Jessi Prinner (ABD) placed 2nd Wednesday at the girls 17-18 national championship road race in Bend, Ore.

Prinner and two others went up the road early. In the final kilometers 24-time national champion Coryn Rivera (Proman Hit Squad) attacked and got clear, but Prinner was able to win the two-up sprint for 2nd.

It’s Prinner’s fourth podium trip in five years, having placed 3rd in 2007 and 2005 and 2nd in 2006. She and Rivera are both Moscow-bound for the junior world championships in two weeks.

Junior and elite national championships continue with time trials today and criteriums over the weekend.

Update: Prinner on Friday won the girls 17-18 time trial national championship, blazing through the 24-km course in 40:43, a remarkable 55 seconds ahead of Rivera.

• » Congratulations to the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew’s Al Urbanski and Molly Godlewski, who won the messenger divisions at this weekend’s Velo City 2009 in New York. Their victories earned them passage to September’s Cycle Messenger World Championships in Tokyo.  略! 略!

• » A lot of great photos came out of Sunday’s Chicago Criterium, but be sure to spend a few minutes enjoying the superior work of Ed White (Half Acre Cycling) and Chicago Personal Photographers.

• » Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy/Trek Stores) finished 14th Sunday -- with a separated shoulder and cracked ribs. Spot on!

• » Chris Horner (Astana) visits SRAM.

• » M&M Cyclery in Mundelein is having a CycleOps power clinic this Sunday Monday.

• » North Branch Cycling hosts the State Time Trial Championships on Saturday, Sept. 5. Our state road race, originally scheduled for Aug. 22, is now tentatively set for Sept. 12. I’ll have more information about that once the day and location are set in stone.

• » The Chicago Cross Cup has a preliminary 2009 schedule up. The mud flies in anger starting Sunday, Sept. 20.

• » Online registration is open for next weekend’s Grayslake Cycling Classic and Glencoe Grand Prix, the last two criteriums of the 2009 Illinois Cup.

• » Many of you appear to be confused about the “points” that appear in USA Cycling’s online results. Those are not upgrade points. They are points that go toward USA Cycling’s “rankings” -- rankings that, quite frankly, nobody takes seriously, except when by some freak of math they reflect well on their team.

• » Last week Scott Pearson (Comcast/Higher Gear) and I used the CBR Ride Board to arrange a carpool to Milwaukee. On the drive home, Pearson asked me about the advertising on CBR. “Can I buy an ad,” he asked, “and just have it be a picture of my dog? Because I really love my dog.” “Sure,” I said, “but only if he’s cute enough.” And Buster is, don’t you think?

The 41st International Cycling Classic, better known as Superweek, is in the books. The phrase I heard most over the past two weeks was “better than last year,” and indeed I believe it was. The races were closer to running on time, fewer had to be cut short and nothing turned into a fiasco. The best improvements were the additions of the Elgin and Lakefront road races. I will always miss the Tour of Alpine Valley, but these help make up for it.

Size and caliber of fields did seem to be down up and down the board, despite a good collection of international riders. Part of that could be because of 2008’s problems, but I chalk most of it to the economy and the high costs of travel and registration.

All that said, read this note if you earned any checks.

Finally, if you didn’t get enough of the ever mellifluous Eddie van Guyse, here are his daily audio recaps.

Local highlights from the final four days of racing:

• » Team Get a Grip Cycles didn’t contest many races, but it made the most of its entry fees. Ben LaForce won twice in the 3’s, and Chris Padfield picked up a win Thursday, going solo for most of a rainy 3’s race in Racine. I expect it won’t be long before his victory post-up, shown above, makes its way into the pro peloton.

• » Christian Zauner (Verdigris) won the 40+ 1/2/3 in Kenosha on Friday and Robert Kron (Team Mack) was consistently near the top, but they finished 3rd and 2nd in the overall to Wisconsin’s Chris Halverson (IS Corp), who has been having a tremendous summer. He swept the weekend races, and Brent Emery (Emerys.com/Team Life Cyclists) nipped Kron by one point.

• » Pascale Petro (Project 5) won the women’s 3/4’s race Racine but placing 5th the next three days -- Project 5, indeed -- wasn’t enough to get the top spot in the overall, and she finished 2nd by four points. Champaign’s Anona Whitley (Wild Card Cycling) finished in 4th.

• » Chicago-area riders took the final 4/5’s races behind Ben-Jamin Widoff (Team Powerbar) in Racine, Joel Friedman (Bicycle Heaven) in Kenosha and Humboldt Park and Rob Karlow (Verdigris) in Whitefish Bay, his third of the series. Karl Schult (Guiness) picked up two more 2nd’s, and in 5th he was our highest placement in the overall.

• » For more complete reports of the elite races, check out Lyne Lamoureux‘s excellent Podium Insight. And once again John Wilke did yeoman’s work over at Peloton Pix, working harder than any of us to shoot most of the races and provide entertaining reports.

Full Racine results. Full Kenosha results. Full Humboldt Park/Downer Avenue results. Full Whitefish Bay results.

Racine reports
Peter Beels (Leadout Racing; 3): “Throughout the rain many people got gapped and dropped in the corners and abandoned.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “There’s still work to do here to maintain these positions and possibly move up.”

Chris Padfield (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “I took a quick glance back and no one wanted to come along and suffer with me, but that’s cool, less to worry about.”

Racine photos
John Rowland: P/1/2, W-P/1/2/3, 3
John Wilke

Kenosha reports
Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “Racers down in general classification want those last couple of stage wins, and there was no patience in the peleton.”

Geoff Kuyler (Leadout Racing; 3): “I was worried about riders coming out of drafts but never saw anyone in my peripheral vision and took my second win of the week.”

Podium Insight: “As usual the last lap were chaotic and according to Hayden Godfrey (Subway-Avanti), ‘there were guys going all over the show as usual.’”

Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy/Trek Stores; P/1/2): “Obviously, from the photo below, the race yesterday could have gone better.”

Kenosha photos
Extreme Photography
John Rowland: P/1/2, W-P/1/2/3, 3, W-3/4
John Wilke

Humboldt Park reports
Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): ”Josie Giddens tried to make the bridge for hub racing, and almost had her until the rain started down.”

Humboldt Park photos
Nikki Cyp
Extreme Photography
John Wilke

Downer Avenue reports
John Meyers (ABD; P/1/2): “Freaking Blue Angel jets buzzing us mid-race? Wow, that was sweet.”

Podium Insight: “The Kelly Benefit squad controlled the front as the lap cards were flipped with primes still being announced until the final big daddy of them all, the crowd prime of almost $1,200 with one lap to go.”

Downer Avenue photos
Extreme Photography
John Wilke

Whitefish Bay reports
Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “When she came off, everyone in the field went for the attack, and the result was an extreme acceleration. No attack was going if everyone went.”

Julia LaFranchise (Team VRC; W-P/1/2/3): “Perhaps everyone was a little jittery because in the third corner of the VERY first lap, half the peloton went down.”

Podium Insight: “The duo along with two other teammates earlier in the series defended the lead from day one, a new feat for Superweek.”

Michael van Eerd (Team VRC; P/1/2): ”Eric Bennett got taken out by crashing against a little kid. Both are fine though.”

Whitefish Bay photos
Extreme Photography
John Wilke

The year’s biggest money will be on the line this weekend at the Tour of Elk Grove. Seriously, the money is ridiculous. Expect the competition to be fierce and the leashes short.

The criteriums take place on a flat 1.2-mile five-corner course. The first corner is a U-turn, not unlike what we experienced in Elgin. Expect packs to bunch up here. My advice is to try to stay in the middle: Go inside and you’ll get pinched and have to scrub a lot of speed. Go outside and you can misjudge the far curb. Stay tucked in the middle, follow a good wheel and don’t lose your cool when someone veers into your line. Whatever you do, downshift several clicks before you turn. You’ll need a massive acceleration out of this corner every time, and you don’t want to be overgeared.

The final stretch is long with a slight chicane. It’s a perfect spot for a two- or three-person leadout. Overeager sprinters who jump out of the corner will likely fade halfway to the line. Payouts go deep, so contest every position, but keep your head up so you don’t plow into someone who’s pulled the plug.

I count 26 turns in the road race that the pros will contest on Saturday. I can’t imagine this will be popular with them, but it should be very spectator friendly, and hopefully it can facilitate some breakaways, lest the overall be decided by Friday’s 4.5-mile time trial. Bring a lawn chair and newspaper and enjoy the action. They’ll do 10 laps, with sprints for cash and points with seven, five and two laps to go.

We should also see some exciting sprints in Sunday’s pro criterium with $3,700 in primes on the line, including $800 and 45 and 15 to go and $1,000 at 30 to go.

