June 10 – Team Danbury Audi’s David Bailey picked up his third straight podium finish at the Connecticut State Criterium Championships, held this weekend at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain. With a third place in the 50+ class, Bailey completes the career medal “Grand Slam”, adding Bronze to his 45+ Gold in 2012 and 45+ Silver in 2011.

September 18 – Max Lippolis’ impressive run of race performances continued this past weekend as he led the Team Danbury Audi contingent at the White Plains Criterium. Riding in the Masters 40+ class, Lippolis was second only to John Leohner in the 36 rider class. He backed up his 2nd place with a 6th in Pro 1-2-3. Keep up the good riding!

August 29 – Max Lipolis continued his impressive summer of performances with a win at last weekend’s CCNS Kermis race in East Hartford, Conn. The first annual event, contested in and around Rentschler Field, the former air field and home of the University of Connecticut Huskies Football team, and modeled after a type of short road circuit racing popular in Belgium.

The win caps what has been a successful summer of racing so far for the Pound Ridge, N.Y. rider, which included Top 10 finishes in class at the Tour of Medford (N.J.) in June, the Pawling (N.Y.) Road Race and Capital Region (N.Y.) Road Race in July and the Tour de Fair Haven (N.J.) earlier this month.

July 9 – Team Danbury Audi continued to shine this past weekend at the New Britain Criterium/ CT Masters State Championships at Walnut Park in New Britain. The event was highlighted by Dorothy Ramsey’s photo-finish win in Woman Category 3-4 and David Bailey’s close second place in Category 4 Men. Bailey and TDA teammate Abdul Kabia also collected Top 5 finishes in the 20-miler for Masters 45+.

Complete results are available here.

Max Lipolis of Team Danbury Audi won another tough race with a stacked field of some of the best Master’s sprinters in New England. It was a fierce pace right from lap 1 of this 25 lap race as riders clamored to get away from the field. Max joined a break up the road of 7 other guys and was able to not only hold this break until the end but sprint away and win against some very talented riders. This comes on the heels of Max’s win at New Britian 2 weeks ago. Way to go Max! Your team congratulates you on another successful weekend for Team Danbury Audi!

Team Danbury Audi Takes Home Gold at the Connecticut State Criterium Championships

Max Lippolis of Team Danbury Audi beat an impressive field to take home a stunning victory at this past weekend’s CT State Criterium championships in the men’s 35+ field.  Supported by his fellow team mates, Max was able to edge away from the field in the final moments of the race to take home first place in Saturday’s event.  Held every year in New Britain Connecticut, the race attracts top riders from all over New England and serves as the Connecticut State championship race for criteriums.  Criteriums are different from road races in that they are held on short courses of usually a mile or less where the riders compete over the course of multiple laps.  We all extend our congratulations to Max for this impressive win and to all the other Team Danbury Audi members who also posted strong results this weekend.

April 29, 2012

Team Danbury Audi shows up in force for their first benefit ride of the season.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation unites, inspires and empowers people affected by cancer. And Team Danbury Audi came out to help support this important cause. The team gathered early in the morning at Greenwich High School and rode 20 miles out to the start of the event in Pound Ridge, NY completed the 26 mile hilly course, stayed and socialized with the various ride participants afterward and then rode 20 miles back to Greenwich.

The Team Danbury Audi car was on hand at the start of the event to provide bike maintenance assistance to those who needed it by our own Max Lippolis who owns The Travelling Bike Shop, a concierge bike service specializing in high end bike tune ups.

16 members of Team Danbury Audi showed up for this event, including our 3 women, and it was a great way for us to get together in a fun environment and do some training for the upcoming season. Our next charitable cause will be the Bloomin Metric in Westport on May 20th.

We’re proud share this year’s Team Danbury Audi team spot. Watch it now, and share!

