Big, big, fast-twitch thanks to everyone who has thrown in to the tip jar I set up. It’s extremely gratifying. I feel like George Bailey at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In fact, I just heard a bell jingle, which I think means someone somewhere just got his upgrade.

In racing news, be sure to check out this video preview of Saturday’s road race course. I’m a little concerned by all the traffic, so let’s be sure to be smart, safe and respectful out there. Don’t you dare cross that centerline, no matter how boxed in you are Spring Street. (I know, I know: I’ve been guilty of cheating across the line, too. Feel free to yell and scold me as well.) And always check over your shoulder before jumping out to attack.

Tower Racing has really outdone itself in promoting our state road race championshp, the Tour of Oak Brook. Despite inexperience and short notice, the team has recruited a full peloton of sponsors, meaning that on top of $4,000 in prize money there will be an astounding $8,000 in merchandise primes at Saturday’s race. Prizes with an average retail value of $130 will be available on nearly every lap in some fields, which should make for some very fast races.

There will also be a raffle with some attractive prizes, including a SRAM Force gruppo, luxury White Sox tickets and a Nike watch signed by Lance Armstrong. Tickets are $5.

The course itself is interesting, and I’m curious to see how the races unfold. Spring Road, the hypotenuse on this triangle-shaped course, is a narrow, two-lane road with shallow stairstep climbs. They’re not challenging enough to require the small chainring, but by the end of a race they may put some riders in spots of bother. Note that traffic is open and the centerline rule will be in effect. Expect congestion.

We’ll have a closed road once the course turns onto 31st Street, a flat, two-lane section that could present opportunity to move up, but it’s also where the primes will be contested, so the pace may be too hot to move around much.

Two likely points of attack will be at the end of Spring Road, after the modest climbing has softened the pack, and following the primes. If you get away and want half a chance of staying away, I recommend calling a prime truce with your breakmates. Pledge to split your winnings or the sprints will disrupt your paceline and soon return you to the pack.

At only 3.2 miles, the shortness of the course may cause problems if fields and groups start overlapping one another. We’ll need everyone to be patient and sporting in letting groups through. Expect officials to neutralize your group if you’re being overtaken.

The masters 4/5 field has already reached capacity. Online registration closes tonight at midnight. And Cat 5 men and Cat 4 women should remember to show up early for the pre-race safety clinic.

Saturday
Tour of Oak Brook
USCF road race
Oak Brook, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hour

• » I hope he has good chamois creme and a long attention span: Race Across America veteran Bryce Walsh will this Saturday attempt to break the 24-hour record for track riding, as well as the 1,000-kilometer world record, at the Northbrook Velodrome.

• » A Chicago cyclist was hit and killed near the Wisconsin border this weekend. A possible vehicle has been located, but no arrests have been made. This is the third serious hit-and-run in as many weeks, coming after last Tuesday’s scary attack on the Alberto’s ride.

• » The North American Cycle Courier Championships are coming to Chicago over Labor Day Weekend. No, it’s not an alleycat. Yes, they have the city’s blessings. Yes, non-messengers can compete.

• » CyclingNews’ Mark Zalewski has a great summary of what’s wrong with the pro cycling calendar. Or, why half the pros skipped three of the best races in Chicago history.

• » Scott Van Maldegiam (Spin Doctor Cyclewerks) hosted members of the Aaron’s pro cycling team this weekend and recommends the experience to others.

• » The dark, cold, unforgiving maw of winter is nearly upon us. Please don’t forget to light up as you head out after 6, including on any of the weekday group rides. This means you, fans of the Midweekegem.

• » Noseless saddle, you say?

• » By popular demand I have introduced the ability to remunerate the editor. Or, just say thanks some time.

More notes from the national championship weekend in Downers Grove:

• » Out-of-state riders kicked our butts in many of the amateur races, including the women’s 3/4 race, where Sarah Maguire (Bissell) and Tara Tasma (Team Giant), both of Grand Rapids, Mich., went 1-2 and quickly congratulated each other afterward. (Either that or they’re doing a Madison throw.)

• » We did better in the 3’s. Chip “Cover boy” Gray (Team Get a Grip Cycles) employed an old trick Sunday, jumping as the leaders hesitated on the final descent down Main Street. He was passed coming into Turn 7, but that let him recover enough to jump again coming into Turn 8. Three Chicagoans followed him in 2nd through 4th: Bryan Rheude (Team MS Racing), Keith McMahon (Van Wagner/Yojimbo’s) and Matt O’Keefe (XXX Racing-AthletiCo). I believe this is the first road podium for Van Wagner/Yojimbo’s, a micro-team that formed earlier this summer.

