This was not the "smooth" roads of Kansas, that's for sure! The 2019 Crusher "enhanced gravel experience" was just as its name implies. At 4:45 am Jeff Abitz crawled out of his tent, packed everything up, road his mountain bike to the edge of the Copper Harbor MI Trails End Campground, and lined up for the 6:00 am start. Riders had 36 hours to ride/hike 232 miles to make it to the finish in Marquette MI. The course was mostly gravel/sand roads, logging roads, ORV trails, and a steep climb up Mount Arvon. The closer the finish, the more challenging it got. Darker, wetter, swampier, sandier and buggier. Mosquito Gulch? I have blocked that from my memory. And cell phone service? Forget about it. After 5 checkpoints, (only) two aid stations, and 19 hours, 48 minutes, Jeff Abitz crossed the finish in 26th (of abut 149) place. His mission of achieving a lifetime membership to the Triple Crown (details below) Hall of Pain was complete. Much thanks to Diablo's Eddie Kolka (Jeff's aid station support) and Steve Schrek, who provided neutral bicycle service support to dozens of riders. Also thank you to Lora Glasel and Taylor who helped this beaten down "old man" at the finish. For those who wanted to experience "enhanced gravel" without the resulting week long "fatique hangover", there was the 30 mile course. crushergravel.com/30-mile/ Sally Lester, Macy Lester, and Megan Lester all completed the distance. Cyclocross magazine did a great article on the event: www.cxmagazine.com/gravel-race-2019-crusher-michigan-upper-peninsula?fbclid=IwAR0VMUAQS4_vEH4P_0YcZVrwowAt6CyzKUSrQEwKdvpltCadcjy6Zic5Z7A   For most this was a pass (green dot) or fail (red dot) event.  Triple Crown Complete! crushergravel.com/details/triple-crown/ - Jabitz
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 July 21, 2019 Minooka Park - Waukesha, WI wors.org/schedule/coffee-bean/ Presented by the Colectivo Mountain Bike Team The younger Diablos continue to represent the team week after week in the states largest mountain bike racing series.
This week they took to climbing the steep moraines, bermed single track, and flat out fast stretches of Minooka Park. Participating Diablos include: wors.org/results/ Junior (14 and under) Male 9 to 10: Vincent Dipiazza Cat 3 (Citizen) Male 11 to 14: Andrew Dipiazza – 4th Gabriel Rogaczewski Samuel Dipiazza July 18-19, 2019 Door County WI http://www.doorcountytriathlon.com/ 1/4 mile swim, 18 miles bike, 3.1 mile run Diablo triathlon extraordinaire Scot Rasich just qualified for the 2020 USA Triathlon Nationals! Finishing 3rd out of 32 in his age (41 out 809 overall) put him in the top 10% of his age group to qualify. Key facts of the race: - Fasted Swim in age, -18 mile bike, averaging 23.6 miles per hour (only being passed by the eventual winner) - Passed 110 athletes - Ran the 5K at 7:48 per mile pace. Scot's next races are Traverse City Michigan (8/25) and Ironman Wisconsin (9/8).   - Jabitz
 Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fast cyclist of them all ... or in Wisconsin, at least?
As it turns out, a few Diablo's can lay stake to this claim, and many other posted solid finishes in Fitchburg and New Glarus.  Tour of America's Dairyland is one of the most well-known cycling events in the United States and many Diablo's had tremendous results.
 Sanctioned as USA Cycling’s Midwest Regional Mountain Bike Championship for Cross-country (XC), Short Track (STXC), Dual Slalom and Enduro. Thr WORS Cup offered both Championship and Non-Championship competition for all ages and levels of experience. This three day event, (one practice day, two days of competition), drew racers from around the midwest. There were championships to be had! worscup.com/ Participating Diablos (wide angle podium results included): Cross Country: Junior Female (Age) 11: Kylie Lester- 2nd Junior Male 9: Vincent Dipiazza – 4th, 6th overall 11: Andrew Dipiazza – 2nd 13: Gabriel Rogaczewski – 3rd Samuel Dipiazza – 5th Hunter Lester Cat 3 Male 40 to 44: Mike Lester Cat 2 Male 50 to 54: Jeff Abitz – 1st, 7th overall Cat 1 Junior Male 17 to 18: Ethan Janssen Short Track: Amateur Female 9 to 16: Kylie Lester Amateur Male 9 to 14: Gabriel Rogaczewski Hunter Lester Samuel Dipiazza 40 to 49: Mike Lester Cat 1 Male 15 to18: Ethan Janssen KMC Enduro: 15 to 18: Ethan Janssen - 3rd, 5th overall Full results: worscup.com/results/  - Jabitz
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