All thanks to a strong performance by Carl Reglar and the support of his team including Matt Armstrong, Mike Allaire, Turgut Balikci, Lorenzo Grippo, Ed Scheetz, Morris Sachs, Joe Bitetto, Jim Escobar, Kurt Anderson and Nelson Macyr

The wind ripped apart the field, with some of the stronger racers tossing buckets of hurt on everyone else. Matt Armstrong got out for an early 8 lap solo lead setting up team mate Carl Reglar to come up the road and join him. And in fact that’s just what happened. Reglar took the win and has Team Danbury Audi currently atop the team standings. Matt Armstrong, leading the breakaway pack in this photo, finished 4th after exhausting himself to get his team mate the win.

The 1st Annual Team Danbury Audi End of Season Dinner was held at the Capital Grille in Stamford. Carl Reglar and Dominique Desmonts were awarded MVP honors by team owner Josh Weeks who paid tribute to the riders.

“This is an incredible group of men,” beamed Weeks. “Ten gold and six silver medals in their first season is simply remarkable. Everyone at Danbury Audi is excited for the 2011 season.”

Team captain Matt Armstrong announced that new riders would be joining the squad next season and was very excited about the additions. “We’re going to be even stronger than this year,” said Armstrong. “A lot of excellent riders saw what we have going on here and wanted to be part of it. Like his dealership, Josh is building something special and that kind of success attracts the best.”

The Site of Team Danbury Audi’s most commanding performance of the year. Alex Weil picked up his first win of the season in the Men’s 30+ category and finished second overall out of a total field of three hundred and twenty finishers. Morris Sachs also claimed his first victory of the year, topping the podium in the Men’s 50+.

Not far behind were teammates Joe Bitetto who finished second in the Men’s 50+ (twenty fifth overall), Turgut Balikci who finished fourth in the Men’s 50+ (twenty ninth overall), Matt Armstrong who finished fourteenth in the Men’s 40+ (twenty second overall), and Dominique Desmonts who claimed the sixteenth spot in the Men’s 40+ (twenty seventh overall).

The latest victories bring Team Danbury Audi’s medal count to 16 for the season including 10 Gold and 6 Silver, an incredible showing for any inaugural year.

“I’m so proud of the guys,” beamed team captain Matt Armstrong. “Sixteen podiums is an amazing feat when you consider the level of talent and established teams we compete against.”

While Dominique Desmonts was tearing up the hills and taking home the gold in Peekskill on September 12, three other members of Team Danbury Audi were doing a little climbing of their own in the Nancy Morgenstern Memorial Fall Bear Mountain Road Race in Bear Mountain, NY.

Doug O’Day, Carl Reglar and Ed Scheetz tackled the climb and showed the grit that is making Team Danbury Audi’s inaugural season one for the ages. Doug place 8th in the Cat 5B, Ed placed 23rd (out of 74 riders) in the Cat 4B and Carl missed another first place victory by one second in the Masters 40+.

The season may be winding down, but there are no signs of the team slowing down with the Tour de Greenwich just around the corner.

Dominique Desmonts picked up his third mountain win of the season and missed a fourth gold by just 16 seconds when he competed in the Chain Stretcher Mountain Bike Race September 12 and the UCI World Cup Race August 29. Dominique filed the following reports:

UCI World Cup

“I raced the Windham, NY UCI World Cup Race this past Sunday. I watched how international pros do it on Saturday – AMAZING! It was we normal folks’ turn Sunday on the same course. I raced my usual Cat 2 40-49 class with about 25-30 others. Three laps of a 5 km loop that climbed up 3/4 of the mountain for the first 3k, then dropped back down to the finish. Not long, but tough. My lap times were 25 min. compared to 17 for the pro winner, and they did 6!

I knew I was doing well and was at least 3rd or 2nd, but with all the other classes on the course it was hard to tell. I ended up only 16 seconds off first, but because it was such a twisty rack I did not know I was so close. I earned a silver medal. Don and Nick Catlin and Mike Smallidge and family were a great cheering section. And the kit continues to draw attention as several people stopped to chat about Danbury Audi.”

Chain Stretcher Mountain Bike Race

“I came out on top yesterday in the Chain Stretcher Mountain Bike Race held at Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill, NY.