• » The closest race of the weekend may have been the final 5’s heat on Sunday, where Alex Rams (Colavita) surged in the final meters to pip Adam Lund (ce::four). Lund may be OK with that: He had already won once, in Saturday’s first 5’s heat.

• » XXX Racing-AthletiCo showed off some of its up-and-coming talent: Kyle Wiberg soloed away from the masters 4/5 race after several attacks from his teammates had softened the field, and Tom Briney won the first Cat 5 race on Sunday in a sprint.

• » I wasn’t there to see it, but Hogan Sills (C-U Racing) took a hard fall in the juniors race and still managed to come in 5th.

• » There were some hard crashes over the weekend, but it was nothing like last year, thankfully. From Sunday’s men’s championship, Julie Pusateri got a series of Kyle Gritters (Health Net) wiping out in Turn 7 on the last lap. The podium can be seen riding away in the background.

• » VeloNews reported that 2006 national champion Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) had unclipped in the final sprint, but he says on his blog that his chain dropped. (I’m told the VeloNews reporter sought comment after the race but was rebuffed.)

• » What’s it like to be a national champion? Brooke Miller (Team Tibco) has a great report about what went into her win. (Her celebration is pictured above.) You can read more about Miller in her CBR interview, and you can learn more about men’s champion Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) in this interview, conducted by students at Naperville Central High School when Bahati flew into town to give a talk on Major Taylor.

• » Some big primes were awarded in the women’s championship, compliments of “More money for women’s racing.” Brilliant. I love clever advocacy, especially when it literally puts its money where its mouth is. But I never heard who was behind it. Anyone know?

• » With Justin Williams (Rock Racing) having won the U-23 criterium championship in Anaheim, Calif., Rock Racing says Bahati’s win makes this the first time two African-Americans have earned national cycling titles in the same discipline in the same season.

Full results.

Saturday race reports
Newt Cole (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I was too far back to contest for the podium, but I wasn’t gonna shut it down, even though my eyes were bleeding. I came through the last corner about 10th wheel and threaded the needle between the wobbly blown-out carnage Kyle had left behind in his jetstream of destruction.”

John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 30+ 1/2/3): “30 more feet to the race I might have been able to take it home.”

Sarah Derer (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-3/4): “I pulled out once the bile started coming up into my mouth at the top of Main Street.”

Karla Kingsley (Easton/ Sugar CRM/ Specialized; W-P/1/2/3): “Hello? I thought this was a warm-up race?”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; Pro): “I owe this one to Rahsaan. I’m hoping I can return the favor to him today in the race for the jersey.”

Brooke Miller (Team Tibco; W-P/1/2/3): “It is a great relaxation to have your teammate up the road- that let me just sit in and enjoy the race.”

Mike Seguin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I like to take some of the turns at an all out pace to see if those lines actual work, and what better time than on a prime lap.”

Sue Semaszczuk (ABD; W-3/4): “I made sure I was at the front at the start and my goal was to lead out the first lap.”

Chris Sherpitis (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I was so much in oxygen debt I don’t really have a clear picture of the sprint finish.”

Steve Tilford (HRRC/Trek Stores; P/1/2): “I woke up in Chicago early Saturday morning feeling like shit.  Super achey, flu symptoms. Didn’t eat anything, but the $55 entry fee for the Saturday night race.”

Kyle Wiberg (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5, 5): “The men must have passed out pillows and sang some lullabies to put the whole field to sleep for me.  I got a huge gap down the hill and made the pace car hit the turbo. Surreal when you’re thinking about how to pass the pace car. Maybe, it was a messenger’s reaction.”

Saturday photos
Jason Knauff
Eric Schmuttenmaer
Luke Seemann: 30+ 4/5, 30+ 1/2/3, 5, 3/4
Bob Willems
John Wilke

Sunday race reports
Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing; Pro): “Once I came out the last turn and noticed whom I was sprinting against and the celebration had already started in my heart and head I just needed to physically cross the line.”

Ryan Baumann (Sakonnet; 1): “My rear tire flatted and I practically ate it in a downhill corner. Sweet.”

