The picture on the front page of the website is from the 3RVS Germanfest in the late 80s or early 90s. The focus of the shot was 3RVS's Mark Krauskropt. Mark was a great guy, a Cat 2 racer, and a friend of mine. Mark died a few years ago, 34 years old. Mark left a wife and two children. Below is another picture and my announcement of his death.

Mark Krauskopf

Today I learned that an old friend and racing buddy, Mark Krauskopf, died unexpectedly of natural causes at his home on Sunday evening, February 16, 2003. Mark leaves his wife, Tammy and two children. Mark was 34 years old.

I'm not very good at writing these types of articles. I knew Mark through the Club, and we raced in many of the same races. Not in the same category of course; Mark was a Cat 2, and a good one. Our inside connection was that we wore the same brand of cycling shoes; none of the other racers had the same kind. It was funny, but we always talked about those damn shoes.

Mark moved away after graduating, got married, had two children and set-up a wonderful life. He was an architect by trade, and after moving from Michigan to South Bend and then Chicago, Mark and family settled back in Michigan starting his own successful architectural firm about a year ago.