Highlights from Sunday’s state criterium championships:

• » Jeff Schroetlin (ABD) defended his P/1/2 title in similar fashion to his 2008 championship. This time, however, he was able to win outright, coming around Indiana’s Erik Hamilton (NUVO Cultural Trail) on a windy afternoon in Peoria. The two had been off early on top of a move from Kyle Jacobson (IS Corps). In the photo above, the threesome hits Turn 5 as the peloton still makes its way down the homestretch. After dropping Jacobson, Hamilton and Schroetlin lapped the field, leading to some bell-lap confusion as riders saw the lap counter skip from three to one. Meanwhile, Scott Pearson (Comcast/Higher Gear) once again slipped away to finish in no-man’s land for 3rd while Josh Carter (ABD) won the sprint in what was left of a splintered field.
• » Burnham Racing employed some of the same late-flier tactics that secured a win in 2008 to win again, this time behind Jeff Wat while teammate Nate Iden swept in for 2nd.
• » XXX Racing-AthletiCo was aggressive in the lower categories, leading to a sprint win from Mike Seguin in the 30+ 4/5’s and a solo win from Liam Donoghue in the 4’s. Seguin was able to put an exclamation point on the latter by winning the field sprint for 2nd.
• » Team Mack was a triple champion, getting jerseys from Michael Ozment in the 60+, Gary Doering in the 50+ and Gina Champion in the women’s 4’s. Robert Kron (Team Mack) came up short in the masters 1/2/3, losing to Michael Zellman (Verizon Wireless)  in a two-man sprint that settled the 40+ crown. Behind them, Mike Heagney (Vision Quest) edged out Chris Mosora (Verizon Wirelesss) to take the field sprint and 30+ title.
• » In addition to Schroetlin, ABD earned titles from Konrad Witt in the 10-14, Dani Witt in the junior girls and Marilyn Powell in the women’s 45+.
• » Host Proctor got titles from two of its women: Vanessa McKenzie in the women’s 3’s and Marsha Ray in the women’s 55+.
• » Our sport’s troubles with women’s retention was highlighted by the complete absence of women to contest the P/1/2 championship. The Tour of America’s Dairyland drew our top talent instead and was a reasonable alibi, but it’s still discouraging.

Full results.

Reports
Julian Baumgartner (Burnham Racing; 3): “Frustrations rose and language went south as riders on the rivet cursed others for not helping them win.”

Liam Donoghue (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “You wanted to know what happens when you set a goal, bust your ass, and stick to your plan?”

Steve Driscoll (Team Mack; 30+ 1/2/3, 3): “Both fast and furious, as usual, although really windy.”

Colm Flannery (Proctor; 30+ 4/5): “For shame, ladies!”

Chris Koster (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “I knew that I was not strong enough to hold it till the end, so I was just hoping that when I got reeled back in another xXx’er would take a turn.”

Seth Meyer (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; P/1/2): “Tactics became really simple at that point: Every man for himself, just ride like hell.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5, 4): “The train of riders who went wide to the left were all caught with their bib shorts around their ankles as Mike motored from the corner to the line through 250 meters of open air.”

Peoria Star: “‘I let him do most of the pulling the last two laps, and I was pretty fresh.’”

Leah Sanda (Flatlandia; W-35+, W-4): “Despite being a small field it was a lively race with lots of attacks.”

Mike Seguin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5, 4): “As I accelerate up the small rise to get back to the pack of swarming sprinters, there is a calmness that settles over me.”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4): “No one willing to do much work. A perfect time to separate from the field.”

Tim Speciale (Bicycle Heaven; 5): “With my bike violently shaking back and forth, I heard nothing and saw only the bikes in front of me and the white strip on the road 100 meters away.”

Mark Swartzendruber (Verizon Wireless; 30+ 1/2/3, P/1/2): “The race was very cut throat in nature. So it goes.”

Jeff Wat (Burnham Racing; 3): “I tried to refrain from letting on how badly I wanted to win so as to lessen the pressure on myself.”

John Wolters (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5, 4): “Liam and Mike were talking about keeping it fast, and that they did.”

Photos
Nikki Cyp: 5, 3, P/1/2, 30+ 4/5, 30+ 1/2/3, 50+, W-P/1/2/3, W-4, W-35+
Liam Donoghue
Mark Keller
Seth Meyer (video)
Matt Smith: 4, 3, P/1/2, W-4