MBRC (Minneapolis Bicycle Racing Club) has a rich tradition in MN bike racing. I was looking for a way to uncover part of this past when Jim Flanders handed me exactly what I was looking for, “History of the MBRC” which was written for a club newsletter a few years back. I have been given permission to publish it here.
The MBRC was formed in late 1974 by Chuck Strauch, owner of Pursuit Cycle and Paul Slarks, 1974-5 State Road Champion. At the time of its formation, the only bicycling club in the Twin Cities was the Gopher Wheelman, which everyone belonged to. “The Wheelman” was a large club with quite a mix of riders from racers to tourists. It was formally run with a President, VP, Secretary, and Board of Directors. This arrangement worked well but at times became very political and making it hard to get things done.
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What Chuck envisioned was a club of serious bicycle racers run more like a European “team”. A tighter knit group that traveled to races and raced together. In this original group were Scott and Jim Flanders, Chris and Kevin Kvale, Bob Williams, Paul Slarks, Australian Warren Keyser, Jeff Howe, Mike Tracy, Nancy Eddington, Rich Lackman, Bruce Caulfield and Steve Gaertner.
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Chuck had secured a modest sponsorship from a local bicycle distributor known as Northwest Bicycle Supply. They were distributor for Motobecane, a French bicycle company, and that would be the name that would appear on the club jersey in 1975.
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Since the MBRC contained the cream of the crop in Minnesota bicycle racing, it had a very successful first year. In July of that year, the MBRC sent a group of riders to the very first “Red Zinger Bicycle Classic”. It was a three stage event with a road race, time trial and criterium. Although not used to the long climbs, the team did very well. Scott Flanders won the Junior division race from Tom Prehn with Steve Gaertner in 3rd. The Senior division was won by John Howard with Jim Flanders finishing 9th overall. Kevin Kvale won the criterium in the “B” race.At the National Championships, Paul Slarks took a fine 3rd place in the National Ten Mile Track Championship and Jim took 9th place in the Time Trial.
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Locally, the MBRC dominated, winning just about every State Championship event. Paul Slarks again won the Road Race and the Points Race on the track. Jim Flanders was 2nd in the Road Race, 1st in the Time Trial, and 1st in the 4000 meter Pursuit on the Track. Scott won the Junior Road Race, Time Trial, and three track events. Bruce Caulfield won the Track Kilo.
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In 1976 the team was sponsored by Unwind Handlebar Tape which supplied a van to travel to races and all the handlebar tape they could use. There was no monetary sponsor so it was all out of pocket for the year which did not hamper the results.
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At the State Championship Road Race, MBRC took the top four places in the Senior Division with Kevin Kvale 1st, Scott Flanders 2nd, Jim Flanders 3rd, and Chris Kvale 4th. Jim Flanders was invited to the Olympic Trials in New York based on points accumulated in Midwest races.
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At Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, Jim took 7th place in the Road Race and Paul Slarks was 4th in the 4000 Meter Pursuit on the Track.
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In the Second Red Zinger, the team rode well with Jim finishing in 10th place overall. More importantly, Chuck met and became friends with members of the British and Australian Commonwealth Games Team. This friendship payed big dividends the following year when Dudley Hayton of the British team agreed to ride the 1977 Red Zinger with MBRC.
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At the end of 1976, Warren Keyser and Jim Flanders teamed up with 1972 Olympic silver medalist Clyde Sefton and fellow Australian Ian Chandler to race a stage race in Detroit. Scott Flanders was teamed with a composite team from Ohio. He made the break in a star studded field in the final stage to end up 4th overall.
To be continued…
Comments 26
Perfect addition to the BTDC website. Keep it coming.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 8:51 am ¶1st post that was worth reading.
Scott Flanders worshiper since 1998.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 9:31 am ¶JimmerC wrote:
Perfect addition to the BTDC website. Keep it coming.
We have a ton more articles like this and they will be shared with the growing community of BTDC readers.
tone wrote:
1st post that was worth reading.
Tone- I think you should venture elsewhere with your time as comments like this are nothing but detrimental to what we are trying to accomplish here, and at times you come across as barely rational.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 10:01 am ¶…said the kettle to the pot.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 10:58 am ¶Blablabla. You all always have to have the last word (read: last lame comeback). I dare you to not keep going back and forth on this one.
Good article.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 11:12 am ¶I agree with the other posters. Cool info!
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 11:30 am ¶Good article. The Flanders Bros helped me out a lot over the years, and Scott was always there to give me advice.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 5:09 pm ¶Interesting…
…This weekend I found a newspaper article, and on the front page is a picture of Homme and yer “Highness” sport’n the MBRC colors, in a MTB race. Quinsadence, or chance happening?
p.s. I like the Dis-Rook action.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 5:25 pm ¶With teamates like that…
Would that by chance be the Seeley Pre-fat?
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 5:30 pm ¶Correctamundo!
Happy Holidays.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 5:37 pm ¶Pretty good guess, I’ve been in a total of 5 mountain bike races and you’ve been in every one of them - although only 2 in Flanders garbe.
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 5:42 pm ¶i gotta locate my copy of MN Cyclesport… loads of good stuff in there…
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 6:15 pm ¶(p.s. sr sucks)
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 6:15 pm ¶Do we have a copy of this picture between Hollywood and Homme? Also, when was the last time a Flanders rider was a State Road Champion?
i hate (dis).
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 6:54 pm ¶Timmer y2k? than Scotter in 03′ it was a flook Dale towed him all the way.
I got plenty o’ coppies of MN Cycle Sport down at the shop, that was a real classy zine.
2 top 15’s a Fat Tire in the Red n’ Blk
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 7:46 pm ¶‘05 teresa was the 35+ rr champ, and scott was the 1/2 champ…
i’m pretty sure that was ‘05… of course the results are no longer available on the mcf site or bwoods…
Posted 03 Dec 2007 at 11:38 pm ¶Cripes! Time Flys.
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 12:18 pm ¶2007 Womans 1/2/3 State RR Champion: Terresa
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 12:33 pm ¶Butkiewicz/Doig 1st/2nd 2001
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 1:21 pm ¶Scott Flanders 2005 1st State RR
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 4:21 pm ¶Correction:
Butkewicz wrote:
Butkiewicz/Doig 1st/2nd 2002
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 4:32 pm ¶so, i hate flanders and all they stand for… none the less i respect them still more
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 10:36 pm ¶“andrew wrote:
so, i hate flanders and all they stand for… none the less i respect them still more”
Posted 05 Dec 2007 at 1:34 pm ¶Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
I’m gonna tone up my leg muscles and race for Flanders.
Posted 05 Dec 2007 at 6:11 pm ¶the game is rigged by the players,sponsors etc… i desire the game on my terms. players are cool game needs some changing bring it back to the people
Posted 05 Dec 2007 at 11:31 pm ¶Read the VeloNews article featuring Joe Papp!
Posted 14 Dec 2007 at 7:35 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 2
[…] the weekend they posted a part one history of the Minneapolis Bicycle Racing Club, otherwise known as the Flanders Racing Team. Really great stuff. I hope that they will continue […]
[…] This is Part II in the series on the History of the Minneapolis Bike Racing Club. (Part I) […]
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