Saturday and Sunday
Tour of Elk Grove
USCF criteriums
Elk Grove, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours
Previous wrap-ups: 2007, 2008

Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) escaped on an unlikely flier and the 35+ 1/2/3 race yielded a four-man break, but otherwise it was a day for bunch sprints at Sunday’s Chicago Criterium. Few break attempts got more than a few seconds, and the overall speeds were high as everyone gunned for big-money primes and hoped to come out on top of large, stacked fields.

• » This video from Tim Radcliff (Team EMC2) doesn’t quite clarify what caused a crash before the final turn of what was the largest and strongest 3’s race of the year -- and I’m officially against public finger-pointing. What is clear is that 300 meters was the perfect spot for Paul Wood (MOB Squad) to jump, and mayhem was to be expected as others swerved and jockeyed to catch his wheel. Shane Winn (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) came closest but couldn’t close the gap on the homestretch, and for the second year a Hoosier interloper took this race. Winn and Ricardo Otero (WDT-Allvoi) rounded out the podium. (Don’t miss Ed White’s (Half Acre Cycling) dramatic photo of Ben LaForce (Team Get a Grip Cycles) unclipping over his handlebars.)

• » Bissell/ABG is 2-for-2 at the Chicago Criterium, and the 35+ 1/2/3 race may have been the most exciting on the day. Various small groups of aggressive riders were off the front the entire race, eventually leading to a winning foursome out of which Jason Swiatkowksi (Bissell/ABG) would win by a large margin, followed by Dave Stone (Verizon Wireless) and Scott Pearson (Comcast/Higher Gear). 2008 winner Derek Witte (Bissell/ABG) won the field sprint for 5th. (From that sprint, here’s another great handelbar video from John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club). He is a master at carving his way up through the pack on the final lap.)

• » In a post-race interview, veteran and former national champion Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) singled out locals Kristen Meshberg (Team BH Racing) and Debbie Dust (PACT-Dish Network) for being aggressive in the women’s P/1/2/3 race, but the out-of-towners took the podium in this one. Van Gilder led out of the final corner and almost held off Canadian Joelle Numainville (Kenda), who as shown above came from sixth position to win. Meshberg and Dust both finished in the top 10 -- White has a great shot of Meshberg watching Numainville pass in the sprint -- and former Chicagoan Jennifer Greenberg (Vanderkitten) took an apparently uncontested $400 gamblers prime.

• » Will Joel Friedman (Bicycle Heaven) ever upgrade to the 3’s, or might he just skip ahead and join brother MIke Friedman (Garmin-Slipstream) in the pro ranks? After winning Superweek races Friday and Saturday, Friedman launched a long sprint to take Sunday’s 4’s race ahead of Greg Kick (Turin).

• » Tyler Avery (Team Pegasus) was aggressive in his Cat 5 heat, getting a threatening solo gap midway through. Upon the catch he was able to recover enough to handily take the bunch sprint for first. Herb Seitz and Bjorn Hammer, two of the six XXX Racing-AthletiCo riders who crowded the top 12, came in 2nd and 3rd. Mike Balco (Unattached) took the other Cat 5 heat.

• » Nebo Ridge and XXX Racing-AthletiCo were the biggest teams in one of the largest women’s 4’s fields we’ve seen this year, and it was no surprise that they were highly involved in the final sprint. It was a photo finish, with Julia Daher (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) beating Robin Bauer (Nebo Ridge) with the throw.

• » South Chicago Wheelmen had a good day, with Danny Solomon enjoying a nice post-up upon winning the 35+ 4/5 race, and Brandon Feehery placing 2nd behind 14-year-old Rudyard Peterson (Kalamazoo Bicycle Club) in the juniors race.

Full results.

Race reports
Tyler Avery (Team Pegasus; 5): “I really wanted to throw my hands in the air over the finish line or mimic some signature move from a pro, but I felt that might be a little too cocky.”

Vanessa Buccella (Spidermonkey Cycling; W-4): “I started moving to the front because I remember someone saying that you if you could make it into the front for the last hill you had a good chance of making the top five.”

Stephen Butler (Wheelfast; 4): “I found myself at very tail end of the mass of 120+ riders that were already at the line. Super.”

Rob Curtis (Bicycle Heaven; 4, 35+ 4/5): “Rode heads up and it paid off.”

Debbie Dust (PACT-Dish Network; W-P/1/2/3): “I had to grab a lot of brake to avoid a potential wreck coming over from the left and lost some position because of it.”

Colm Flannery (Proctor; 35+ 4/5): “With no real zip in my legs I quickly found myself at the back.”

Ed Hernandez (North Branch; 3): “At one point, I wondered if a sniper was sitting on some rooftop overlooking Grant Park using us for target practice.”

Brad Huff (Jelly Belly; P/1/2): ”Mike Friedman (Garmin-Slipstream) was riding like a full team but he was just a one-man show, a one-man show with a rocket in his back pocket waiting to be lit.”

Joey Iuliano (Purdue; P/1/2): “It was wicked fast and somewhat demoralizing to be near the back of a 180-man field and see the front taking a corner well before you’re even ready to set up for it.”

Chris Jensen (Half Acre Cycling; 5): “The only thing left was a good showing at the end.”

Ben LaForce (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “I was immediately behind him and rode over his bike and flipped over my handlebars at close to 30mph.”

Bryan Merrill (Spidermonkey Cycling; 35+ 1/2/3): “We immediately slowed, bunched and I watched the massive surge blow by me on the left.”

Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA; W-P/1/2/3): “When we hit the final corner my instinct told me to go now! and I exploded first out of the corner.”

John Meyers (ABD; P/1/2): ”Chris Horner (Astana) probably was bored and scared out of his mind the whole race. It was easy, and slow.”

Martin Michalowicz (MS Racing; 4): “I was spent, but I wasn’t unhappy.”

Avi Neurohr (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 4, 35+ 4/5): “I’m totally disenchanted with crits at this point in the summer, but it’s hard not to love this one. Fast and wide, nowhere to hide.”

Will Nowak (Alderfer Bergen; P/1/2): “I raced the front and got in a few breaks (one featuring Chris Horner (Astana)), although nothing lasted longer than a lap.”

Podium Insight: “‘Because of the money, no one wanted to go hard enough, everybody wanted to get into the breakaway but didn’t want to work.’”

Tony Rienks (Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak; 4, 35+ 4/5): “I had a good sprint at the end but got pinched by the guardrail jutting out on the east side of the course behind a slower sprinter.”

Joe Schubert (Half Acre Cycling; 4): “I tried to be a ghost but still stayed aggressive.”

Albert Segura (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “I’m skidding, skidding, and somehow keeping the bike upright with my back wheel locked up and my foot in the spokes.”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4): “In the bell lap, I had good position, was ready to go, got on a good wheel on the backside and going up the overpass at Balbo riders shifted lines and I lost the wheel I was on.”

Mike Sherer (Alderfer Bergen; P/1/2): “All that work just to get taken out on the last lap. Very Frustrating! I guess that’s bike racing.”

SRAM Road Diaries: “The final lap disrupted that train and the final sprint turned into a melee to get out of the final turn clean.”

Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy-Trek Stores; P/1/2): “The result wasn’t what was desired for the amount of pain I went through to get to the end. Bike racing.”

VeloNews: “‘Guys are jockeying for position, guys are being aggressive. I was like, ‘Good lord, can everyone just calm down?’”

Kristen Wentworth (Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “The speed was fairly high but as we approached the final two corners things got a little squirrelly.”

Bryan Witry (Spidermonkey Cycling; 5): “As we slammed down the front stretch with one lap to go, everything seemed to fall into place.”

Andrew Zens (Spidermonkey Cycling; 5): “When you sit at the front for the whole race it kind of sucks to finish mid-pack.”

Photos
Chicago Personal Photographers
Nikki Cyp
Steve Dennis
Amy Dykema
Carolyn Golz
Goose Island
Gavin Gould
Aaron Greco
Jason Knauff
John Rowland: P/1/2, W-P/1/2/3
Luke Seemann
Brad Trankina
Ed White

Sprinter Brad Huff (Jelly Belly), shown above doing an impromptu jig during call-ups -- or was it a Chicago hold-up? -- attacked out of Turn 2 at Sunday’s Chicago Criterium and held the flier all the way to the line to take victory in the P/1/2 race.

The seven men of Kelly Benefit Strategies, the largest team presence in the race, put together an impressive train from nine laps out, but the squad ran out of steam before it ran out of track, and it missed out on the podium, with Hilton Clarke (Fuji-Servetto) and Karl Menzies (Team OUCH) taking 2nd and 3rd.