My Cat 2 40-44 age group had about 25 starters. I finished the 14-mile race (two 7 mile laps) in 1:29, 30 seconds over second place. A very technical course separated true mountain bikers from those that stay mostly on the road. It was that road fitness however garnered from the Wednesday night ride with the Team that let me prevail, I am sure of it.”

Dominique Desmonts took to the hills once again and powered his way to the top of another mountain bike podium. The mountain specialist won the 44-49 Cat 2 Class in the Taconic 909 Challenge, part of the Campmor H2H Race Series.

Desmonts bested 30 other riders in the hilly 17-mile race, finishing a minute twenty ahead of the pack in a winning time of 1:34:27. It was a fantastic individual effort that earned Team Danbury Audi its sixth victory of the season.

“I’m truly amazed by the passion our riders have for the sport,” said team owner Josh Weeks. “People are buzzing about the team and everyone here at Danbury Audi is feeding off that energy. I am so proud of both teams.”

It was another great showing for Team Danbury Audi in the Tokeneke Classic. The annual New England Regional Championship Road Race in Barkhamsted, CT was held on Sunday, August 8th. Carl Reglar filed the following report:

“Tokeneke is a very challenging course, and is always a well-run race. Alex Weil and I competed in the Masters 35+ and Joe Bitetto rode the Masters 45+. Don Catlin, who is still injured, was handing up water (Thanks Don!), and his son Nicholas rode the Junior race and came in fifth!

Alex and I stayed near the front for the first three laps on the very lumpy course. After a series of attacks, it was clear that I was a marked man and the field would not let me get away; a group of 3 finally got away near the end of the first lap. After my repeated efforts, the field slowed and Alex attacked and tried to bridge to the break with another rider but the other rider couldn’t keep up so Alex ended up chasing the break by himself. The pack caught Alex on the steepest part of the 1.8-mile climb that we did 3 times. Having exhausted himself chasing the break alone, Alex couldn’t hang on as we went by. Since Alex was ahead of the pack I got to sit-in and save my energy for the final lap. The pace was pretty high for the last lap with lots of attacks. When we reached the 1.8-mile finishing climb the pack exploded and it was pure survival to the finish. Starting the climb there were 4 off the front. I ended up catching 1 of the 4 to finish in 4th place, 1:22 behind the winner.”

On Saturday, August 7th, Dominique Desmonts took the top spot in the 40-49 Cat 2 Class in the Norcross Scurry Mountain Bike Race in Ashford, CT. He started in sixth position and climbed his way to first, finishing two-and-a-half minutes ahead of the field in a time of 1:42:40. It’s his first win of the season and the fifth overall for Team Danbury Audi.

The race is part of the Northeast Root 66 XC Race Series, which is in its seventh season. The 16.5-mile race is run on a 5.5-mile loop with a fair amount of climbing, twisting single track and challenging rock wall crossings.

“Dom is a superb off-road competitor as witnessed by his two-and-a-half minute victory. His win was the perfect start to a great weekend of racing for us,” said team captain Matt Armstrong. On Sunday, August 8th, other members of the team were in Barkhamsted, CT racing in the Tokeneke Classic.

The 30-second spot was shot on location at Lime Rock Race Track and features the incredible Audi R8. It was written and art directed by in Norwalk, and produced and directed by 24FPS Productions in NYC. “We are amazed by Danbury Audi’s commitment to the Cycling Team Program,” said Joe Sequenzia, founder of Milk. “No other local car dealer would have the vision to do something this big. But that’s what sets Danbury Audi apart. They really understand how to build a brand.”

On Sunday, July 11, Team Danbury Audi ascended to the top of its fourth podium in what has been a remarkable inaugural season. Matthew Slossburg, Dominique Desmonts, Joe Bitetto, Ed Scheetz, Carl Reglar, and even Donald Catlin’s son Nicolas showed what Danbury Audi teamwork is all about in the grueling Pawling Mountain Road Race. Matt and Dominique outpaced nearly half the field in the 60-mile 3-4 Men’s Race, and Nicolas also impressed in the 40-mile Junior Boys.

