. (20.5)
Landon

Pike! (19.9)
Michael S.

Men’s Round 2 (500m)

Steve R.
Cream T. (26.0)

Jake H. (24.6)
Sean K.

Doug L. (25.4)
Pike!

Tim W. (24.4)
Tony C.

Men’s Semi-Finals (500m)

Tim W (3rd Place)
Doug L (25.7)

Jake H (25.1)
Taco (4th Place)

Men’s Championship (1000m)

Jake H (54.5)
Doug L (2nd Place)

Women Head To Head Races:

Women’s Round 1 (300m)

Erin M. (25.2)
Jodi F.

Linsey H. (22.1)
Amy C.

Suzy L. (24.4)
Liz H.

Martha (24.0)
Molly Y.

Women’s Semi-Finals (300 metre)

Linsey H. (17.9)
Suzy L. (3rd Place)

Martha (18.2)
Erin M. (4th Place)

Women’s Championship (500 metre)

Linsey H. (23.1)
Martha (2nd Place)