Huff said he had been hoping to help his former teammate Mike Friedman (Garmin-Slipstream) on the final lap, but the latter felt more than a kilometer from the finish was too early. Friedman was first to jump out of the final corner for the field sprint, but had to settle for 4th.

Chris Horner (Astana) said the weather wasn’t nearly hot enough to suit a climber like himself, unlike last year where the field wilted in the heat. There was never a serious break, and Horner finished safely midpack.

Full wrap-up to come.

• » When Wednesday’s morning races started 30 minutes late after a delay in road closing, the 40+ 1/2/3 field registered its displeasure by briefly standing still on the whistle, disgusting the Superweek staff, not to mention the 4/5’s waiting to start behind them. The racing itself was more positive and dramatic: Wayne Simon (Verdigris) and Bryan Rheude (MS Racing) attacked after the second kicker and worked together to stay away over the last mile and a half. Simon dropped Rheude to take the win, but Rheude hung on for 2nd ahead of a charging sprint. With four days to go it’s a tight race for the overall, currently led by Robert Kron (Team Mack).

• » Sean Piper (Depaul) has had a breakout Superweek, making well-timed moves to get away and then well-timed attacks to close the deal. He won out of a late two-man break at Monday’s Whitnall Park Road Race and finished 2nd at Wednesday’s Lakefront Road Race (long course). Ben LaForce (Team Get a Grip Cycles) is also making the most of his Superweek races, winning again Tuesday out of a 7-man break at the Whitnall Park Criterium.

• » World championship-bound Greta Neimanas (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) motored away in the last kilometer of the Whitnall Park Criterium to win the women’s 3/4 race. The next day she held her own in the sprint, placing 4th. Pascale Petro also is enjoying a good week, placing in the top 10 in all three races and now sits in 2nd overall.

• » Lakewood’s Karl Schult (Guiness) won the masters 4/5’s race in Elgin and repeated the feat at the Whitnall Park Criterium, taking the 4/5’s ahead of Ernie Ciccolini (Van Wagner/Yojimbo’s) in 2nd.

• » Curtis Gunn (Fly V Australia), the rider who T-boned a children’s bike at Richton Park and wound up in Cook County Hospital with a punctured lung and broken rib, was racing again Monday in Whitnall Park.

• » The P/1/2 field has gotten extra firepower this week with a bigger squad of Kelly Benefit Strategies riders (above, Alex Candelario gets nipped by Juan Van Heerden (Team MTN) at the Whitnall Park Road Race) and a few Team OUCH riders. Rock Racing has lit up the racing the past two years and registered eight spots for this year’s series, but Superweek tells me the team left riders on the hook for their own transportation. Only Sergio Hernandez made the three-day drive to take part. Here is a letter national champion Rahsaan Bahati wrote to team owner Michael Ball on the matter.

Full Whitnall Park Road Race results. Full Whitnall Park Criterium/Cedarburg results. Full Lakefront Road Race (long course) results.

Whitnall Park Road Race reports
Geoff Kuyper (Leadout Racing; 3): “No one thought they had a chance as it all happened at low speeds, but no one chased and the gap grew.”

Lauren Liscinski (Team VRC; W-P/1/2/3): “I tried to keep the pace quick and on the last little hill before the finishing climb someone attacked left and it was all I could do to slot back in and not lose any more places.”

Whitnall Park Road Race photos
Nikki Cyp
John Wilke

Whitnall Park Criterium reports
Brian Batke (Carbon Racing; 40+ 1/2/3): “Eventually I got caught with about seven to go, then I just kept following the attacks.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “Following the last sprint, attacks began to fly.”

Geoff Kuyper (Leadout Racing; 3): “The last lap didn’t go as planned as no one in the field would work with us and I got stuck on the front for too long.”

Greta Neimanas (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-3/4): “I moved up the outside before the last corner and like Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) rolled off the front. I just put my head down and went into pursuit mode.”

Cedarburg photos
John Wilke

Lakefront (long) reports
Chad Bishop (Harper’s Cycling; 3): “All of the sudden I hear all of the guys in the field start hooting and hollering.”

Mark Hotchkin (Leadout Racing; 3): “Going up the hill right after two laps to go, I got a gap on him, and decided to go alone.”

Brad Huff (Jelly Belly; P/1/2): “This course is by far one of the best I have ridden in the Superweek series although I am completely shelled. I need sleepy and no more pedaly.”

Journal Sentinel: ”Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia), who won the Superweek crown in 2008, has used his veteran wiles to guide Bernie Sulzberger throughout the series.”

Team OUCH (P/1/2): “‘The race had a strange dynamic. A big group would get off the front and come back, then another would go. It was hard to figure out which would be the one that stuck.’”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “I knew this was my last chance.”

Lakefront (long) photos
John Wilke

• » How awesome is the Allvoi Cup? Awesome enough to bring lucha libre wrestling to the velodrome.

• » Oh, Henry!

• » Don’t forget: Chris Horner (Astana) will be at Turin on Friday.

• » And on Tuesday, Bob Roll, fresh off providing color for Versus’ coverage of the Tour de France, will be at the Trek Store in Highland Park.

• » New CBR supporter Infinit Nutrition will be at the Northbrook Velodrome this Thursday handing out free sample products and introducing riders to the concept of custom sports nutrition. In other track news, note that the velodrome will be closed this weekend for repairs to the surface.

I made this claim last year, and I’ll make it again: Sunday’s Chicago Criterium is the finest criterium course in the Midwest and perhaps the entire United States.

The money will be huge, the crowds will be enormous and some of the biggest names in domestic racing will be putting on the greatest show on two wheels Sunday. This race was a hit in its 2008 debut, and with the 2009 edition making the National Racing Calendar, the P/1/2 field should be even stronger -- especially with Euro Chris Horner (Astana) and possibly Mike Friedman (Garmin-Slipstream) making appearances.

And lucky us, we amateurs get to race, too.

The course is great. Most of the turns are wide and smooth. Turn 2, a downhill left onto Michigan Avenue, requires concentration, although it proved not much of a problem last year. Keep your inside pedal up as you lean. Do not use this turn to advance positions. Find a wheel you trust and stay there. Bomb the inside and you will get pinched and yelled at. Advance on the outside and you will quickly run out of real estate and run up into street furniture.

Cat 3 and below should expect a lot of accordion effect at this corner.  The first 10 riders will go through at speed, but after that it will bunch up and nervous riders -- guilty as charged -- will brake to scrub some speed. This will open the slightest of gaps and require huge accelerations once onto Michigan.

Here’s handlebar video from first first and last laps of last year’s Cat 3 race.

Consult the race bible for a list of the cash primes available, including $1,000 for the half-race leader in the P/1/2’s.

Conventional wisdom is that the future of the Chicago Criterium hinges on the Olympic bid. If Chicago is unsuccessful, this could very well be the last time we see bicycle racing on Michigan avenue. Don’t squander the opportunity: Ride well, but also make time to watch an entire day of great racing.

To accommodate demand from the lower categories, Soldier Field Cycling is adding a second 4/5’s race for its remaining Wednesdays, effective July 29.

The 30-minute races will go off at 6:50 and 7:25 p.m.

This should be a good thing: More riders will get a chance to race, and with smaller fields the races will be safer.

Rock Racing has yet to make an appearance, but pros Karl Menzies (OUCH) and Mike Friedman (Garmin-Slipstream) both made big impressions on Sunday’s’s Evanston Grand Prix despite riding without teammates.

Early in the P/1/2 race Menzies created a break with Ronnie Strange (Hotel San Jose ) and James Stemper (Geargrinder). The three ran a disciplined rotation, conceding to Stemper the maximum sprint points, but after 48 laps out front they were caught and quickly replaced by a six-man group that included Friedman.

That group became five, then four and then with about five laps to go, just three, with Ryan Freund (ABD) losing the pace. Friedman put in one big dig to get away, but the other two matched him, and coming down Sherman Avenue it was South African Christoff Van Heerden (Team MTN) handily taking the sprint for his second win of Superweek.

Meanwhile, Freund, who just a year ago was finishing 2nd in the 4’s race here, put in a courageous effort to stay off in no-man’s land, but a $200 gamblers prime nailed his coffin shut for good, and he limped in at the back of the pack.

The BK Stacker continued to claim its share of flesh and treasure -- including some mayhem on the final lap of the 3’s race -- but although I missed most of the day, I’m told that overall there was less carnage than previous editions, and unlike last year, the P/1/2 race never had to be neutralized to tend to injured riders.

Having spent the past few days on vacation, my finger has been off the Superweek pulse. Nontheless, here are some highlights since the last wrap-up:

• » Riders are raving about Thursday’s return to the Milwaukee lakefront, and I’m looking forward to Wednesday’s long course there. Our top result comes from Ben La Force (Team Get a Grip Cycles), who bridged to an early break in the 3’s and saved enough to sprint for the win.

• » Thursday’s P/1/2 race in Shorewood, Wis., got to a late start because a small residential fire on the course. The race was shortened, meaning sprints for points every five laps, including one for a $1,664 crowd prime. “The announcers cranked up the sound system and really got the crowd rocking,” reports ace photographer John Wilke. “That fed the racers and they were hammering. The Euros were going nuts, attacking everybody. It was just crazy.”

• » Former local amateur Reid Mumford (Kelly Benefit Strategies) made an appearance at Friday’s Tour of Holy HIll along with teammate and Superweek veteran Alex Candelario.  Mumford made the final selection of four, but came in last in his group. (My kind of ride!) Meanwhile, Tim Yuska of the new Iron Cycles squad picked up 3rd in the 4/5’s.

• » Brewers Hill on Saturday’s Schlitz Park criterium course took a toll on most fields. Notable local survivors include Chris Padfield (Team Get a Grip Cycles) winning his chase group for 2nd in the 3’s and state champion Liam Donoghue (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) winning the 4/5’s.

• » Ben Jamin-Widoff (Team Powerbar) had a successful day in Evanston. First he came in 2nd to Rob Karlow (Verdigris) in the 4/5’s, and then he hung on for 5th after his three-man break -- which happened to include 2009 phenom Joel Friedman (Bicycle Heaven), brother of the Garmin-Slipstream rider -- was reeled in on the last lap of the 4’s race, won by Blue Island’s hero Ernie Ciccolini (Van Wagner/Yojimbo’s). WDT-Allvoi had a good day in the 3’s, staying out of trouble and going 3-4 with Ricardo Otero and Waylon Janowiak, who have been a potent twosome lately. No local winners in the masters races, but Streamwood sprinter John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club) grabbed 3rd in both the 30+ and 40+, and Paul Swinand (Comcast) finished 2nd in the 40+, his second 2nd of of the week after doing the same at Elgin. Evanston gave women 3/4’s their first chance to race, and Pascale Petro (Project 5) was the top local, getting 4th.

Full Lakefront/Shorewood results. Full Tour of Holy HIll results. Full Schlitz Park results. Full Evanston results.

Lakefront (short) reports
Ben La Force (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “The peloton got close at one point and after that effort the gap started growing again up to almost two minutes.”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “My diabetes has been great at every race. Today was the terrible exception.”

Jake Teitelbaum (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “There are only a few people willing to do anything. Everybody else wants to hang out and get pulled along through most of the race.”

Lakefront (short) photos
John Wilke

Shorewood reports
CyclingNews: “The primes and red jersey sprint points were hotly contested, and this kept the pace very high and strung out.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “A tour can be fickle and to win it you have to make it through every day. Safely.”

Julia LaFranchise (W-P/1/2/3): “I heard something behind me and the next thing I know I’m getting eaten alive by a very angry peloton that decided I’d spent enough time off the front. Bummer.”

Adam Mills (Mercy; P/1/2): “Fun, fast and rough like a good Superweek race should be.”

Dale Tye (Altarum Cycling; W-P/1/2/3): “My legs are smashed and I felt like I was pulling a truck and trailer unit behind me by the end of the race today.”

Kristin Wentworth (Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “I was impressed with the aggressive racing after hearing that in prior days things were a little negative and slow. Money will do that to a field of poor racers!”

Shorewood photos
Greg Smith
John Wilke
Runaway Wind

Tour of Holy Hill reports
CyclingNews: “According to MTN this move was done ‘to entice racing in the main field, but no one responded.’”

Bryan McVey (Vision Quest; P/1/2): “They both beat me in the sprint but at least we didn’t get sucked up by the field.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I was really moving, and as I watched the gap close, I began to entertain glorious visions in my head as time slowed to a standstill.”

Avi Neurohr (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 4/5): “I don’t want to get stuck in a packlet of droppees, so I bury it and go from 40th to 30th. Over the top, again, I’m waiting for the blitz, but it’s pretty limp. Everyone’s dead.”

William Pankonin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I had been racing really smart, but when we hit the last hill before the run into the finish, my legs fell off.”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “Everyone decided to stop working, so on the last lap, I attacked twice.”

Tour of Holy Hill photos
John Wilke

Schlitz Park reports
Julia LaFranchise (Team VRC; W-P/1/2/3): “When a rider went up the road in the first lap I powered up the climb and joined her. Turns out this was the winning break!”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “"With groups spread all over the 1-mile course, it was hard for the racers to tell what they were sprinting for at the finish.”

Chris Padfield (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “It was a race for second at this point and i just kept my own pace until I caught the lone chaser, a tiny junior.”

Kristin Wentworth (Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “The wet roads are pretty nasty and trying to draft often results in a face full of gritty water.”


Schlitz Park photos
John Rowland: P/1/2, W-P/1/2/3, 3
Greg Smith
John Wilke

Evanston reports
John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 30+ 1/2/3, 40+ 1/2/3): “Some days you just seem to know exactly what to do.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): ”Josie Giddens responded to the capture with a counter of her own. From two laps out she flew for the line, head down, through 5,000 spectators fueling her on.”

Geoff Kuyper (Leadout Racing; 3): “I flew into the last corner and jumped shortly afterward, about 300 meters from the line. Somehow no one was able to come around me and I was able to hang on for the win!”

Henry Loud (Team Pegasus; 3): “Had Peter not gone down, the sprint would have been stacked!”

Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA; W-P/1/2/3): “It’s always fun racing when you have a huge crowd and tons of people cheering for you.”

Avi Neurohr (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 4, 4/5): “Sure enough, the last lap through turn five, all hell.”

Steve Ohlhaber (Dolce Vita; 4/5): “No one would pull through when you came off the front. Instead they would attack the chase group or surge up on both sides.”

Joe Schubert (Half Acre Cycling; 4): “I corner like the devil and prefer the inside line.”

Jeremiah Smith (Half Acre Cycling; 4/5): “s my group rounds the bend and heads into the finish line we have 5 laps to go, there seems to be some jostling for position and right behind me I hear a rider go down”

Evanston photos
Carolyn Golz
Luke Seemann
Tim Speciale
Ed White
John Wilke

Superweek packs up today and heads north to Wisconsin for the balance of the series, save for Sunday’s Evanston Grand Prix.

Some local highlights from the past three days of racing:

• » Between Ryan Freund‘s locomotive engine and Josh Carter‘s sprint, ABD has had a formidable 1-2 punch at its disposal, and they’ve been the top locals in the P/1/2 races. After several attacks lit up Tuesday’s race in Arlington Heights, Freund made the winning break of five, coming in 3rd. Carter meanwhile picked up two more top 10’s -- 9th at Richton Park on Monday, 6th in Bensenville on Wednesday -- and sits in 6th overall.

• » Tomasz Boba (WDT-Allvoi) has his own private podium, placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in the 30+ 1/2/3. Teammate James Londono has also had a successful week, winning the 30+ 4/5 in both Richton Park and Arlington Heights and securing a good lead in the overall.

• » Hogan Sills (Verizon Wireless) immediately picked up where he left off in Champaign, winning the 3’s race in Richton Park and placing 2nd in Arlington Heights. Sunday’s winner Joe Bippus (South Chicago Wheelmen) has been consistently in the top 10 and now leads the overall.

• » Marshaling and course management has been satisfactory thus far, but a young girl on a bicycle rolled onto the Richton Park course during the P/1/2 course. Curtis Gunn (Fly V Australia) was buried in an attack and struck her bike in a violent collision, and the race was suspended while he was taken away in an ambulance. CyclingNews reports that he punctured a lung and broke ribs. The girl was unharmed.

Full Richton Park results. Full Arlington Heights results. Full Bensenville results.

Richton Park reports
Eric Bennett (Team VRC; P/1/2): “With a very short lap, the pace was going to be high, and there was a strong chance that a breakaway could lap the field.”

CyclingNews: “The bunching up of riders through some of the tight turns, coupled with sketchy riding made for some hair-raising experiences for a number of riders.”

Stephen Butler (Wheelfast; 30+ 4/5): “Through squinted eyes and clenched teeth I eyeballed about 10 riders in front of me.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “With six total up the road, Colavita was split apart for the first time this week and could only put one rider into the top five.”

Julia LaFranchise (Team VRC; W-P/1/2/3): “There was a small gap on the field so I got to the front and did my best to make the break stick.”

Dale Tye (Altarum Cycling; W-P/1/2/3): “Normally things come back together after a sprint as the sprinters recover from their efforts, but this time they had a reasonable gap and they kept on going!”

Chris Uberti (Panther/RGF; P/1/2): “If you’re scared of bumping shoulders and chopping fields in a sprint, Superweek is not for you.”

Andrew Zens (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “One guy yelled, ‘You gotta hold your line, or you are gonna kill all of us,’ and he couldn’t have been more dead on: This guy was gonna hurt one of us unless we dropped him off the back quick!”

Arlington Heights reports
Stephen Butler (Wheelfast; 30+ 4/5): “We bunched-up riders at the back lost a lot of momentum in the turn and had to accelerate extra hard to maintain contact with the front riders.”

Rob Curtis (Bicycle Heaven; 4/5, 30+ 4/5): “I’m tired. I suck. I’m too fat for this sport.”

Debbie Dust (PACT/Dish Network; W-P/1/2/3): “Hammer up the bumpy gutter between turns 7 and 8, pick through the holes and sprint my guts out as soon as I saw daylight.”

Adam Mills (Mercy; P/1/2): “Just being able to finish a Superweek race is an accomplishment.”

Avi Neurohr (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 4/5, 30+4/5): “I had a fantastic Italian beef sandwich and lemon ice from Johnnie’s.”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “I couldn’t even sprint because everyone was blocking after bonking.”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “I felt the effort but I actually felt good! But I didn’t go to the front. Why? Because I’m a dunce.”

Dale Tye (Altarum Cycling; W-P/1/2/3): “There were many riders keen to breakaway so the race was very active.”

Arlington Heights photos
John Wilke

Bensenville reports
Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “The peloton took some of its hardest shots at Colavita today and for the first time, the leaders could’t win the race, and the peloton made them work.”

Chris Koster (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “We stretched it out and had the room to go into the tricky Turn 4 fast with a nice safe line.”

Adam Mills (Mercy; P/1/2): “We started as all the races have started thus far. Too fast. Maybe I should warm up? Nah, what’s the fun there?”

William Pankonin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Spin, breathe, spin, breathe, turn, hammer.”

Tom Panton (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “It’s a huge sense of accomplishment when you help a teammate do well.”

Dale Tye (Altarum Cycling; W-P/1/2/3): “Everyone was just really tired and that made the whole race a bit of a non-event.”

• » Mike Ebert (ABD) has some good advice for surviving Superweek with body and sanity intact.

• » Help ABD raise funds to send Jessi Prinner to Russia. Prinner is now in California training with the national team.

• » Downers Grove registration is open.

• » Liam Donoghue (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) gets Markley’d.

• » Bryce Walsh (Turin), the ultracyclist who last year attempted to set the 24-hour track record at the Northbrook Velodrome, recently competed in the 325-mile, 45,000-feet-of-climbing Ride Across the Alps. His time of 30 hours, 4 minutes was good for 20th place.

• » Compliments of Doug Peterson (WDT-Allvoi), Time Trial Track Chicago. It’s like CBR, but with skinsuits.

• » The best newspaper coverage of the Tour de France and Lemont’s most famous son Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) continues to be the Chicago Tribune The New York Times, including regular diary entries from Vande Velde.

• » The Allvoi Cup continues Saturday at the Northbrook Velodrome.

• » “I’m going to Yojimbo’s!”

Soldier Field Cycling is combining its women’s races starting tomorrow. P/1/2/3’s and 4’s will race together at 6 p.m. but will be scored separately.

Also, Chicago 2016 will have a booth this week, including two-time Olympian John Vande Velde.

I’m hearing nothing but positive reports from those who headed south for the debut Tour de Champaign. The only hitch appears to have been a thunderstorm in Saturday’s 4’s race, above, which briefly suspended that race and made crosswalk paint slick and dicey.

Unlike most of our local crits, the P/1/2 fields were much larger than the lower-category races, and some ace teams and riders came out to play, including Panther/RGF, Amgen/Giant Masters and Texas Roadhouse. Jeff Schroetlin (ABD) had a good weekend, coming in 3rd in Saturday’s P/1/2 and then winning Sunday.

It would be hard to top the weekend of young Hogan Sills of host Verizon Wireless. He got in small breaks in both 3’s races and won them both. (With a number of crashes in the 3’s, off the front was no doubt the best place to be.)

Host Wild Card Cycling also did well, sweeping Sunday’s 4’s podium and winning both women’s 3/4’s races. The weekend’s never-say-die award, however, goes to Liam Donoghue (XXX Racing-AthletiCo), who crashed twice in Saturday’s wet 4’s race, then went off solo after the lightning intermission and won handily.

The best result of all may be this from Mark Swartzendruber (Verizon Wireless): “This race is a definite GO for 2010.”

Full Saturday results.  Full Sunday results.

Saturday race reports
Newt Cole (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “Menacing pace and insane surges until the bell lap.”

Liam Donoghue (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “I wait a couple laps, attack into the wind, and, blood dripping down both legs, stay off for the rest of the race. Bingo.”

Joey Iuliano (Purdue; P/1/2): “Nothing special, but I didn’t get dropped nor did I psych myself out, both good signs.”

Ryan Knapp (Panther/RGF; P/1/2): “I had my back wheel locked up and was in full Tokyo drift to avoid the bike and bodies that were flying.”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “After a bunch of people crashed in front of me and behind me, I decided to call it quits.”

Chris Uberti (Panther/RGF; P/1/2): “My personal favorite: ‘You two shouldn’t have been going so slow in the sprint.’”

WICD: “‘Crashes happen. Wins happen, too.’”

Saturday photos
Liz Brunson
Nikki Cyp
Delay_ewm
Nick Mann
Pixel_nation
Brad Trankina

Sunday race reports
Newt Cole (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “The wheel in front of me pukes all over himself and sits up. I nearly rear end him. I have to sit and avoid, breaking my vibe. I re-engage turbos and in front of me and its like a trail of dead.”

Joey Iuliano (Purdue; P/1/2): “The Jelly Belly guys were laying down some hard moves but everybody in the field had the same idea: ‘Gee, these guys are pro. Probably should follow that.’”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “Caught behind two people who almost crashed out in the final sprint.”

Chris Uberti (Panther/RGF; P/1/2): “After we got down to five seconds they started riding away again, so I jumped away from my breakaway companion to try to go it alone.”

Sunday photos
Liz Brunson
Nikki Cyp
Delay_ewm

The Superweek buzz is thus far cautiously optimistic. One can’t yet set their watch by start times, but delays haven’t been outrageous, and most riders I’ve talked to are happier with the way things are going this year.

The most positive change has been the addition of the Elgin Cycling Classic course. It was much more technical than the road races we’re accustomed to, but it was a great stretch of residential road. The best part was that it was a closed-road course, which felt very pro, and the intersections were all well-marshaled. (I confess I flinched when I saw police cars at the intersections. I fully expected the klaxons to light up so we could be scolded for not riding single-file. Such is riding in the northwest suburbs.)

Pavement was excellent except for the final three turns, which caused some trouble in some races, including a violent crash at the end of the 4/5’s race. A hush fell as one rider walked through the crowd with what was once a bike but had become no more than a collection of parts, with tires peeled from crushed rims and chainring taco’d.

Highlights from the weekend’s racing:

• » After getting shut out of Friday’s action, local riders fared better in the Blue Island P/1/2 race. Ryan Freund (ABD) was in a break long enough to pick up some sprint points, and then sprinter Josh Carter (ABD) won the race with a bike throw.

• » Nobody I’ve talked to can remember a 3’s break lapping the field, but that’s what happened Saturday when seven riders made it all the way around. XXX Racing-AthletiCo and WDT-Allvoi each had two riders in the break, but once the field was lapped, XXX Racing-AthletiCo was able to tap its other teammates for leadouts, leading to Peter Strittmatter winning the sprint and the race and Jacques Cartier to come in 3rd. WDT-Allvoi settled for 2nd and 4th from Ricardo Otero and Waylon Janowiak, the same pair that made the break a week before in Wood Dale.

• » Ernie Ciccolini (Van Wagner/Yojimbo’s) has been campaigning for an upgrade all year. Surely he sealed the deal Saturday by winning both the 4/5’s and the 30+ 4/5’s. In the photo above he looks remarkably casual as the Cat 2 trackie sprints to win the latter.

• » La Grange Park’s Matt Silvia (King Keyser) has an impressive dirt pedigree, but we’ve not seen much of him on the road. His Superweek has been notable, having placed 4th and 2nd in the 4/5’s and 30+ 4/5’s at Blue Island, and then 6th in Elgin.

• » Elgin’s P/1/2 finish had an international flair, with only one American in the top 8. The rest hailed from South Africa, Australia, Holland and Taiwan. Saturday’s winner Carter finished 9th and starts the week in 7th overall.

• » Colavita/Sutter Home is thus far having its way with the women’s P/1/2/3 series. None of its three riders have finished outside the top five, and Nicky Wansgard sits atop the overall. Local rider Jeannie Kuhajek (Team Mack) is holding her own, picking up some sprint points at Blue Island and coming in 8th at Elgin.

• » Burnham Racing and XXX Racing-Athletico made up about a third of the 3’s field Sunday, so once an acceptable five-man break came together as the 3’s passed the women’s peloton, it came together for good, building up a two-minute gap. It was Joe Bippus (South Chicago Wheelmen) who got the biggest benefit, however, launching an early sprint to drop what was left of the break, ahead of state criterium champion Jeff Wat (Burnham Racing) in 2nd.

In other Superweek news, Andy Garrison tells me he expects Rock Racing to show up Wednesday with eight riders, and he expects Mike Friedman (Garmin-Slipstream) soon too. Former national criterium champion Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) also is joining us this week after racing the Tour de Champaign. Garrison also reports that official Dave Fowkes has designed some barrier improvements at Evanston to reduce the annual crash-fests in Turns 4 and 5.

Full Blue Island results. Full Elgin results.

Blue Island reports
Stephen Butler (Wheelfast; 30+ 4/5): “A rush of adrenaline took control over my tongue and I screamed, ‘Gosh darn it, Endure It!’”

Jacques Cartier (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “Someone in our break jumped to the pack.  That was when chaos took over.”

CyclingNews: “Carter got in to prime position with the help of teammate Ryan Freund and launched his jump coming out of the final corner.”

Elvis Falbo (Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak): “It was unintentional and totally not my style.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “The Hub train came apart around the final turn as the hard charging colavita bunch came to
the front.”

Chris Kinonen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 1/2/3): “What’s the number one rule in a break? Don’t get dropped from it.  This is what I kept telling myself.”

Tim Yuska (Iron Cycles; 4/5): “A South Chicago Wheelmen rider was on point and did an awesome job setting a good tempo. Usually there are people swarming to the front and then hitting the brakes, not wanting to do any work once they get there.”

Andrew Zens (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “Boom, another crash in front of me in the last turn. I stayed up and then I attempted to sprint to the finish.”

zMotion Racing (P/1/2): “On the last lap Juan and Hector were perfectly placed for the sprint when on the second to last corner were cut off and forced them to scramble back towards the front of the peloton”

Blue Island photos
Kevin Curtis
John Wilke

Elgin reports
John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 30+ 1/2/3): “It was a race that was pretty technically and strategically sound.”

Daily Herald: “‘I’m really a wuss, if you want to know the truth.’”

Jim Hamman (Tower Racing; 4/5): “I wanted to make certain to be first into the first dangerous turn first and set up Ed and Don for a sprint finish. It was perfectly scripted.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “Can Colavita sprint like this for two weeks or can Hub push them into eventual submission?”

Dave Jagee (Flatlandia; 4/5): “I decided it was all or nothing. Work my way through the crash, put my head down and start to hammer.”

Adam Mills (Mercy; P/1/2): “I cramped to the point of seeing striations in my quads, then decided to be a cheerleader for the remainder.”

William Pankonin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I lost my nerve as the swarm came and when I saw racers taking big risks all around me, and I gave up precious positions until I found myself in the middle of the pack.”

Francisco Torralba (Team Tati; 30+ 4/5): “I joined a small group of other laggards, which always makes the penitence easier. In those situations I like to fantasize that I am in a breakaway group, escaping from an imaginary pack barely two corners behind.”

John Wolters (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I could hear the tires of another rider to my right so I put my head down and sprinted it out for 4th place.”

Tim Yuska (Iron Cycles; 4/5): “I had a bad feeling about that turn before the race, and now I know why. I ass- and elbow-skidded until running into the curb.”

Elgin photos
Mark Keller

With a fan’s large Australian flag flapping over the finish line, two Aussies hit the podium Firday at Superweek’s opener in Beverly.

Australian national criterium champion Bernie Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) won out of a 12-man break, followed by teammate and 2008 overall winner Jonathan Cantwell in 3rd. In 2nd was Chad Burdzilauskas (Kenda), shown above launching a bridge to an early move.

Attacks started on the first lap. Eventually a 13-man break formed and lapped the field less than halfway through the 62-mile criterium. After several primes and an intermediate sprint, a second break of 12 formed, including 10 from the original break, and it built about a minute on what was left of the field. Fly V Australia had three in this second break and used its numbers to its advantage.

Of the approximately 80 riders who started, no more than 35 finished. I could be wrong, but although Wisconsin riders Rob White (Geargrinder), James Stemper (Geargrinder) and Andy Crater made both breaks, I didn’t spot any Chicago riders among the finishers.

Rock Racing was not present, but other elite teams included Garmin-Slipstream, which sent two Dutch riders, Ricardo Van der Velde and Hans Dekkers, the latter of whom earned the red points jersey.

Full results.

Update: Elgin’s Douglas Street Bar and Grill will be hosting OpenSprints fixed-fork roller races Sunday. These races are fun, and could be a good way to spin the post-race pain out of your legs. The restraurant is at 231 Douglas Ave., close to the start/finish.

Race reports
Adam Mills (Mercy; P/1/2): “Superweek is a place where time has a different meaning, where the only time that matters is the race start time and when Noodles or Chipotle close”

Photos
Luke Seemann
John Wilke

Because of competing events and other factors, masters track state championships, originally scheduled for tomorrow, have been postponed to Saturday, Aug. 8.

The Mayor’s Office of Special Events confirmed today that Chris Horner (Astana) will race the Chicago Criterium on Sunday, July 26.  Horner placed 14th 15th at the 2007 Tour de France and 4th at the 2008 Chicago Criterium. Many fans regard it as an injustice that he won’t be sipping Champagne down the Champs-Élysées that day, so he’s sure to be warmly received here.

Update: Turin in Evanston will be hosting an autograph session with Horner on Friday, July 24. The 5 p.m. event will be free, with snacks.

And on Friday, July 17, Turin will have an event to promote SRAM’s 2010 Force, including members of Team Lip Smacker and some yet-unconfirmed men’s pro teams.

Jessi Prinner (ABD) just learned that she’ll be representing the United States in August at the UCI Junior World Champsionships in Moscow, Russia. She’ll compete in both the road race and the time trial.

And today U.S. Paralympics named Greta Neimanas (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) to the national team that will compete at November’s UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Manchester, England. Neimanas, who lives and trains in Colorado, returns to Chicago this week to compete in Superweek.

Some highlights from the weekend:

• » We picked up one last medal from masters national championships thanks to Debbie Dust (PACT/Dish Network), who placed 3rd in the women’s 35-39 criterium Thursday at Churchill Downs in Lousiville, Ky.

• » Top results from Saturday’s UWW Road Race include Alex Rams (Colavita) and Romeo Oros (Team MS Racing) going 2-3 in the 4/5’s and David Jaggi (Flatlandia) 4th in the 30+ 4/5’s. Jannette Rho (Bouledogue Tout Noir) earned her latest podium with a 3rd in the women’s 4’s.

• » There were bad pileups in the lower categories at Sunday’s Wood Dale Criterium, ending at least one season, that of Mike Kelly (South Chicago Wheelmen).

• » WDT-Allvoi pushed two riders into the 3’s break at Wood Dale and managed to get both across the line first, with Ricardo Otero in 1st and Waylon Janowiak in 2nd. Otero then placed 3rd in the 40+.

• » Some Spidermonkeys went to the Tour of Lawrence in Kansas and reeled off some great results. Andrew Zens won Saturday’s 5’s criterium, Jake Teitelbaum won Sunday’s circuit race in the 4’s, and Brian Witry placed 3rd in both day’s 5’s races.

• » Some great track news to report: John Tomlinson (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) earned his first stars-and-stripes jersey Saturday by winning the 17-18 scratch race at junior track national championships in Carson, Calif. He attacked with 10 laps to go and held his gap to the finish. Chazz Martin (IS Corp) was also out there and picked up a pair of medals: 2nd in the 15-16 scratch and 3rd in the sprint. And Val Brostrom (Bouledogue Tout Noir) spent the week at the Alpenrose Velodrome in Portland, Ore., and she and her partner won FIAC’s national six-day championships.

Full UWW results. Full Wood Dale results.

UWW reports
Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-P/1/2/3): “My legs simply didn’t move fast enough. I couldn’t make them.”

Matt Nichols (Project 5; 4/5): “I had to do a little bushwhacking off-road on the right side to avoid the crash.”

William Pankonin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I was desperate for more gears coming down the little hump.”

Ted Ramos (Get a Grip Off Road; 4/5): “We’re riding over 35 mph and get to about 200 meters when everything falls apart horribly.”

Francisco Torralba (Tati; 4/5): “The last half lap, for me, was an encounter with the Spanish Inquisition.”