The highlight of the day came when Joe, Ed and Carl raced together and Carl earned his fourth win of the year in the Masters 45+.

Carl filed this report: “The Pawling Mountain Road Race replaced Union Vale on the race calendar this year. Union Vale was one of my favorite races, it was well organized, had an excellent course, and super competition. It turned out that Pawling had all of these as well. At the start I lined up with Ed and Joe. The race was two, twenty-mile laps, of a very hilly course. The first lap wasn’t that fast since everyone knew that all the fireworks would go off on the second lap.

There were two hills each lap. My plan was to attack on the first hill on the second lap, get a small group together and then try to solo away on the last hill, which was around 5 miles from the finish. On the second lap I attacked on the first hill and found myself alone at the top. It was 14 miles to the finish, a little further than I wanted to go alone but I was feeling good so I put my head down and ended up winning by 40 seconds.

Recently injured Danbury Audi cyclist Don Catlin was near the finish line cheering – Don was at the feed zone during the race handing up water. I know we all wish Don a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the back as soon as possible.”

It was a hot, humid day Sunday, June 27 for the annual running of the Keith Berger Memorial Criterium in East Hartford, CT. But that didn’t stop Donald Catlin and Turgut Balikci from racing hard and posting respectable times against a tough field. Donald posted this exciting report on their performance.

“I entered two races, the Category 3 and the Masters 40+ with Turgut.

First race started off with 51 starters. The legs felt really good so I tried to get into four breaks, twice bringing the field with me. With seven laps to go there was a second prime on the line with one rider up the road solo and another rider a little ways ahead of him. So I took a huge flyer, caught the solo rider then quickly lifted my effort to catch the next one. I chased him until four laps to go and still just 15 feet back! I checked the field, found my spot and managed to get in line for the sprint and finished up in twelfth.

The second race started off with 68 riders. The start was very fast and in the first four laps a break of twelve was away. Looking around at who was left in the main group I thought we could get it back! To no avail not enough organization and really big guns up the road. Turgut rolled up next to me as asked, “Don what are we going to do?” I responded, “Chase!” At that time I was certain it was over. Well funny thing, the pace went way up and we found our legs again. We stuck it out for the sprint and I finished I twenty-fourth and Turgut finished thirty-seventh out of the 63 riders that managed to compete the race.”

Overall, not a bad day. Fifty-five miles of racing in hot humid weather! The team next races July 11 in the Pawling Road Race in Pawling, NY.

The 14th Annual Housatonic Hills Road Race was held on June 20th and as it has during its inaugural season, Team Danbury Audi made an impressive showing. Not only was Danbury Audi a race sponsor, it was the principle sponsor of the new winners jersey.

The entire Team roster was in competition with six riders posting excellent times thanks to the support of their teammates. Doug O’Day (27-mile Cat 5), Matthew Slossberg (54-mile Masters Men 35+), Turgut Balikci (54-mile Masters Men 55+), Matt Armstrong, Ed Scheetz and Carl Reglar (54-mile Masters Men 45+) were all in the mix with Reglar finishing a strong 2nd in the 45+ field.

“I’m so proud of how well the guys represented the brand this weekend,” said Team Danbury Audi owner Josh Weeks. “It was our first time sponsoring the race and the results and exposure exceeded our expectations.”

The team’s next official race is the Keith Berger Memorial Criterium June 27 in Hartford, CT.

Carl Reglar has done it again. He competed in another race not on the official Team Danbury Audi schedule, and won! We would send him to his room for sneaking away, but we don’t think we could catch him.

Two weeks ago he bested the 40+ field in the legendary Killington Stage Race, and on June 12 he repeated the feat at the Wilmington-Whiteface Road Race which was this year’s New York State Road Race Championships. “Everyone knows Carl loves a hilltop finish,” said team captain Matt Armstrong. Well the Wilmington-Whiteface race had exactly that; the race finished with a steep 1.6-mile climb up Whiteface Mountain.

