littleguyracing.com

Things are coming together for another great event!

This year, Little Guy Racing has pulled a few more tricks out of our sleeves for the Velodrome Cyclocross event!
New for 2008, we have a kids race as well as a giant inflatable “bouncy thing” for kids to go crazy in while the races would be otherwise boring them to tears…

Peace Coffee will be there serving up the goods til it’s gone, and the ditch will be back.

Unfortunately, plan for a fly-over did not come to fruition.

Registration opens at 9am!

No pre-riding before then please, course will be open between all races. Please clear the course for the kids race!

Oh, and most important:

“No Riding on the Soccer Field!!! You will be DQ’d from the results!”

It’s back!

click here for the pdf version.

Little Guy Racing is extremely happy, and very proud to announce our BIGGEST VICTORY EVER!

As you may know, LGR rider Jason Prudhom has spent the last few months grappling with skin cancer. Well, the results came back and all of Jason’s cancer has been successfully removed, and he is officially xCANCER-FREEx!

We are beside ourselves!

Jason was a trooper, and fought through a lot to claim this victory!

We want to sincerely thank everyone who sent their support and kind words Jason’s way. They all helped to keep the fire burning!

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winning one state championship in the scratch race wasn’t going to keep Grumpy’s/LGR rider Linsey Hamilton content for the remainder of the 2008 track season at the National Sports Center velodrome. Hamilton proved that she is the fastest on the track when it counts by taking the State Keirin title with a dominating performance this past Thursday night. Winning both prestigious events in the same year doesn’t happen very often as riders generally tend to focus on either endurance or sprinting. Hamilton has managed to successfully meld both style of riding this season and it shows with her title in the sprinter’s Keirin race.

The Keirin is a 8 lap race in which the competitors are paced behind a motorcycle for 5 laps before being left alone on the track at 28mph before contesting the final 3 laps. Hamilton managed to take the wins in both her heat and final by drawing the number 1 slot behind the motor. Often seen as a disadvantage by riders, Hamilton utilized brilliant tactics in order to execute the big win in the main event final.

Hamilton’s season is no where close to over as she has the Match Spints, and 500m State Championships fast approaching. After which the rest of the season will be geared at getting ready for the National Championships in Los Angeles, CA. This will be Linsey’s first time at the National Championships, and with all her recent victories she is ready to see how she ranks on the National level.

The team added another state title to it’s palarmes with Spencer Haugh’s recent victory in the Masters State Track Omnium Championships. Pushed all the way to the end by teammate Peter Schweich, the Grumpy’s/LGR team once again proved that they are a force on the boards at Blaine. This is Haugh’s first state championship at the track, but he isn’t a stranger to success in the northern suburbs as he has qualified for Nationals on several occasions and recently just got back from racing at the 7-11 Olympic Velodrome in Colorado Springs, CO where he enjoyed some success. In addition to Haugh’s recent success, Schweich has become the teams top rider in the Track Rider Of the Year standings with his rapid rise from the Category 3 ranks.

Catch the Grumpy’s/LGR team at the velodrome every Thursday night in August and the first half of September at 7pm at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota.

Photo Credit Linda Sone

We are proud to announce that Linsey Hamilton won the State Scratch Race Championship this past Thursday night. In just her second year of racing and her first season as a member of Grumpy’s/LGR, Hamilton has turned into a force on the velodrome. In a race stacked with the top riders from the area the sly Hamilton was able to rely on help from teammate Megan Lennon in taking the victory.

Attacking with a scant 500m to go on Hamilton was able to hold onto the victory despite a late surge from last years champion Elena Dorr (Speedfix). This State Championship is a first for Linsey and it promises to not be the last as quite a few more championships are on the line throughout the rest of the season. Take a moment to visit Linsey’s personal page to learn more about here and come on out to the National Sports Center Velodrome in Blaine on Thursday nights this summer to see our very own State Champion on the boards.

