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Top 10 : 2004 TdS Rides in order of finish

Winner 2004 TdS
Andrew Maibaum
Big Ring Wraiths

2nd Mike Shult
Majestic Moose

3rd Ray Smith
Kokomo Cycling and Fitness

4th Markus Naegeli
BABC

5th Kasey Bickel
Time Lords

6th Dan Harshberger
Time Lords

7th Charlie Skoog
Time Lords

8th Larry Barnhart
KCF

9th Randy Simpson
Y.O.

10th Roxane Burrous
Big Ring Wraiths

2004 Tour de Schwinn History Page

2004 was the first and at the time thought maybe to be the only Tour de Schwinn. The Tour was the thought up by Markus Naegeli, Larry Barnhart and a little help from Mike Shult. Originally planned as a six week indoor race about half way though the event it was decided to add week seven so the riders could redo the ride from week one. This was done to give them ( the riders) a chance to see how much they improved over the last six weeks, if any. This first year was open to anyone that wanted to do it ( club member or not) and we had a total of 26 riders willing to attempt this event.
The Tour de Schwinn was set up as a stage race like that of the Tour de France with some very strange differences. Our Tour was to have each rider come into Kokomo Cycling and Fitness once a week and ride on a trainer called the Velodyne. Which is a computer controlled indoor trainer that allowed us to do so simulated racing in Indiana during the winter. The other unique part of this cycling event is that it was to be handicapped. That is to say times of the riders times would be adjusted in a way that everyone would have a fighting chance. The system was simple at first then became more and more complex as we attempted to get a fair system that truly leveled the playing field. In the end anyone of any ability had a fair chance to win if they did well within their own personal ability. At least that was the idea.

The 26 riders made up seven teams this first year, with somewhat colorful names. We had: The Young and Old (Y.O.), so named cause the team members were both young and old(er). The O.U.T. team (Once Upon a Time) and the Majestic Moose, the Time Lords, Big Ring Wraiths along with the Kokomo Cycling and Fitness team. We also had a BABC team (Break Away Bicycle Club).

The 2004 Tour de Schwinn was won by Andrew Maibaum with a commanding led over the field. Second place was taken by Mike Shult who was about 2 minutes behind Andrew. The nail biter however was between 3 and 4th with Ray Smith beating Markus Naegeli by less then 1 second. Their times were recorded as being 2:21 and 2:22 behind Andrew but the truth was there was only .45 of second between then. 5th place was taken by Kasey Bickel who won the most stages that year, winning the Time Trial, Stairway and Epilogue.

Here is how it happened:
The Prologue (first ride of the series) proved what everyone already knew, Francis Manfred was in fact the fastest rider we had in the event this first year. He came out and set the bar for everyone else, winning the Prologue with ease. He as do so every year since. The second ride was The Wall, so named for the big hill at the end of each of the six - one mile laps that made up this course. The Wall was brutal, .2 of a mile down hill .6 of a mile on the flat then .2 of a mile back up the hill. It was an 8% climb, which by the 3rd time of climbing it most riders were feeling the pain. Just a note here, Larry was the one who designed this criterium style course with this beast of a wall to climb.

The Wall changed the placings in the field dramatically, Francis who was the leader dropped to 21st while Andrew Maibaum not only won the stage he also went from 25th to 1st place in the GC ( General Classifications). Ray Smith into second from last place and Larry Barnhart climbed to third from fourteenth. Andrew had come into the Tour with a knee problem which had slowed him down during the prologue but proved to doing better by this stage.

Next came the Stairway; - this course was not as intense as the Wall however there was still a good deal of climbing, in fact it was like a stairway up, flat, up, flat and so for about 6 miles.
Kasey Bickel (pictured left) took top honors on this stage, an effort which would move him to 6th in the GC. Meanwhile Andrew kept his overall lead and Mike Shult passed both Larry (now in 4th) and Ray (now in 3rd) to take 2nd place in the GC. Francis stayed in 21st.

The Time Trial was our next race, a 4 mile course with some small hills. This stage was also won by Kasey Bickel and it looked as he was making his way up the ranks. Andrew Maibaum still would hold the top spot and Ray Smith would regain 2nd. Mike Shult slipped to 3rd and Kasey moved up two more spots to 4th. Meanwhile Francis was going the wrong way, he was now in 24th.

After the TT was the Hill Climb, if the Wall was brutal this was just plain nasty. Hill after hill, featuring a couple of 12% sections. The only good thing was the distance, only 4.2 miles. The average time for this was 20:42 or an 12.17 mph average. Randy Simpson was able to get off the front on this ride and win the stage, this let him climb up to 5th in the GC. Kasey Bickel who had been on the move up was not as fortunate this day as he 17th on the stage and slipped to 6th in the GC. Andrew continued to be the leader of the field and Ray Smith stayed in second, Mike Shult moved to 4th and was replaced by Dan Harshbarger in 3rd after coming in 2nd on the stage. Francis Manfred also faired better on this stage and after coming in 8th he moved to 20th in the GC, he was still a long way from the yellow jersey he had worn after the Prologue.

MIKE'S REVENGE:
was next on the list of rides, named, well named as mostly a warning to the riders that this was going to be a very hard course. 7.5 miles and over 800 feet of climbing, this was to be the toughest test the riders had seen yet. Mitch "Superman" Reeves edged out Mike Shult for the stage win on this very tough ride. Things also once again changed in the GC: Andrew well that did not change still was in 1st place , Mike however was able to move into 2nd with Ray moving back down to 3rd. Dan Harshbarger dropped to 4th and Markus Naegeli popped back up to 5th which is were he was after the Prologue. Francis was now in 23rd.

The Epilogue:
This ride was the same as the Prologue, it also was kind of an after thought, it was added after the Tour began which was done so that the riders could see how much they had improved of the 7 weeks of racing. The Epilogue was a short 2.3 miles long so it look very hard for anyone to be able to catch Andrew who was enjoying about a 2 minute lead. The real question was who would take 2nd though 26th. Speaking of last, after the second race ( The Wall) Adam Parish had the honor of being last in the GC until the 6th race where he was able to move up to 24th. Lee Flasche took over the "Red Lantern" position after Mike's Revenge and dutifully stayed there in the end. Meanwhile the Epilogue saw Kasey Bickel win his 3rd stage for this year's tour and finish 5th overall. There was a tight battle for 3rd and 4th with Ray Smith beating Markus Naegeli by less then a second to take to podium spot. Mike Shult was not able to overtake Andrew and finished 2nd leaving our 2004 Tour de Schwinn winner as Andrew Maibaum. Francis finished a distant 21st.

In the Team Category it was the Time Lords that took Top honor for the 2004 TdS.

2004 Tour de Schwinn Riders List by teams (with final places)

Big Ring Wraiths: 3rd
Andrew Maibaum 1st
Roxane Burrous 10th
Todd Brandenburg 16th
Clark Griffin 17th

BABC Team: 4th
Markus Naegeli 4th
Jim Burrous 11th
Joe Dibble 15th
Tom Hester 22nd

Kokomo Cycling and Fitness 5th
Ray Smith 3rd
Larry Barnhart 8th
Francis Manfred 21st
Seth Sexton 25th

Majestic Moose 2nd
Mike Shult 2nd
Shawn Leonard 13th
Jason Mygrant 14th

O.U.T. (Once Upon a Time) 6th
Jeff Bell 19th
Mitch Reeves 12th
Adam Parish 23rd

Time Lords 1st
Kasey Bickel 5th
Dan Harshbarger 6th
Charlie Skoog 7th
Lee Flasche 26th

Y.O. ( Young and Old) 7th
Randy Simpson 9th
Tom Linn 18th
Kent Bickel 20th
Steve Peugh 25th

Tour History