June 20th: Greenbush Road Race

Travelling up Highway 57 to Greenbush for Stage 5 of the Tour of America's Dairyland presented by Wisconsin Marketing Board, you encountered dairy farm after dairy farm, many worn from generations of toil and productivity. ToAD promotes the genuine validity of chocolate milk as a recovery drink but witnessing the true root of the product in the Wisconsin Dairy Farm Families living and work spaces was a humbling bonus this morning, among hazy skies. Amateur and Pro Cycling tours alike have seen their most unfortunate demise among sponsor abandonment over the years, and we at Tour of America's Dairyland are grateful to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for their intense support of the sport of cycling.

Laura Van Gilder and her Team Mushroom teammates are on track to pay extra baggage on their way out of town with all the primes and cow print jerseys they've acquired.and fans are loving every splotch of it. For much of the day's Road Race in Greenbush, the field was sitting together until one rider, Van Gilder, launched off the front, leaving the field in a frantic chase in the final stretch. Van Gilder deservedly took home another win with ease along with another photo opp on the top podium spot in the Becker Law Pink and White Overall Jersey. Cari Higgins (Peanut Butter & Company) and Starla Teddergreen (Vanderkitten-Focus) rounded out the podium, with Teddergreen climbing back in the coveted Oarsman Capital Amateur Cat 2 Leaders Jersey, previously worn by Anne Grabowski (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder).

All riders peppered the humid day with comments of satisfaction for the diverse course of varying elevations and beauty, including challenging inclines and Kettles through the magnificent Kettle Moraine State Forest.

A six-then seven-man break developed midway thru the 80-mile race, with multiple unsuccessful attacks. For the effort, recognition is mandatory - Rudy Napolitano (MonsterMedia), Thomas Soladay (Kelly Benefits Strategies), John Minturn (Stan's No Tubes/AXA Equitable), Chad Hartley (Kenda 5-hour Energy p/b Geargrinder), Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia), Serghei Tvetcov (AeroCat), and Tristan Schouten (ISCorp).

Four or five chasers ensued but with one lap of the course to go, Cantwell set things ablaze, bringing on a three minute gap to the field. Almost home, Napolitano flew off the front to bring about a 10-second cushion. A huge gamble, which didn't quite stick as he was caught at the line. An enormous effort and one that brought a huge spark to the race, Napolitano landed in 4th, with Cantwell floating in effortlessly for the win. Tvetcov, pushing hard out of the saddle, landed in second with Hartley rounding out the final three.

Mellow Mushroom and Aerocat remain at the top of the 5-hour Energy Team Competition standings.

Tour of America's Dairyland resumes tomorrow at the new, highly technical Schlitz Park Criterium course in Downtown Milwaukee before heading to Ripon for a non-aero Time Trial on Wednesday, followed by four more crits, with nearly $15,000 up for grabs in Pro Men primes at the ISCorp Downer Classic on Saturday and Madison Capital Criterium on Sunday.

View previous race reports in the archive.