– Ann Beckett/Tribune-Courier||(Above) Wood-N-Wave team members cross the canal bridge in LBL.

Wood-N-Wave racing for first

Many team
members ranked
1st in area

By Ann Beckett
Tribune-Courier Sports Reporter

GRAND RIVERS –Team Wood-N-Wave is on a quest to bring the TBRA (Tennessee Bicyle Racing Association) Mountain Bike Club of the Year trophy back home after winning the award in 2008 and coming in a close second to the Scenic City Velo Team from Chattanooga, Tennessee last year.

Every Tuesday and Thursday team members gather at the Wood-N-Wave bike shop in Grand Rivers and head out to the Canal Loop for training rides together. Most team members ride on their own many other times throughout the week.

Team Wood-N-Wave is currently in first place with the Scenic City Velo team they lost to last season right behind them in second.

The race season really gets rolling in July with races in Chattanooga, Gallatin and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The racing season ends November 13th.

Several team members are currently ranked in the top ten nearing the mid-way point in the season. Racers ride in Category 1 which is three laps of a course, Category 2 is two laps and Category 3 is one lap.

Currently in the top ten:
 Men Cat 1 19-29
4th Taylor Ladd, Paducah
8th Kevin Bogard, Nashville
 Men Cat 1 40+
10th Mark Dodson, Paducah
 Men Cat 2 19-29
1st Garrett Gordon, Owensboro
3rd Dustin Burkeen, Benton
 Men Cat 3 19-29
3rd Nathan Hargrove, Wickliffe
9th Marshall Shipp, Indiana
 Men 50+ Combined
5th Gary Collins, Murray
8th Ken Story, Calvert City
 Junior 15+
1st Carson Beckett, Benton
4th Nick Gillespie, Benton
 Clydesdale
3rd Steve Jeffords, Hopkinsville
 Single Speed
3rd Kevin Bohanon
7th Andrew Leonard, Clarksville
8th Phillip Yopp, Paducah
 Women Pro 1
1st Kiersta Tucker, Custer
Women Cat 2 19-29
1st Hailey Kell, Calvert City
Women Cat 3
2nd Kaye Story, Calvert City

Three Team Wood-N-Wave riders are currently ranked first in the state of Kentucky according to USA Cycling.

They are Taylor Ladd in Men Cat 1, Garrett Gordon in Men Cat 2 and Carson Beckett in the Junior division.

Whether you ride a bike or not, you’ve heard of the Tour de France which gets underway July 3rd.

The 97th Tour de France begins in Rotterdam, Netherlands and ends 21 days of racing later on July 25th at the famous Champs-Elyse`es in Paris, France.

Lance Armstrong will be on a quest to win his 8th Tour de France alongside eight other riders on Team Radio Shack.