Weekend wrap-up: June 16-17

Sounds like everyone enjoyed the inaugural Giro d'Grafton, a twilight crit near Milwaukee, even the cyclists who had to contend with the pros using the race as a tune-up for this week's Nature Valley Grand Prix. Notable Chicago results inclue Eric Wiecek (Team Get a Grip Cycles) getting 3rd in the 3's and Ricardo Otero (South Chicago Wheelmen) getting the same in the masters 4/5's.

Lee Wheaton Heaton got a win for Team Get a Grip Cycles in the 3's at the Great Carroll County Cycling Event, an unorthodox road race near Rockford that also had WDT well-represented among the leaders. This link to timed results doesn't account for the handful of riders who were relegated after their lead car took a wrong turn. Scott Van Maldegiam (Spin Doctor Cyclewerks) tells me Mark Shea (Unattached) actually won the 4's and David Haussler (DICE) won the 50+, but I'll post a link once official results are up. (UPDATE: Complete Carroll County results.)

About 50 riders competed in the 4's and 20 in the 50+, but other fields look thin. Nonetheless, I'm happy to see this event growing. This could become a great race on the calendar. We need more long, timed point-to-point races, even ones that, not unlike Paris-Roubaix, include unpaved passages and stopping to wait for trains to pass.

Incomplete Carroll County results. Full Giro d'Grafton results. Full Fon du Lac Criterium results. Full MAJOR series results

Giro d'Grafton race reports:
Ryan Baumann (ABD; P/1/2): "$6500 prize list and big crowds and live music? It probably had the largest and strongest P/1/2 field I've ever seen outside of Superweek in the Midwest ... I think we put on a good show!"

Phil Cianciola (Unattached; celebrity race): "I didn't get much of a chance to actually race today, but I did get a chance to feel like a racer, to feel right at home with my people, my crowd. All those bikes. All those people. It was electric."

Elvis Kennedy (LAPT; M4/5): "Mike was able to get back on his bike and death-march to the finish, where the pain of his freshly fractured collarbone became too much."

Seth Meyer (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): "Through that last, tricky, 120-degree corner, my front wheel just about lost it on that crazy tar. Then, we just ran out of gas. The pack caught back onto us with about 300-400 meters to go."

Andy Reiland (Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare; M4/5): "We hit the final turn. My pedal scrapes road as we are flying. I hear what sounds like a blown tire and maybe a crash from behind."

Frank Rowley (D'Arcy; P/1/2): "We knew we were screwed before the race started. About 10 national pros and all the midwest regulars were there ... These guys are not human."

Tristan Schouten (Trek/VW; P/1/2): "I couldn't see where I was going in the dark, but generally crit racing at a bigger race like this mostly means following for me, so that was easy enough in the dark. Maybe that was the reason I was having so much fun, or the fact that we screaming around the course faster than I've ridden in a long time. Heck, I don't even like criteriums and it was still the most fun I've had a race this year."

Matt Waite (Brazen Dropouts; 3): "Seth Meyer bridged up to me. Sweet. We went about another haf of a lap and Dallas Fowler bridged up to us too. That's what I call a pretty awesome breakaway group. This is the group that I think all the Cat 3 riders are scared of. "

Giro d'Grafton photos:
Lyle Hanson
Elvis Kennedy
Nick Schweitzer
Team Clif Bar Midwest

Carroll County race reports:
Larry Allingham (Unattached; 4): "I can only imagine what was going through the heads of the beer-gutted construction workers as they watched a bunch of sweaty men in tight shorts tiptoe gingerly through their work zone, carrying spindly little machines that in some cases cost as much as an honest pick-up truck."

Steve Parrish (ABD; 3): "Tom Doughty decided to blow things apart. After that big hill in Savannah our field of 50 or so was down to about 12."

Dave Thompson (DICE; 50+): "We dismounted like in cyclocross and ran through the hazard. Then four 50+ and two Cat 4 riders took off on thewrong road, while the rest of us went right direction. There was mass confusion, with some riders waiting to restart and others taking advantage of confusion."

Scott Van Maldegiam (Spin Doctor Cyclewerks; 4): " Shortly before Lanark, there was the tricky section of sand. The local street crew decided today was a good day to EXTEND the sand section so it was twice as long and completely unrideable. I walked it through that section as most, if not all, people did."

Fon du Lac race reports:
Brian Carlson (Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare; M4/5): "Although I got my rear wheel taken out and had to go off-roading, I still managed a 10th place as the camera caught me off in the grass."

MAJOR series race reports:
Joe Bobka (Spin Doctor Cyclewerks; 50+): "'Stay calm, Joe. You know they slow in the back stretch because of the wind. No one wants to lead.'"

Comments

Posted by: ScottV at June 20, 2007 02:29 PM

Posted by: Lee Heaton at June 20, 2007 02:53 PM

Posted by: Luke at June 20, 2007 02:58 PM

Posted by: Lee Heaton at June 20, 2007 03:34 PM

Posted by: Tony at June 21, 2007 02:42 PM