Mt. Crescent, Iowa -

The Team Kaos state criterium champion (Cat. III) won his age group (40-44) and finished 22nd overall at the 14th annual Beer & Bagel Run at Mt. Crescent, Iowa.

Brackenbury, 43, covered the challenging three-mile course in 25 minutes and 59 seconds. Jared Dittman of Omaha won the race overall in 20:57.

"I'm not a fast runner, but I credit cycling with giving me the low-gear, hill-climbing power," Brackenbury said. "I missed third overall in the masters by 11 seconds. The finish was at the bottom of a huge downhill and they descended better than me."

Brackenbury won his age group by nearly two minutes by successfully navigating the singletrack, off-road trail sections that traversed steep hills, tall grass, wooded areas and open fields.

Bellevue, Neb. - Team Kaos' Theresa Blume scored a third-place finish on the opening day of the Nebraska Cyclocross Series Saturday.

Blume finished behind Sydney Brown of Lincoln Plating and Ciao Baby's Janna Vavra in the women's open race. The 45-minute race was held on Blume's "home" course of Bellevue, where she and her husband, Ted, live.

Ted Blume finished 14th in the Masters 35+/45+ race that was won by Thomas Price of Trek KC.

The second weekend of racing in the Nebraska Cyclocross Series is Nov. 18-19 at Pioneers Park in Lincoln.

Ashland, Neb. -

Their team (“The Jimmy Legs”) completed the race in six hours, 49 minutes and 15 seconds, which placed them third in the National Guard two-person team division and seventh overall of 53 two- and four-person teams.

“We were in second in the overall two-man division heading into the final challenge, which involved a double river crossing on foot, sometimes swimming, across the frigid Platte River,” Blake said. “Unfortunately, finding the final flag proved difficult and we figure we lost at least a half-hour looking for it."

The race started and finished at Camp Ashland, with multiple checkpoints along the course. Checkpoints are mandatory and a 30-minute time penalty was assessed for every missed checkpoint.

The teams crossed the Platte River at the start of the race, followed by a jog through the woods and kayaking on a lake. Competitors also negotiated two inflatable obstacle courses. In all, they ran six about miles, biked 32 miles and kayaked about a half mile.

The Backwoods Wild Hares team won the race overall, finishing in 5:55:49.

Above: James Blake competes in a cycling leg of the race.
Photo by All-Star Sports Photography.

Here is the schedule of racing:

Saturday:
Noon: Men 4 Beginner, Junior Men - 30 min.
12:45 p.m.: Women (Open), Junior Women - 30 min
1:45 p.m.: Men 3 & Men 4 - 45 min.
2:45 p.m.: Men Masters 35+/45+ - 45 min.
3:45 p.m.: Men 1/2/3 - 60 min.

Sunday:
10 a.m.: Men Masters 35+/45+ - 45 min
11 a.m.: Junior Women, Women (Open) - 30 min.
11:45 a.m.: Men 3 & 4 - 45 min.
12:45 p.m.: Men 4 Beginner, Junior Men - 30 min.
1:30 p.m.: Men 1/2/3 - 60 min.

Team Kaos' Marie Neville is the five-time (2001-2005) defending state women's cyclocross champion.

The sixth annual Nebraska Cyclocross Series is sponsored by the Omaha Velo Club, along with River City Hockey and Cycling, the TREK Store of Omaha, Highgear Bicycle Store of Omaha, The Bike Way and California Taco.