Reglar broke away from the field around the halfway point of the 55-mile race with one other rider. The two riders quickly gained time on the peloton and arrived at the base of the finishing climb with a lead of 40 seconds on two riders chasing and around 3 minutes on the pack. Reglar flew up the final climb to the finish and ended up approximately 2 minutes ahead of 2nd place and almost 3 minutes ahead of 3rd place.

The team’s next official race is the Housatonic Hills June 20 in Southbury, CT.

Mike Allaire and Carl Reglar competed in the Connecticut Stage Race June 5-6 in Colebrook, Ct., and once again rode away with excellent results. Mike raced in the 50+, while Carl raced in the 40+.

Racing consisted of a time trial plus a circuit race on Saturday, and a 91-mile road race on Sunday. The field was top quality and the courses were extremely challenging. Mike was in the mix in every stage and muscled his way to a 4th overall finish, one place better than the week before in the Killington Stage Race. Carl, who won the 40+ group in Killington, came up short in the long road race but still finished a respectable 6th. “I was still dragging a bit from Killington, but Mike was awesome today. We’re both happy with the results and were proud to place Team Danbury Audi near the top of the field again,” said Reglar.

The team’s next official race is the Housatonic Hills June 20 in Southbury, CT.

With the Bethel Spring Series behind it, and the uniforms ready to show, Team Danbury Audi officially kicked off the inaugural season May 25th at Media Day, which was held at Danbury Audi. The riders donned their uniforms for the first time, posed for team photos and took questions from the local media in attendance. “It was a very exciting day for everyone at Danbury Audi,” said team owner and Weeks Automotive Group president, Josh Weeks.

The team showed up in force the following day for the 33rd Annual Bloomin’ Metric, of which Danbury Audi was a major sponsor. While the event is not billed as a race, the team certainly rode the twisty 100 k course like one, challenging each other and launching attacks off the front to help with training. The course was completed in 2 hours and 45 minutes and while the skies were cloudy and gray, it never rained as it was forecast. After the ride was over the team congregated around the Danbury Audi tent to rehydrate and have lunch. “It was a great time for a great cause. I could not have been more proud of the team,” added Mr. Weeks.

The team’s next official race is June 20th, but the boys will be training hard until then. Look for them at a training ride near you.

Team Danbury Audi stars Carl Reglar and Mike Allaire trekked to Vermont this Memorial Day weekend to participate in the demanding Killington Stage Race. And though the Champion System road race was not an announced stop on the Team schedule, the results were the same as they’ve been all season for the newly assembled group: domination.

Reglar, who placed second overall in the Bethel Spring Series, bested a field of sixty in the 61-mile Masters 40+ event. Allaire, who raced strong during the pre-season run up, finished fifth, just .45 seconds back in the 61-mile Masters 50+. “We’re so proud of how the guys represented the team on such a big stage,” said team owner Josh Weeks.

“Everyone who races knows Killington. And now they know Team Danbury Audi. We made a big, lasting impression.”

The team’s next official race is the Connecticut Stage Race June 5-6t in Colebrook, CT.

The Boys in Black finished up the Bethel Spring Series in grand fashion at the Circuit de Francis J Clarke on April 18th.

Carl Reglar placed second in the race as well as the series, and Mike Allaire took twelfth, capping off a tremendous start to the Team’s inaugural “pre-season.”

The Team attacked numerous times to wear down the field, with Reglar finally getting in a lead break. A win would have assured him the overall series, but he was edged at the line in a sprint to the finish. Even without his official team uniform (due in May 17) Reglar beamed with Danbury Audi pride on the podium.

The Team will hold its first ever Media Day, Sunday, May 23rd at Danbury Audi. For media information, contact Deb Casey at Milk Advertising: 203-851-1100.

The Team took another huge step forward April 11th as it continued to prepare for the “official start” of its season, May 23rd at the Bloomin™ Metric in Norwalk.

