Photo by Luke Seemann

Like Evanston before it, Glencoe employed its North Shore clout to order up perfect weather for its inaugural criterium. And after all those long drives to races in Wisconsin or the western suburbs, it was a pleasure to get to Saturday’s race in style: on my bicycle. Hooray for Glencoe!

The four-corner course featured fast turns in 1 and 3, a narrow turn in 2 and in Turn 4 the aptly named “Amen Corner,” sponsored by a nearby church. Shift down, hold your line and say a prayer that everyone else holds theirs, too. A pastor was on-hand to give free lemonade and administer last rites to any dearly departed carbon fiber.

A strong wind out of the east played a role in the more crowded fields. Riders hoping to advance position in the homestretch faced a choice: Go up the left and be protected from the wind? Or go up the right side, which offered the safest line in Turn 1?

A huge field turned out for the masters 4/5’s. Matt Smith (Big Shark) and Tim Keeley (ABD) had their latest throw for the line, but this time it was Smith getting by first, a reversal of the previous day’s Sherman Park masters 4/5.

James Pradun (UIC) won the 4’s race by overcoming a five-man break in the final homestretch. I don’t know much about the University of Illinois-Chicago program, but I hope this is a sign of good things to come. What’s especially impressive for Pradun is that the next four finishers are all familiar names to those who’ve followed the 4’s results this year -- Ted Burger (Unattached), Ricardo Otero (South Chicago Wheelmen), Smith and Keeley -- names I expect we’ll next see among the 3’s results. (Ahem!)

Colavita put two on the podium in the 5’s race, behind Mike Shklovski in 1st and Craig Scott in 3rd. In between was Scott Claiborne (Apache), whom we last saw unclipped at Downers Grove.

Speaking of the 3’s, ours was a lively cap to the USCF season. Several attempted to go off the front in search of primes and/or glory, and with two to go, it was James Bird (IS Corp) with a dangerous gap. Unfortunately for Bird, two unidentified XXX Racing-AthletiCo riders exhausted themselves to bring him back in time for Jason Schisler (Vision Quest) to avoid the predictable last-lap mayhem and pick up the win. (Previously Bird had won the 15-18 juniors race, with Chazz Martin (Smart Cycling) winning the 10-14.)

The women’s 1/2/3 race stayed together for the most part until Jen Greenberg launched a flier with two to go. After the pack hesitated to chase, she held them off for a clear victory.

In other racing, Elizabeth Engwis (Kenosha Velosport) won the women’s 4’s, and Andy Kerr (Village Cyclesport) won an exciting sprint in the 50+.

I couldn’t stay for the finish of the P/1/2 race, but when I left a solid split had been created, with a future Toyota-United rider Johnny Clarke (Colavita) anchoring the lead group. (Unlike the last time Clarke raced a local crit, his brother Hilton (Navigators) was not there.) It was Rob White (PCW) who took the win, however, with Clarke settling for second. I’d love to read a report on how that came to be. (UPDATE: Frank Shapiro has this photo of Clarke and White off by themselves. He says they nearly lapped the field, or whatever was left of it.)

Just like Evanston, this was a fantastic debut race: well organized, generously prized. Some might have wished for the repaving to have been extended to South Avenue, but as someone who calls Hillsboro Roubaix a favorite and considers potholes “features” rather than “problems,” I’m not complaining, and I hope the Glencoe Grand Prix returns to our calendar year after year.

Full results.

Race reports
Newt Cole (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Two laps left. Time to move. Flyin’ single-file into Corner 2, big scary crash. I dodge two dudes by inches and another two unfortunates who hit them. I have no freakin idea how I got thru that.”

Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2/3): “On the last lap I decided that I had to chase and in so doing, also decided that I had to straight up win the field sprint since it was obviously too late to catch Jen.”

Tim Keeley (ABD; 30+ 4/5, 4): “With about 1 to go I took my final pull and got gapped, chased, latched on before Turn 4 and then witnessed the eventual race winner (a guy from UIC who had won an earlier prime) scream by for the win.”

Matt Smith (Big Shark; 30+ 4/5, 4): “A Vision Quest rider made a cheeky move and jumped well before the last turn on the last lap. I thought it was a good move and that he might hold it. It’s a long way from Turn 4 to the line, however.”

Photos:
John Rowland
Frank Shapiro
The Editor