Kyle Wiberg (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “I collected a couple of cherry bombs.  On my elbow and knee that is.”

Wood Dale reports
Ron Cook (Project 5; 3): “I almost just sat up and waited for the field but thankfully common sense took over and made the effort to stay with the break.”

Debbie Dust (PACT/Dish Network; 50+): “You know the guys I’m talking about, the slackers, the ones who say, ‘I’m not fat, I’m a sprinter.’”

Greg Nash (Project 5; 4): “A couple guys went and I kicked it and was riding fast, third or fourth wheel.”

Andy Powell (Project 5; 3): “I started to let a gap go but still kept up the pace to prevent anyone from coming around too quickly.  That did it. “

It was a rough Superweek in 2008. Venues were late in being secured, and some turned out to be of questionable design. Crashes seemed endemic, many because of rider error but some because of dodgy courses. And then there was the matter of cashing those prize checks.

Some speculated that that might have been the end of Superweek, but indications are that complaints were well-taken, and in its 41st year, Superweek seems to be more on track, with experienced race directors and event producers being brought on board to help.

Prominent teams aren’t shying away. Rock Racing has registered eight riders, and there will also be representatives from Garmin-Slipstream, Team San Jose Hotel, Jelly Belly and Fly V Australia. Strong teams on the women’s side inlclude Colavita/Sutter Home and Hub Racing. (Host housing in Chicago is sought for some of these riders.)

Here is the the complete 17-day schedule. Fee-free registration closes tonight. I haven’t been to every venue, but here’s what I know:

Beverly (Friday, July 10)
Opening night is P/1/2-only, but all cycling fans should visit this charming Chicago neighborhood and take in this stellar course. A steep hill at Turn 1 takes its toll on riders, and a screaming downhill turn sends racers down the homestretch at a frantic pace. The atmosphere is electric, the sprints are wild and this could be Chicago’s most fun race to watch. Metra is close, handy for those heading straight from work.

Blue Island (Saturday, July 11)
Flat rectangle. What more can be said, other than this takes place in another great neighborhood with good community support?

Elgin (Sunday, July 12)
The 4/5’s have already sold out and there’s much excitement for Elgin, which reprises a course long ago used as a UCI juniors event. To honor that pedigree, an extra $1,000 is on the line for U-23 riders in the P/1/2 field. It’s a residential route with plenty of rollers. Enough to facilitate separations? Possibly.

Richton Park (Monday, July 13)
Of the courses that made their debut in 2008, this was the most acceptable. Good pavement and good turns around a suburban park.

Arlington Heights (Tuesday, July 14)
A new course: Flat figure-8 with two long stretches that should allow for high speeds.

Bensenville (Wednesday, July 15)
The village of Bensenville generously paved a path through a park for us to race bicycles on, but it’s not ideal: The path is narrow with off-camber turns. The finish line is again on a chicane, which will allow for hundreds of nearby concertgoers to enjoy the finishing action, but it makes for a dangerous sprint. Keep your head up as you clear the line.

Lakefront, short course (Thursday, July 16)
Superweek is calling this a road race, but since it’s less than 5 km, I’m not sure it qualifies. In either case, it’s a fun course in a great Milwaukee location that has been unavailable because of construction since 2005. There’s a steep kicker on each lap. I’m a bit wary of races being run concurrently. Lap traffic would be dangerous with only one field on the course at a time, so with no more than 2 minutes separating fields, I hope officials are vigilant about pulling riders out of competition. (P/1/2’s and women will race in Shorewood, Wis., in the evening.)

Tour of Holy Hill (Friday, July 17)
This is Superweek’s lone remaining true road race. There are a few uphill kickers, but nothing that will afford climbers much advantage. The steepest pitch comes after Waterford turns into Kettle Moraine, but it’s followed by a long, straight descent that will allow laggards to catch back on. Also beware of the jokers who will drill it up the feed-zone climb. Give yourself time to scout out the uphill finish, as it’s a stretch of road that’s not covered on the rollout or the 8.1 mile course. Last year many people didn’t heed this advice and were caught off-guard by the finish line and the slight incline leading up to it.

Schlitz Park (Saturday, July 18)
Another Milwaukee course that’s been off-limits for a few years, this one features a steep climb and fast, technical descent.

Evanston (Sunday, July 19)
I’m not suggesting a conspiracy, but in this race’s two-year history it has sent more than its share of riders to the sponsoring hospital. It shouldn’t be a dangerous course, but all fields have been susceptible to gnarly pile-ups in two of its six corners. The first is Turn 4 as Davis turns onto Orrington. Riders on the outside have a habit of clipping the barriers in front of Hotel Orrington. Even more problematic is the famous BK Stacker in Turn 5. Here two lanes become one, and the outside curb pinches in more sharply than you expect. If you’re not directly behind someone’s wheel into this corner, you may be in trouble. Meanwhile, riders at the front will be taking the turns smoothly and blasting out of them, leading to a significant accordion effect in the back.

Whitnall Park, long course (Monday, July 20)
Another road race in name only, this is a good, rolling closed course in a botanic garden. Races will be decided on the final climb that’s followed by no more than 50 flat meters before the line. Note that since this is not a criterium, there will be no free laps.

Whitnall Park, short course (Tuesday, July 21)
The action stays in the park, this time on the same course that has in the past been used as a spring criterium. It features long stairstep climbs -- I have always had success here attacking at the base of the second stairstep. The finish line is shown to be on the course’s lone flat stretch, which comes after a long, curving descent. (P/1/2’s race in the evening in Cedarburg, Wis.)

Lakefront, long course (Wednesday, July 22)
This 4.2-mile course uses the same course as the short course, but then adds one more up-and-down for good measure. This time there are three fields on the course at one time, so once again I am hopeful that officials clear out the lap traffic, all due respect to those who paid $30 only to get popped in the first few laps.

I am not familiar with the balance of the Wisconsin schedule, but July 25’s Great Downer Avenue Bike Race is always a crowd pleaser with giant primes and large turnout of spectators.

Because of low pre-registration, the Tour de Champaign is canceling its juniors races this weekend. However, it is adding a Sunday Cat 5 race to the schedule. Here is the updated flier. Cat 5’s can register on-site with no late fees.

Early in my racing career I was directed to the Truesport columns of Mark Swartzendruber (Verizon Wireless), and I’ve never been the same. His race reports are not only the funniest cycling writing around, but they are also reliable sources of insight, racing wisdom and even sound relationship advice. It was from him, after all, that I learned the concept of the feckless weenie, thus beginning a long-simmering bias against sprinters and other squatters.

Swartzendruber, 46, is of course more than just a humorist. He’s also one of the region’s strongest time trialists. It’s not unusual for him to show up at spring time trials and score not only the fastest time but, by racing in multiple categories, the second- and third-fastest as well, and twice he has earned silver medals at masters national championships. In 2008 he was our state champion in the road race (40+) and the time trial (40+ and P/1/2), and in 2009 he has picked up masters criterium wins at Cobb Park and Wood Dale.

This summer he is gets into the race-promotion game with this weekend’s Tour de Champaign (online registration closes tonight) and August’s Druber’s 40K Time Trial Challenge, where riders beating their host’s time get a $50 bonus.

The financial adviser and Cubs fan has long been Downstate’s problem, but soon he and his wife are moving to Chicago. This week I checked in with the Druber to find out more about what’s in store for us. He can always be counted on for a unique point of view on a variety of issues, and he did not disappoint.

If I smoke more cigars, drink more bourbon and marry a lovelier woman, will I go faster? Seems to work OK for you.
I wouldn’t recommend anyone follow the training regimen I undertake.  It’s been known to break some very hard men. Everyone needs to find a training program that works for them.

Seriously, most of us so high-strung from all the training and attendant self-denial that we show up at races wan and cranky. Yet you seem to actually being enjoying yourself. What’s the secret to performing well and still enjoying the good life?
Interesting question. Of all the sports I’ve done in my life, `I genuinely enjoy riding my bike, so I never “train.” I just ride a lot and enjoy it, and I guess because I ride a lot, I race well.’ cyclists are by far a breed of athlete that takes themselves far too seriously. This is especially true of masters guys.  The ones who say “I only do this for fun” are most often the worst offenders.

I genuinely enjoy riding my bike, so I never “train.” I just ride a lot and enjoy it, and I guess because I ride a lot, I race well and I’m a pretty low-key guy by nature.

What kind of writing background do you have?
None really.  I mostly steal ideas from that grumpy curmudgeon, the Right Rev. William H Stone (Labor Power), who also writes on Truesport.

You once played professional baseball. How far did you get?
I played a couple of seasons of short-season ball with a non-affiliated minor league team. We played everyone from rookie league teams to AA teams.  I was a catcher with a great arm and a mediocre bat.

You got into racing fairly late. Do you ever wonder how you’d have turned out if you’d started as a junior? Ever think you coulda been a contender?
I’ve been told by people who may know a thing or two about cycling that I would have made a pretty decent classics rider, but I really don’t dwell too much on “what ifs.” I’m just enjoying the ride and glad I got into cycling at all.

Everything I know about the baseball life I learned from “Bull Durham.” How do you compare the clubhouse atmosphere with the camaraderie we get in racing and on group rides?
Baseball players aren’t the brightest lot you’ll ever run into so most of the conversation centered on farts and beer.  Cyclists talk about themselves and need positive affirmation from others much more than baseball players did.  The race recaps and normalized power readings are almost unbearable, which is why I ride by myself most of the time.  I don’t do this sport for social reasons.

It’s interesting that you say you like to ride alone, since you’re one of the more gregarious guys around.  `I’ve always been a person who wants to go to the highest level I can at whatever it is I’m doing.’If not the social aspects, what motivates you to endure everything that cycling entails? If it’s just exercise and competition, why not tennis or poker? I hear they’re very safe.
I genuinely like and enjoy people -- even cyclists!  That doesn’t mean I need to have people around me when I ride.  I can get more done to improve and maintain my race readiness on my own than when I’m sitting in the middle of a group ride listening to some guy telling me about his normalized power reading from the masters crit he did last weekend.

I’ve never considered the stuff it takes to be a good athlete something to be “endured.” When I played minor league baseball or football and basketball in high school or golf (I was once a 2 handicap golfer), I found the time spent alone working on fundamentals (ball handling, footwork, putting, chipping, free throws, swing fundamentals, etc.) to be infinitely more valuable than the scrimmages or games.

You’ve made mention of a breed of racer known as the “professional Cat 3.” What’s your call for when it’s time to upgrade from 3 to 2? After working so hard to become competitive, why on earth would someone want to be pack fodder all over again?
Another idea stolen from Rev. Billy.  I’ve always been a person who wants to go to the highest level I can at whatever it is I’m doing, and I can’t understand anyone who would want to stop somewhere short of that. Anyone who is consistently dominating the races in a category is ready to move up to the next level.

How are you adjusting to life in the city? Have you gotten mugged yet?
We’re not moving until late August.  I’m actually looking forward to my first mugging.

Speaking of muggings, by now you’ve already paid thousands of dollars in city taxes. My understanding is that approximately 87 cents of every tax dollar is going to the Olympic bid. How does that make you feel? We’ll at least get a velodrome out of it, right?
What’s a velodrome?

For cyclists, which is the bigger menace: urban/suburban drivers in their SUVs, trying to go 50 mph and not spill their lattes, or rural drivers in their pick-up trucks trying not to spill their High Lifes?
Neither.  The biggest menace to cyclists are coaches who bilk them out of thousands of dollars a year.

What do you have against the coaching racket?
I think I have more against the rubes who pay the coaches than the coaches.  I lump a lot of these guys into the same category as as people who shell out thousands to televangelists, snake oil salesmen, colon-cleanse hucksters and senators.  They’re buying false hopes.

There are legitimate coaches who definitely help riders improve by spending time to get to know them. Curtis Tolson (Texas Roadhouse) `I’m not big on group rides because so many people do them in lieu of racing. I guess I’m not as impressed as I should be about winning sprints to the yellow “stop ahead” signs.’and Robbie Ventura (Vision Quest) come to mind (not an exhaustive list), but for the most part “periodization, A-B-C races and power profiling” for guys who are doing 45-minute crits is complete piffle.

Once you’re settled into the North Side, any chance we’ll see you our favorite North Shore rides, like Judson or the Wednesday night Midweekegem?
I’m sure I’ll try the group rides out, but again, I do most of my riding alone or with one or two others.  In general I’m not big on group rides because so many people do them in lieu of racing. I guess I’m not as impressed as I should be about winning sprints to the yellow “stop ahead” signs.

Many of us like to start sentences with, “What promoters ought to do is ...” So it’s always nice when a team steps up to throw a race, because it’s a chance to put their money where their yappy mouths are. What are some of the finer touches we should expect from Verizon Wireless and Wild Card at this weekend’s Tour de Champaign?
The prize lists are high, the amenities are going to be really nice: trophies, medals, flowers to the winners, hot podium girls, good venues for the races and live music to give you something to do before or after your races.  Downtown Champaign is a very happening and lively place with great restaurants and pubs.

You’re going up against some big events in Chicago that weekend. Tell me why we should drive three hours for an untested race.
The races will start on time.  The races won’t be shortened, and our prize money checks won’t bounce.

Finally, some financial advice. Which investment offers the best dividends: $5,000 on a bike on which to chase $100 payouts and sunglasses primes? Or $5,000 in a Bernie Madoff hedge fund?
What kind of idiot would spend $5,000 on a bike?

Independence Day weekend brings us two quality races that should be useful final tuneups before everything gets frantic with Superweek and beyond. The Whitewater Road Race doesn’t necessarily have epic climbs, but it has some nice rollers in a beautiful stretch near Kettle Moraine. On Sunday, ABR awards its state championships on an industrial-park course in Wood Dale.

Saturday
UWW Road Race
USCF road race
Palmyra, Wis.
Distance from Chicago: 2 hours
Previous wrap-ups: 2008, 2007

Sunday
Wood Dale Criterium
ABR criterium
Wood Dale, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hour
Previous wrap-ups: 2008

I’ve yet to come across much negative reaction to last week’s Tour of America’s Dairyland -- gripes have been limited to the low fee-to-payout ratio -- so I’m still surprised so few Chicago riders headed up. Now that it’s an established event, I hope the series is even bigger and better in 2010.

We had a good showing at Saturday’s criterium on the famed Downer Avenue course. Adam Leibman (ABD) has been riding well and won the 4/5’s. Ricardo Otero (WDT-Allvoi) picked up his first 3’s win, followed by James Bird (IS Corps) in 2nd and Joe Bippus (South Chicago Wheelmen) in 6th. Henry Loud (Team Pegasus) didn’t climb the 3’s podium over the weekend, but still found nice profit, picking up a $100 prime Saturday and $75 on Sunday in Waukesha.

Devon Haskell (Team BH USA) spent the weekend locked in a tight battle for the overall, but Verducci Breakaway was aggressive in defending its jersey. In the series’ final race Sunday, two Verducci riders broke free, including overall leader Jessie MacLean. Haskell finished the series in 2nd, eight points down, with Jessi Prinner (ABD) in 6th.

Full results.

Downer Avenue reports
John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 35+ 1/2/3): “Too long a sprint with a slight incline -- not the best sort of finish for me.”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “I spent the whole 50 minutes wishing I had pulled out the lap before.”

Kristin Wentworth (Team Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “A buddy of mine shouted out to me that I had won! I was shocked and didn’t believe him.”

Downer Avenue photos
Extreme Photography
John Wilke

Waukesha reports
Team BH USA (W-P/1/2/3): “Hopefully the good word gets out about this series so that the numbers grow in years to come.”

Chad Hartley (Geargrinder; P/1/2): “I have had a few requests as to how my leg is doing.  Awesome.”

James Pradun (GDVC; 3): “Three crashes happened and all were because of retarded reasons.”

Kristin Wentworth (Team Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “I was in good position and took an inside line on the last corner and charged toward the line.”

Waukesha photos
Extreme Photography

Some medals are coming home from yesterday’s masters national time trial championships: Debbie Dust (PACT-Dish Network), silver in the women’s 35-39; Wayne Simon (Verdigris), bronze in the 50-54; and Tom Doughty (Amgen/Giant), silver in the 55-59. Doughty also teamed with Jim Host (PACT-Dish Network) to win the 110+ tandem time trial.

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

• » Road race or corn maze? Check out the Tour of Elk Grove’s pro road race.  I count 26 turns in the 9.5-mile course. Also note that the criterium course is slightly different this year, with less of an L-shape, an improvement, but still a U-turn at the end of Elk Grove Boulevard.

• » Area riders Bob Schrank and Alex Bowden were on Team Type 1’s record-setting Ride Across America squad.

• » Be sure to pick up this month’s Chicago Athlete magazine, which is devoted to local racing, including interviews with Rebecca Much (Webcor), Mark Swartzendruber (Verizon Wireless) and Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew).

• » Speaking of the Druber, he promises to goose the women’s purse at next weekend’s Tour de Champaign if it can attract 40 riders to the women’s P/1/2/3 race. Free online registration closes Monday for the July 11 and July 12 races.

• » The Associated Press covers the proposed Olympic course in Blue Mounds, Wis.

• » Some North Branch riders got ticketed for riding two abreast in Barrington.