David Dokko (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “I sprinted for all it was worth and did not lose/gain any spots and finished for my first top 5 of the year.  After going through the finish I immediately pull over and start dry heaving from the effort.”

Debbie Dust (Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2): “I was happy with my place in the field on the final lap, until someone skipped her back wheel in Turn 7 and someone else scraped a pedal in Turn 8.”

Brad Huff (Jelly Belly; Pro): “Less than 200 meters to go and my chain falls to the outside?  Bad luck for sure.  Great Criterium Championshits for me.”

Karla Kingsley (Easton/ Sugar CRM/ Specialized; W-P/1/2): “I’ve been wanting to try out the SRAM Double Tap shifting for a while, but during the last four laps of the national championship criterium was not the timing I had envisioned.”

Bryan McVey (Vision Quest; 1): “Today went well.  Until three laps to go when some dude wiped out in front of me causing a giant traffic jam and ruining my race.”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; Pro): “The boys and I busted our asses and he cleaned up beautifully. It feels a lot like the days when we were juniors. Now we’re all pro and shit so there’s more at stake, but it’s still just as fun.”

Brooke Miller (Team Tibco; W-P/1/2): “I KNEW that I could take that corner full speed and I knew that I would hold it up.  I trusted my equipment and trusted my bike handling.  I was not nervous.  Not at all.”

Avi Neurohr (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 5): “I poured it on and tried to keep it on, but didn’t get much help, at least not when it could’ve counted.”

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus; 3): “The first ten minutes or so were the typical faster than normal pace and moving up to improve my position just wasn’t happening.”

Steve Tilford (HRRC/Trek Stores; 1): ”Ken Hanson (California Giant) smeared everyone, so the race probably wasn’t winable.”

Kristen Wentworth (Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2): “I was just happy to avoid the couple of crashes and finish off the season safe. The racing was top notch though and I had a lot of fun.”

Sunday photos
Karl Crapse
Jason Knauff: Pro, 1, W-P/1/2
Clark Maxwell
Mark Novack
Julie Pusateri
John Rowland
Runaway Wind
Luke Seemann
Velogrrl
John Wilke

The Illinois Cycling Association is sponsoring a safety clinic before Saturday’s Tour of Oak Brook, our state road race championship. Dan Jerger (Vision Quest) will lead the session. Among other things it will cover how to deal with the centerline rule and overlapping fields, both of which are likely to come into play on this course.

The clinic starts at 7:30 a.m. I highly recommend all men, women and juniors new to road races attend. You’ll still have plenty of time to make it your race and be warm, and the clinic will count toward upgrade requirements.

In other Oak Brook news, the P/1/2 shouldn’t have to worry about overtaking the pace car: They’ll be following a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, on loan from Lamborghini of Chicago and capable of going 0-60 in 4.2 seconds.

More than 50 riders have already registered for the 5’s, so there will be two fields. Note that the masters 4/5 field has only 15 slots left as of this writing. Register now to reserve your slot and avoid the $5 late charge.

Your new national criterium champion? You’re looking at him: Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) rocketed out of the final corner to take the win and give his team a sweep on the weekend. Former Evanston resident Brooke Miller (Team Tibco) also goes home with a new stars-and-stripes jersey after sprinting to a win in the women’s race.

VeloNews was first with the story.

Full results are online. I’ll have an amateur report late Monday night.

Fliers were the Saturday special in Downers Grove, with late attacks working out in both masters races and in the 3/4’s race, above, where Ryan Freund (IIT) and Julian Baumgartner (Vitaminwater-Trek) kept rolling after a prime with two to go and held a monster gap all the way to the line, where Freund took a close two-up sprint.

Team Tibco has often found success in Chicago. It won last year’s pro-am and the inaugural Chicago Criterium three weeks ago. Saturday its Lauren Franges won a four-up sprint out of a break that started early in the women’s P/1/2/3, a race that typically has most of the favorites keeping their powder dry ahead of Sunday’s championship.

The men’s pro-am finished in near darkness, which may or may not have contributed to a crash with two to go. By that point, Kelly Benefit Strategies had yanked all its riders from the fray, leaving Rock Racing, Colavita and Jelly Belly as the major players in a field about half as big as the roughly 170 who started. Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) lead it out coming out of Turn 4, but coming out of Turn 8 it was his teammate and Superweek revelation Sterling Magnell bounding up Main Street for the win.

The real action starts today, culminating with the USPRO national championship at 3 p.m. CyclingNews has a good preview.

FYI: Although CBR is always first in my heart, I’m going to be on the clock today for an out-of-town publication, so expect my wrap-up here to be delayed.

FRIDAY UPDATE: Lemont’s Christian Vandevelde (Garmin-Chipotle), 5th place in this year’s Tour de France, will be among the stars in Sunday’s USPRO championship. Neat! Check out the preliminary start lists for this and other fields at the race Web site.

Seems like yesterday we were getting snowed out of races in Kenosha, and now already the season’s most prestigious local races and the final major crits are at hand.

Just like at Elk Grove, amateur races at Downers Grove are longer than in the abbreviated 2007 schedule. On Saturday, 4’s will again be racing with the 3’s, but the 3’s get their own race Sunday, so many may opt to do only that. Saturday evening’s pro-am doesn’t start until 7 p.m., and I’m curious how dark things will get.

Expect the races to be fast, wild and woolly on this figure-8 course. This is a very technical course, so it’s crucial to be up front and out of danger. One can get through these turns without braking up front where it’s single-file, but in the bunch it can be a mess.

For God’s sake, do not bomb these corners, people, unless you keep a stack of “Sorry I crashed you out” cards in your glove compartment. That hole you see on the inside is not really there.

Because of the turns and climbs, it won’t take long for the 5’s races to splinter. Keep an eye on the gaps and always be ready to jump across. And if you fall off the pace, don’t be surprised if officials pull you from the course.

If you haven’t seen it already, find a way this week to watch “Race Day,” a training video shot from within the 2005 masters race. It’s oh so very Robbie Ventura (Vision Quest), but it’s an unbeatable way to preview the course.

Someday someone should make a video for how to survive the “race before the race,” a spectacle that at Downers Grove is as pivotal as it is absurd. Watch! As riders abandon their warm-ups to crowd the barriers 20 minutes before their races! See! The officials insist on pre-riding the course! Laugh! At the suckers who do so! Behold! The riders who cruise down Main Street and insert themselves at the front of the waiting pack, as if they had called ahead for reservations. Listen! As everyone else grumbles and curses!

A few notes about the course:

Turn 1: The best way to do well is to get to the front and stay there. This means sprinting for the first corner like it was the end of the race and not the beginning. Fortunately you’ve been practicing your clip-in.

Between Turns 2 and 3: Here’s a long, shallow climb. If there’s room, it’s a great spot to make up some ground. Keep an eye out for people moving up the sides and grab them for a free ride.

Between Turns 3 and 5: At Turn 4 there’s a short, steep kicker. If you’re going to attack, do it here. My admonitions against riding the inside notwithstanding, it’s sometimes safe to squeeze by there since the pack isn’t taking the corner at speed. Better, however, is to take it outside and come around everyone. You can advance a lot of positions on the wide, fast descent, but the trick is going to be getting back inside the pack by the time you get to Turn 5, an obtuse angle that can be taken super fast. You don’t want to have to create your own line and risk running out of room. If you see you can’t slide behind someone’s wheel by Turn 5, go ahead and eat the wind by going all the way to the front so you have the entire road at your disposal.

Turn 5: On the last lap and on any big prime laps, the pack may bunch up ahead of this turn. Nobody wants to be in the wind too early, and some will still be recovering from the climb. You can exploit this hesitation by jumping hard. Don’t even look back to see if you’re clear.  Ride it like you stole it and there’s a chance you’ll stay away. Not a good chance, but a chance, and even if you fail, this can be a good way to create opportunities for your team’s sprinter.

Between Turns 7 and 8: Turn 7 is slightly less than 90 degrees, and I recall there being some dodgy pavement on the far side of Curtiss Street, so don’t take Turn 7 too wide. Even the legendary Steve Tilford (HRRC/Trek Stores) hit the curb coming out of this corner last year. Depending on the wind, you’ll probably want to ride up the right side, however, so you can get the right apex at Turn 8 and to block people from charging up that side.

Turn 8: From the last corner it’s 150 meters to the finish line. Good luck! There’s a climb through the start/finish area, so be sure not to be overgeared coming out of Turn 8. If it’s the last lap, you’re going to want to be first or second coming into the turn. Keep in mind that you’ll be going faster on the last lap, so you might not be able to take the same line as on other laps -- keep your inside pedal up. No, really, I mean it. Even the pros will wipe out here, as Ventura demonstrated in spectacular fashion on the last lap of the 2004 national championship, and about 30 others demonstrated in the rain-soaked 2007 edition.

