Tour of the Battenkill victors set themselves apart
CAMBRIDGE -- When she posed for her winner's photo on the steps of the Rice Mansion Inn, Anna Barensfeld decided to spray her soda bottle toward those assembled before giving runner-up Silke Wunderwald a good dousing.
The two had shared so much during the Tour of the Battenkill women's pro/category 1 bicycle race Saturday, it seemed only fitting.
Barensfeld, 27, of Brookline, Mass., edged Wunderwald after a furious sprint. Both were credited with finishing the 62-mile course in 3 hours, 8 minutes, 33 seconds. Wunderwald said the pair broke off from the pack at Stage Road, about 6 1/2 miles before the finish on the course's last dirt section.
"I knew it needed to happen then," Barensfeld said. "Everybody was just packed together in a huge bunch. Personally, I wanted to attack before the finish because I didn't want to be subject to the Kenda-trained sprint."
Barensfeld was referring to the fact that Wunderwald was part of Team Kenda, and there appeared to be several of her teammates in that tight pack.
Both said they actually worked together once they broke off from the pack, figuring they had more in their tanks than their competitors.
"The last four miles, we did not want to leave it to chance," Barensfeld said of their cooperation. "(Wunderwald) said, ‘Let's not play cat and mouse the last 2 kilometers,' and I said, ‘yeah.' "
Barensfeld, who earned $475 for the victory, has been concentrating more on cyclocross, but tuned up for the Tour of the Battenkill with some stage races in Texas and a victory in the Morgantown (W.V.) Road Race on April 4.
"This is the first big race of the year for me. It's a great event. Thanks to the towns for supporting it," Barensfeld said.
In the men's pro/category 1 race, it took longer to separate the day's top riders, but when they did, Brian Jensen, of Lawrence, Kan., emerged victorious. Jensen, 34 and originally from Denmark, is a former full-time professional racer who now works as an engineer for Tradewind Energy.
He's doing a fine job harnessing his own energy until he needs it, as Jensen earned his second victory to go along with two seconds in four races this year. He also won $475 for his efforts.
Jensen was in a lead pack of about 45 riders with 17 miles to go until his teammate, Steve Tilford, broke off with four others. Jensen said that helped him immensely.
"With him up in front, I just had to make sure no one went up there to him without me," said Jensen, who caught up with the lead group shortly thereafter following a tough climb.
"There was no reason for me to jump, I knew I had a good sprint, and then it came down to that last 300 meters," Jensen said.
Jensen just beat out Daniel Zmolik, of Queens, with William Dugan of Santa Barbara, Calif., in third.
NOTES: Three local cyclists earned second-place finishes: Argyle's Paul Fronhofer in the category 4 men's black, Lake George's Joe Paterson in the category 5 45+ blue and Queensbury's Robert Gover in the category 5 45+ black. ... It was a good day for the Big Apple, as nine winners hailed from within the five boroughs.
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