Just some quick, but important team updates.

LGR would like to congratulate rider Jake Helmbrecht on his Silver Medal ride in the MN State Time Trail Championship! Great job!

We also want to officially welcome Megan Lennon to the team!
Megan comes to us via the UofM Collegiate team. Megan is a great asset to our team in any event, but her favorite racing is on the velodrome. Megan will team up with Linsey Hamilton week after week at the track to work the kinks in Speedfix and the Dalhman’s armor. Together they will have a strong one-two punch! Go get ‘em!

Former LGR rider Karla Kingsley (relocated to CA), recently won the Womens 1/2 Napa Criterium in CA! Beating a strong pro-filled field. Congrats Karla!

And finally, we as a team and community, would like to send our love and support to our teammate Jason Prudhom. Jason was recently diagnosed with cancer. As far as we know, Jason’s cancer is treatable and as always he is keeping his head up, and being positive about the situation. Jason is a big part of the backbone of LGR. Please visit his blog and leave him some comments of support. Thanks.

Over the past week Jake Helmbrecht, who recently upgraded to Category 3 after winning the Category 4 race at the Duluth Classic, has placed 2nd in both the Freewheel Bike State Fair Affair and in the State Championship TT. Both of these races were the first events that Helmbrecht has contested in the Category 3s and he has quickly become a rider to watch on the local racing scene.

Meanwhile on the dirt, Margaret Montgomery placed 3rd overall and first in the singlespeed category at the Wooly mountain bike race outside of Osceola, Wisconsin. This was just Margaret’s second mountain bike race and she has found some form that has impressed many top mountain bike racers.

Another top result from the past week includes Jason Prudhom’s 4th place overall at the Wooly race and first for singlespeed. Finally, it should be noted that Linsey”Lindzilla”Hamilton just finished competing at the National level Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic at the Blaine Velodrome. Lining up against the fastest women to ever compete at the Velodrome was quite a daunting task for Hamilton, but she was able to hold her own and found herself gaining valuable experience for future competitions.

The Grumpy’s/LGR team reached the top step of the podium in two categories of racing at the Duluth Classic Stage Race over Memorial Day weekend! 

Matt McDonough and Jake Helmbrecht, were able to secure victories after taking the leaders jersey on the first day with their top time trialing abilities. With a lot of hard work and dedication to the win, the team was able to hold onto the leaders jerseys in the respective fields all the way to the finish at the Cloquet Criterium. It was no easy task, but was quite possibly the most rewarding racing the team has ever had. The LGR team stepped up to a new level of teamwork and selflessness to work towards a common goal.

It was an amazing experience, and the team would like to thank all of our sponsors that have helped make the early part of the 2008 season a huge success!

Joe Johnson secured another victory for the Grumpy’s/LGR squad with his performance at the Charity Time Trial this past Sunday. Johnson earned the win with a personal best time of 15:17 over the 7 mile course. Joe is also an accomplished rider on the track and is hoping to produce some top times in the Kilometer and Individual Pursuits. The Charity Time Trial was the second time in as many weeks that Joe has reached the podium for the team.

We would also like to give a shout out to Chuck Cowan from our shop sponsor Behind-Bars. He was recently featured on National Public Radio for a piece on bicycle commuting and proper bike maintenance. Enjoy listening to the story here.

This past weekend was a big one for our young team as our riders reached the top two steps of the podium on two consecutive days of racing. Matt McDonough and Joe Johnson got the weekend started with a one-two finish in the Men’s Category 3 division at the Withrow Time Trial. Their times were also good enough for 11th and 12th overall in a stacked field.

On Sunday, Matt Allen won the Erik’s Spring Cup mountain bike race in Inver Grove Heights. Mark Byrnes took home second place for the team in the sport division. Other top finishes went to Margaret Montgomery and Jason Prudhom in their respective divisions.

The season is in full swing and the Grumpy’s/LGR team is doing fantastic!