As always, your mileage may vary. Feel free to consult last year’s wrap-up to learn from other racers’ experiences.

Have fun, ride safe and enjoy all the weekend’s races. Sunday’s pro race is always a treat, and the crowd will roar waiting to see which Canadian, Australian or Cuban will win and which American will come in 2nd. And don’t forget to play the national championship drinking game: Take a swig of Southern Comfort every time an announcer refers to the “Stars and Bars” on the line.

Saturday and Sunday
Downers Grove National Criterium Championships
USCF criteriums
Downers Grove, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours

• » The popular Gateway Cup in St. Louis over Labor Day weekend is making a push for more female athletes. Race fees are lower, the total purse is generous (with primes for the 4’s!) and housing is available.

• » Also for women, next Thursday is the Elaine Neikritz Trophy Race at the Northbrook Velodrome, a $1,000 35-lap scratch race. It’s a women’s open race, but there is also a women’s 4’s race on the schedule.

• » The idea of Sunday Parkways, in which portions of the boulevard system will be closed to motorized traffic, is finally becoming a reality, sort of. John Greenfield has the scoop and some commentary.

• » The Quad Cities area mourns Craig Schultz, a doctor and bike racer who was killed Thursday morning. Police arrested a driver and charged him with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

• » Do you use Look Keo pedals?

• » Meet The Chainlink, your latest social network for Chicago cyclists.

• » While I was on vacation a local newspaper acknowledged bike racing’s existence.

A group ride was attacked tonight on a stretch of north-suburban road popular with competitive and recreational cyclists.

Jason Schisler (Vision Quest) tells me that about 30 riders on the Tuesday night Alberto’s ride were on St. Mary’s Road north of Highway 60 when “a dark gray pick-up passed at a high rate of speed with the horn blaring and then seemingly deliberately veered into the group rotating at the front of the pack, taking down the first third of the group.”

The truck did not stop. Cyclists pursued but did not get close enough to take the model or license plate.

The truck struck Brendan George, owner of Alberto’s Cycles, who was at the front of the rotation, rotating clockwise, and those riders rotating behind him stacked up as a result. Schisler says he was in the gatekeeper’s slot and was the last to land on the pile. He estimates they had been going about 28 mph.

Injuries were limited to cuts, scrapes and a swollen wrist.  Lake County sheriff’s deputies were quick on the scene to take control, and no ambulance was needed.

Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office at (847) 377-4000.

Another hit-and-run was reported in Barrington Hills on Sunday, Aug. 3. A gray pick-up towing a white horse trailer struck the leaders of a nine-rider group on Bateman Road near County Line Road, breaking bones. Witnesses are asked to contact Barrington Hills police Lt. Rich Semelsberger at (847) 551-3006.

Coincidentally, Tuesday night’s attack took place less than a mile up the road from where cyclists, myself included, say there were attacked in September. Prosecutors charged the driver in that incident, Thomas Lynch, with seven felonies. His trial is scheduled to start Monday, Aug. 25.

I’m still digging out from vacation, so this will be an abbreviated wrap-up.

I’m happy to hear that Grayslake was, as I had predicted, largely crash-free. But as I had also predicted, Turn 4 at Glencoe -- Amen Corner -- was not. At least one incident was caused by riders getting greedy on the inside. Friends, when I tell you not to bomb the corner, Do not. Bomb. The Corner.

I’m not yet completely sold on chip timing, but it allows for some fun numbers crunching. It lets us know, for example, that in the women’s P/1/2/3 race won by Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles), the fastest of the 22 laps was the 6th one -- perhaps that was the first sprint for earrings? And we learn that Jonathan Sanchez (Alberto’s) reeled off a blazing 29.053 mph final lap before sprinting to victory in the masters 4/5 race. By comparison, defending champ Rob White (ABD/Geargrinder) rode the fastest lap of the day, a 29.808 mph final trip on the afternoon’s long course. Unfortunately for White, our sport does not reward speed alone. What matters is who crosses the finish line first, and in a P/1/2 field stacked with heavy hitters it was David Gutteplan (Time Pro Cycling) crossing first by a hair (photo above), after the two of them had lapped the field, leaving them to duke it out in middle of the field sprint. Meanwhile, their former breakmates Chad Hartley (Jittery Joe’s) and Jeff Schroetlin (ABD/Geargrinder) hung on in no-man’s land for 3rd and 4th.

And on top of all that, Team MS Racing, nee MetCycling, made its debut at Glencoe. More on them later.

Full Glencoe results: morning, afternoon.

Grayslake race reports
Eric Goodwin (Vitaminwater-Trek; 3): “There was a headwind and we struggled down the stretch at 34 mph. I had the advantage for a brief second, but I could see Ryan Freund‘s front wheel move past from the corner of my eye. Somewhere, the Reaper was smiling.”

Jeff Holland (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Overall, a nice safe race with no crashes and the three of us walked home with either cash or gift certificates.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “For whatever reason -- maybe the vomit rising in my throat -- I thought I had one lap less to go than we did.”

Andy Skeen (ABD/Geargrinder; P/1/2): “Over the course of the next lap, I dragged the field around while the break dangled, and I do mean it dangled, not 10 seconds up the road.”

Glencoe race reports
Julian Baumgartner (Vitaminwater-Trek; 3): “Two-hundredths of a second, by that much I lost. Was pulling so hard the ultimate cost? But second place out of a break ain’t so bad. A long time it’s been since this much fun I’ve had.”

Emanuelle Bianchi (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “In Italian we say ‘Dalle stelle alle stalle,’ from the stars to the stables.”

Kevin Clark (Half Acre Cycling; 5): “The plan of action was twofold: not crash and get a workout.”

Jonathan Dugas (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Come on, people, don’t hold a grudge in the bunch.”

Liam Donoghue (Unattached; 4): “At 200 meters I looked back again because surely someone had to be there, but still no one. At 100 meters, arms in the arm, couple of fist pumps, and I won. Holy fucking shit. How I didn’t throw myself off my bike during the post-up baffles me.”

Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2/3): “I made the error of coming out of the last turn sitting 5th behind a bunch of good sprinters. D’oh!”

Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-3/4): “A racer ahead of me took the last corner before the finishing sprint too hot and hit the curb, taking out the two women behind her.”

Monique Hanley (Team Type 1; W-P/1/2/3): “Leading out wasn’t was I had in mind, but I turned around to see Jen Greenberg (Punk Rock Cycling) give me a big smile. I returned it. It was one of those ‘Yee haw, lets race!’-type looks.”

Tim Strege (Half Acre Cycling; 5): “I was off the bike for three weeks, so I had a good excuse.”

Glencoe photos
Carolyn Golz
Julie Pusateri
John Rowland
Tim Strege
Ed White

The Glencoe Grand Prix has added some sprint competitions to spice up Sunday’s races.

Women’s P/1/2/3’s, 45+, 30+ 1/2/3’s, 4’s, 3’s and P/1/2’s will each have five sprints during their races, with points going seven deep (7, 6 ... 1). Winners get a $200 gift certificate to EJ’s Place, the Skokie restaurant owned by longtime cycling supporter EJ Lenzi (PYOC).

Glencoe is keen on attracting more athletes to the women’s P/1/2/3 race, so that sprint winner will receive a $800 pair of 14K white gold diamond earrings, donated by Shelle Jewelers.

Finally, organizer Jon Knouse tells me that Glencoe Grand Prix kits are for sale: $65 for tops, $75 for bottoms. E-mail him if interested. And Dan Labovitch (Half Acre Cycling) reminds us that his sponsor will be providing free brew for registered racers. The faster you race, the sooner you get to enjoy. How’s that for motivation?

Chicago native Rebecca Much (Webcor) picked up her latest national championship Wednesday by winning the U-23 time trial in Irvine, Calif. This caps a comeback year for Much, who previously earned the U-23 time trial and criterium titles in 2005 while riding for T-Mobile and won a silver medal at the junior world championships in 2004 while riding for XXX Racing-AthletiCo.

Jessi Prinner (ABD) came in 3rd in the girls 15-16 time trial, and John Meyer (ABD/Geargrinder) was your other top finisher from the Chicago area, coming in 12th in the U-23 field.

Take a moment to check out the full results. I find it comforting to recognize the names of so many juniors who have wiped the floor with me over the past year. If I’m to be beaten by 15-year-olds, at least they’re some of the best 15-year-old’s in the country. This includes Adam Leibovitz (Mesa Cycles), who won the Cat 3 race at Downers Grove last year and is your new 17-18 time trial champion.

