Simo Klimscheffskij memorial race 2015
The Simo Klimscheffskij memorial race opened the Skoda Maantiecup last weekend in Turku, Finland. Fincycling had a 6 man strong team for the race consisting of; Joel Bergman, Simo Terävä, Jaakko Hänninen, Aku Keloneva, Ville Hirvenoja and Jonas Nordström.
The start for Simo Klimscheffskij memorial race would be at around 16.20 local time. Just after mid-day the team gathered in Turku to prepare for the race, first by having lunch and then setting up the bikes and eventually warming-up for the race.
Proper lunch and discussion about the upcoming race
The KTM Revelator race ready on top of the team car
Further race tactics discussed
Preparation of in-race nutrition
Final gear tuning before warm-up
Team from left, Terävä, Keloneva, Bergman, Hirvenoja, Nordström and Hänninen
Keeping it together - together
Final race preparations before start
Cyclists lining up for the start
Waiting for the race to start
Aku and Jaakko just minutes before start. All smiles?
Porvoon Akilles and Fincycling colors at the front
Jonas, Aku, Jaakko, Simo, Ville and Joel
The race started a little late and the sun had given way to clouds and the wind had picked up a bit. Fortunately no rain though. There was a crash at the very beginning of the race, with no Fincycling cyclists involved. The race itself did not offer very much tactics-wise. A few breakaway attempts were closed down, usually within a lap or two. It was clear that the race would finish with a bunch sprint that was eventually won by Ben Carman from TWD Länken. The race route proved to be hard for some of the Fincycling riders. Despite this, 4 of the guys finished with the main group ending up having the same time as the winner. There had also been a small crash just before the finishing climb, just in front of the Fincycling riders, leaving them out from the race winning moves.
No crosswinds this time on the "backside" of the route kept the group together
Heading into the last lap there was an attack by Aleksi Hänninen (Porvoon Akilles)
Jaakko Hänninen moving up
Roope Nurmi (TWL) celebrating the team victory
Simo Terävä crossing the finish line
Joel Bergman crossing the finish line just seconds later
Jaakko Hänninen having barely avoided the crash before the finish crossing the finish line
Joel Bergman happy after the race
Aku and Joel enjoying refreshments after the race
Mika Vauhkonen and Jaakko Hänninen discussing the race
M-18 class podium Joel Bergman (3rd), Erik Relanto (1st) and Simo Terävä (2nd)
Elite podium, Sami Tiainen (3rd), Ben Carman (1st) and Roope Nurmi (2nd)
After the race you could sense there was a divided group of cyclists, with both those who were pleased with the day and those who weren't. It was clear that the TS Kortteliajot the next day would be hard. The full result list from "Simon muistoajot" can be found here.
To keep the posts somewhat readable, the TS Kortteliajot race report will follow in another post. Below you'll find all the other pictures from the Simo Klimscheffskij memorial ride taken by me:
