Hartley doubles up
Cyclist adds Pfarr title to Mayor’s Cup
Updated
BY MIKE JOHNSON
KENOSHA NEWS CORRESPONDENTIf you can make a grueling 150-lap, 30-mile points race in blanketing humidity look easy, well, there’s really no other superlatives that can describe your performance.
Such was the dominating form Chad Hartley displayed in winning the 16th annual Bob Pfarr Classic at the Washington Park Velodrome on Tuesday.
In his first Pfarr appearance, Hartley accomplished the feat of winning the Pfarr and the Mayor’s Cup, the Velodrome’s two signatures points races, in the same year. The last racer to do that was Jeff Senn, who accomplished the feat in 2001 and also in 1999.
“I know I’m definitely one of the better track racers,” said Hartley, 29. “There’s a couple accolades that you can get during the year to really prove that, so I think this year I’ve gotten two.”
Hartley, who lives in Fox Point and races professionally for Kenda Pro Cycling, said his endurance was buoyed by competing in Super Week. That was apparent after the race when he looked more like he’d walked a dog 15 blocks than raced 30 miles.
“The Bob Pfarr’s a long, long track race, and so I think the long, long (races) at Super Week definitely helped me tonight,” Hartley said.
Hartley cruised to victory with 48 points and two laps on the field. David Moyer and defending Pfarr champion Alex Wieseler also had two laps on the field, with Moyer earning 22 points to place second and Wieseler scoring 16 to finish third.
Andrew Armstrong tallied 34 points and one lap on the field for a fourth-place showing, while Liam Donoghue, the runner-up in this year’s Mayor’s Cup, was fifth with 14 points and a lap on the field.
Racers are awarded points on each sprint lap, with five points going to first, three to second, two to third and one to fourth. Double points were awarded on the 50th, 100th and final laps.
Previously, the Pfarr held sprints every five laps, but this year the format was changed to every 10 laps in an effort to keep the fastest racers from racking up points and make the race more competitive.
But that didn’t slow down Hartley, Moyer and Wieseler, who formed a three-man break with 120 laps still remaining and stayed ahead of the field the rest of the way. Hartley knew he’d have to join their break with Moyer being helped by his XXX Racing teammates and Wieseler being assisted by his IS Corp squad.
“I knew IS Corp would be blocking for Wieseler and the XXX guys would be blocking (for Moyer),” Hartley said. “I didn’t necessarily want to do it that early, but when the opportunity comes up, you just go for it.”
That Hartley did, racking up points and putting the race out of reach with plenty of laps to go.
“Alex Wieseler, he brought his boys with him, just like he did at the Mayor’s Cup,” said Kenosha native and longtime Velodrome racer Rob Springer. “But Chad knows that tactic. He’s faced those type of odds as a professional racing Super Week, and he’s come out ahead.
“So he knows how to play his cards.”
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