The Herald-Zeitung

Team Lifestrong’s Kevin Kremke races with intense concentration that any cyclist must have on a road course, but the 37-year old is riding for someone special this season.

Kremke is riding for his mother, Mary Beth, who passed away from cancer last year, and who he said was a big inspiration for him during his career.

“She was always there for me,” Kremke said. “That’s why I’m dedicating this season to her. She’s a very special person.”

Kremke partnered with John Korioth to form Team Lifestrong for the 2009 Tour de Gruene, which featured the individual time trials on the 16-mile course along the Guadalupe River.

“This course is so beautiful,” said Korioth, who paired with Lance Armstrong during last year’s event. “This race comes at the end of the season for most cyclists, so this gives us a chance to compete, but not have to be competitive.

“During a lot events during the season, the term ‘good luck’ takes on a whole new meaning and not the definition that was intended. But during the Tour de Gruene, we really mean good luck.”

The picturesque course draws more than 1,000 riders for the recreational tours and nearly 300 cyclists for the time trials.

At last year’s time trials, Armstrong set a new course record with 33 minutes, 14 seconds that translates to 28.89 miles per hour.

Kremke said he was honored to be chosen by Korioth to race in the Tour de Gruene and is inspired by the message that Team Lifestrong tries to get out.

“After Lance’s well-publicized battle with cancer, I think the message is that it can happen to anyone,” Kremke said. “Lance has been a huge inspiration to many people around the world, and my mom has been an inspiration for me, so it was great that they both can be honored in such an event.”

The Tour de Gruene has become a Texas tradition since 1984 and Korioth said that it’s become an institution for many riders.

“I think riders are drawn to the tour because of the challenge of the course,” Korioth said. “It has a lot of twists and turns which makes it a very technical course. You have to stay sharp, but you also have to appreciate the grandeur of the scenery that is around you.

“We’re going so fast during the trials that we don’t get to take advantage of such a spectacular setting that this event is in.”

Today marks the end of the two-day event with the team time trials that has it’s own challenges for the riders.

“The hardest part is communication (during team time trials),” Korioth said. “With a rider as light as Kevin, he can sometimes get ahead of me, so I have to tell him to slow down.

“We don’t talk much on the course, but when we do it is usually to keep us in line and on course.”

The team time trials begin at 8:01 a.m. where the cyclists will ride on a 27.3-mile course.

Last year, the team of Amstrong and Korioth set a new record with a time of 56 minutes, 37 seconds for a speed of 28.93 miles per hour.