Sports
Pro Stars and Local Racers Shine at GoodSpeed Cycling Classic in Homewood
Despite intense heat, cyclists rate second year of racing in Homewood Days as 'Good' as it gets.
The International Cycling Classic and Superweek Pro Tour returned to Homewood Sunday after making its inaugural trip last year during Homewood Days.
The day consisted of seven races, highlighted by the last two races, a women’s pro race and a men’s pro race hosted by Homewood's Goodspeed Cycling.
After 44 riders started out in the men's pro race in a neck-to-neck bunch, it was John Grant who pulled away for the victory.
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The win was all the more sweet for Grant, who came up just short in the first race on Friday in Beverly. Then, he settled for second place.
“After getting second in a tough race, I really wanted to come back and get a 'W,' ” Grant said.
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Horvath Starts the Ball Rolling
In the first race of the day, the Men's Cat 4/5, Tristan Horvath of Milwaukee notched the victory. Horvath, along with Patrick Meyer of Skokie, pulled away from the pack. The two raced with each other until Horvath inched away in the final laps.
“It was a hot day, flat course with a lot wind and a lot of corners,” Horvath said. “The key was getting out in front and getting a sizable gap.
“I raced with Pat (Meyer) yesterday and knew he was a strong rider. He went off early. I caught his wheel, and we traded leads until I pulled away at the very end.”
Other area finishers included Mark Higgins from Tinley Park, Patrick Sullivan of Palos Heights, Matthew Stevenson of Evergreen Park and James Davis of Crete.
Chicago's Liz So took first in the Cat 3/4 Women's race. She edged out Meghan Lapeta of Downers Grove.
“My objective was to go out hard make a break and see if i could whittle it down to fewer ladies to help my chances," So said of her first win of the series after taking fourth Saturday in Geneva.
“It’s really hard and aggressive out there the competition is very fierce.”
Amber Bonarrigo of Homewood also competed in the race.
In the Masters 4/5 35-over race, St. John (Ind.) native Robert Murray took the top spot but attributed the win to the outstanding help he picked up from his team.
“This was a team victory," Murray said. "I couldn’t have done it without them. One of my teammates was pulling ahead of me so hard that in the last lap he blew a tire. I won, but this is a win for our team and our sponsors.”
Other area finishers included the trio of Brian McCarthy (Lockport), James Rolette (Tinley Park) and Michael Kelly (Chicago), who took eighth, ninth and 10th. All three race for the South Chicago Wheelmen.
Tim Waters of New Lenox took 13th, Patrick Sullivan of Palos Heights took 17th and Michael Rosenstiehl of Oak Forest placed 19th. Steve Feehery and Neal Caauwe, both of Homewood, and David Crownover of Flossmoor also finished the race.
Team Rolette: Tinley Park Father & Son
James Rolette has passed on his cycling talents to his son Trevor.
Trevor, entering his junior year of high school, took third place in the Cat 3 Men’s race that was won by Kevin Depasse in an exciting finish.
“Our team was doing well all race, and we thought we had them there at the end,” Trevor Rolette said. “But they got past us and won it.”
Trevor and his fellow South Chicago Wheelmen teammates provided a local rooting interest for spectators as fellow members, Shane Feehery (Homewood), Dan Solomon (Romeoville) and Michael Keller (Orland Hills) finished fourth, sixth and 10th.
James Rolette's performance Sunday showed his son, Trevor, that dad can still hang with his son out on the bike.
“I used to race with him when he was (level) 4," James Rolette said. "Now, he is a (level) 3, and I am very proud. But now I have bragging rights to come back at him with.”
As for Trevor, he owes everything to his father for getting him into the sport.
“He is how I got into it,” Trevor Rolette said. “I watched him. It looked like fun.”
Simon Says: He'll Take the Win
One of the more impressive feats of the day was seeing 53-year-old Wayne Simon win the Masters 1/2/3 Age 35-over race.
“It was a fun course, but not the type I typically do well in,” Simon said.
The Barrington native is more of an uphill climber. He knew he had a shot at winning thanks to some of the strong sprinters he had on his team.
“I saw everyone around me was hurting with five or six laps to go, so I took a chance and took off,” Simon said. “It wasn’t until there was a half-lap left that I realized I was going to win the race.”
Cory Hickman or Orland Park took eighth place in the race.
Equally as impressive as Simon was the performance turned in by Nichole Wansgard, who took first in the Women’s Pro & Cat 1/2/3 for the second day in a row.
Wansgard finished just ahead of Tiffany Pezzulo and Hsiao Mei-Yu.
“My teammates knew they would attack us,” Wansgard said. “We had the yellow jersey (representing leader of the overall race) and their help kept everything under control.”
Despite there being just 15 racers, the field was very competitive and had an international flavor with teams from Taiwan and Hong Kong competing. Wangsgard, who also took first on Saturday in Geneva, is off to a fast start in the classic.
She knows what it will take to win the overall title, so it is a matter of execution.
“I need to stay consistent and stay out of trouble,” Wangsgard said. “There was a crash (Saturday) and today and I was able to avoid them. If I stay healthy and time my sprints right, I will win this.”