Carl Reglar attacked at the gun and soloed his way to victory in the Criterium de Bethel. Reglar battled unpredictably gusty winds and hard-charging riders but still managed to stay away from the pack thanks to efforts from the rest of the Team. Don Catlin, Turgut Balikci and Mike Allaire also finished in the top twenty and helped to disrupt any organized chases by staying up front.

“It was a great team effort,” said Reglar. “I knew that the two cyclists leading the [Bethel] series would be watching each other, so I thought I would attack from the line.”

The Team finishes up its pre-season run in Bethel April 18th, followed by the Bear Mountain Classic May 16th. The Team will then hold its first ever Media Day, Sunday, May 23rd at Danbury Audi. For media information, contact Deb Casey at Milk Advertising: 203-851-1100.

Team Danbury Audi kicked off its pre-season March 20th at the 2010 Tour de Kirche, which is part of the Bethel Spring Series.

Even with their official team jerseys still en route, the boys donned all black and had a dominant day against a very tough field in the Masters 45+.

Carl Reglar missed a first place finish by inches and came in 2nd after a 5-lap sprint. Don Catlin placed 8th and team co-founder Matt Armstrong set things off with a solo 9-lap breakaway. “I just want to thank the guys for the great teamwork at Bethel Crit yesterday. Matt was off solo for the first 9 laps, giving us a free ride. I think we covered almost every single break that went. Finally one stuck and I was lucky enough to be in it.

“The team did a great job shutting things down in the pack. I came up a bit short in the sprint and finished 2nd,” said Reglar. “We used really great team tactics. As Carl rode the last 5 laps in the break, Don, Mike Allaire and myself were sitting solidly at the front, blocking the field and quickly squelching any breaks that tried to go across. It was racing as it should be, and a great sign of things to come,” added Armstrong.

Spring delivered a day of bad weather for the field at the Bethel CDP Gold Race on March 28th. A stiff wind and cold rain dampened the course but not the spirit of the Team, which used the race as another training ride as it continues to prepare for the “official start” of its season, May 23rd at the Bloomin™ Metric in Norwalk.

“We made a plus out of the elements by working on our speed and tight pack handling skills,” said team co-founder Matt Armstrong. Even though it was a training run for the Team, the strategy paid off. Kurt Anderson and Nicolas Catlin scored top twenty finishes in the Cat 5 Race 2.

The Team officially returns to Bethel in April for the final two weeks of the Bethel Spring Series, though some of the guys will continue pre-season prep by taking part in New York’s Central Park Race Series on Easter Sunday.

Even amateur riders fall victim to the kind of nasty crashes cycling fans witness during stage races like the Tour de France. That was the case when a crash ended the season for Team Danbury Audi rider Matt Slossberg in early September. Carl Reglar filed this report:

“Matt Slossberg and I ventured up to the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont to test our fitness against the best Master racers in the North East. The race consists of 4 stages: a time-trial, circuit race, road race, and a crit. Matt finished mid-pack and I finished 5th in the time-trial.

Due to the hills and wind, the circuit race was hard right from the start. Matt and I were riding great as a team, we were both at the front of the race covering moves making sure if a break went up the road one of us would be in it. Matt was also keeping me out of the wind so I would have something left for the finish. During one of the mid-race point sprints a rider went down directly in front of Matt. Matt ran into the fallen rider and was immediately launched over his handlebars, landing on the unforgiving pavement and breaking his elbow and collarbone in the process. Ouch! The race was over for Matt.

The 70-mile road race featured a lot of climbing. I got in an early break to snatch a few KOM points. The break was working well together but the depth of riders in the peloton was too deep and we were reeled in with around 5 miles to go. I was still feeling okay riding up to the finish on App gap and managed to finish 5th in the stage.

Last day was a super fast crit in downtown Burlington. I finished in the main pack to end up 5th place overall for the 4 stage event. Wishing Matt a speedy recovery and looking forward to racing with him again in the future.”