July 9, 2012 at 4:27 p.m.
Successful race weekend
Large rider count for Hodag BMX Club tripleheader
Successful race weekend
The club had 116 riders on Saturday for the Redline Cup qualifier and the Race For Life, which was postponed because of severe weather Friday night. Sunday, 168 riders showed up for the Wisconsin state qualifier at West Park.
"We had a good rider count, the races were good and the weather held for us this weekend. We were very pleased," Hodag BMX Club president Brian Sturtevant said.
A few local riders stood out. Logan Miller, Bryce Dulin and Raven Sturtevant, all of Rhinelander, swept all three events competing against riders from across the state. Miller earned his eighth overall victory Sunday, graduating from novice to intermediate classification.
Eagle River's Skyler Walkowski had a busy weekend. He raced all three events on his standard bike and his cruiser bike, placing no lower than second in any event. Rhinelander expert rider Coty Skinner was back on the bike for the first time since being sidelined with a knee injury in March.
In total, over 20 riders from the Rhinelander and Eagle River areas were part of Saturday's field.
"In terms of our local riders, they really did well," Sturtevant said. "They all raced with good determination and great sportsmanship. I was real proud of them."
Friday's Race For Life ended before it ever started as sirens blared for a thunderstorm that prompted a tornado warning in central Oneida County. Riders were already present, but track officials were well aware of the situation and made the call to postpone the race before the storm - which never dropped a tornado, but produced hail, heavy rain and dangerous lightning - made it to Rhinelander.
"We had the sirens go off (for a severe thunderstorm warning) before it was much more chaotic," Sturtevant said.
"As soon as the sirens started going off, the announcer was right on top of it and let them know what it meant. Once they came in with the official tornado warning ... we dropped the gate, which officially starts the race, so we could postpone it to the following day. That allowed people to go home safe."
That bumped the Race for Life to Saturday prior to the start of the Redline Cup. Under USABMX regulations, the club shortened the Race for Life to a single one-lap moto in each class, so that the Race for Life riders were not at a disadvantage when the Redline Cup qualifier began.
The club raised $2,089 for the Leukemia and Lymphomas Society in this year's Race for Life, surpassing the $2,000 goal required to keep double-point classification for next year's event. The club recognized David Houg and Raven Sturtevant for the sponsorships they received. Houg had 35 sponsors for the race, raising $275. Raven Sturtevant raised $420 with the sponsorships she collected.
Brian Sturtevant said the out of town riders he spoke with enjoyed their experience at the track.
"We had a lot of great comments on the condition of the track and the obstacles that are on it," he said.
Full results from the weekend were not provided before deadline. Look for the results in a future issue of the River News.
The club will hold races Monday and Friday nights through the remainder of the summer and on Friday nights during the month of September.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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