More national championships will be named over the next few days with criterium and road racing.

This weekend is a bit of a break from the last few weeks of high intensity and drama, but the racing should be just as good, and I expect more than a few big names and teams will show up for a final tune-up before the national championships at Downers Grove the following weekend.

Saturday’s race in Grayslake takes place on a U-shaped course on good pavement in a nice housing development. Veloist has video from last year. The corners are sweeping and gentle, perfect for beginners, a little tougher for breakaway artists, but it can be done. Could this be the first race in a month where we go without a spate of crashes?

The Glencoe Grand Prix was a hit when it made its debut last year and it should be even better this year. Winners get jerseys, and thanks to chip timing, everyone should get results promptly and accurately. Even better, much of the course has been newly repaved.

Turn 4 may prove tricky for the higher categories, especially when it’s taken at top speed on the frantic final lap. (Lower categories and juniors use a less technical route. Check out the maps and videos.) It’s much sharper than 90 degrees -- don’t you dare try to sneak up the inside.

Note that online registration saves you $5 at either event, although Grayslake‘s deadline has passed, and less than a day remains to register for Glencoe.

For anyone with gas to burn, the richest races of the weekend will be down in Marion, Ind., where a total of $20,000 is up for grabs Friday and Saturday. Most of that is reserved for the P/1/2 invitational. I don’t know if it’s too late to secure an invitation, but one can e-mail the promoter to try.

Friday
Marion Classic Criterium
USCF criterium
Marion, Ind.
Distance from Chicago: 3.5 hours

Saturday
Grayslake Cycling Classic
USCF criterium
Grayslake, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 1 hour

Marion Classic Criterium
USCF criterium
Marion, Ind.
Distance from Chicago: 3.5 hours

Sunday
Glencoe Grand Prix
USCF criterium
Glencoe, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours

• » What we’re up against: “Get On The &#$&ing Sidewalk!”

• » Don’t miss Mark Swartzendruber’s Superweek report.

• » Some more crash porn from the Superweek 3’s.

One great thing about ABR races is that there’s always, how shall I put it, flexibility with racing categories. One can usually race above one’s USCF category -- or below it, natch -- to test the waters with faster riders. Sometimes this yields a revelation, and that was the case Sunday at the Elgin Cycling Classic.

Ryan Freund (IIT) has had an auspicious season as a 4 but he raced the 3’s Sunday. In the penultimate lap, he bridged to Julian Baumgartner (Vitaminwater-Trek) and Chip Gray (Team Get a Grip Cycles), who had been off the front for 30 minutes but were fading, giving them just the juice they needed to hold off the pack. Freund then outsprinted both of them for the win. But he wasn’t done: Fruend then jumped into the P/1/2 race, where he finished an impressive 3rd in the field sprint, 5th overall. Something tells me there will be a number of squads vying for Freund’s services in 2009.

The other great thing about ABR races is that the results sheets often include commentary from all the races, so instead of trying to reconstruct the races myself I’ll just refer you to the full Elgin results and go back to enjoying my vacation.

Race reports
Courier News: “In a wild finish, Frank Dierking of Madison, Wis., caught his second wind just in time to win the men’s P/1/2 race.”

Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire; 40+): “I love to race with the 40+ masters men for a lot of reasons:  they’re pretty much all nice guys, they race hard, they’re aggressive, they race (mostly) smart and the majority know how to race.”

Chip Gray (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “When the pack started to close in, the adrenaline rose. They came dangerously close at least twice before the wheel pit closed.”

Bryan McVey (Vision Quest; P/1/2): “I came into the corner second wheel, and my front tire lost traction and turned sideways on me, hurling me into a front flip over my handlebars, landing on my side and back.”

Jared Rogers (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “At one point I saw something up the road that I’ve personally never seen in my two seasons of racing -- lapped riders!”

June Upshaw (Verdigris; W-1/2): “We all tried twice or three times to attack. It was fast and lots of change-ups. Primes and prime attacks. Really amazing with just a small pack, but a good bunch of fun. “

Photos
Jason Knauff
Julie Pusateri

I’ve been off the grid for a few days and am only now catching up with the Tour of Elk Grove. I’m sorry I missed all the excitement.

Friday night I’d predicted that Saturday’s road race would either be won out of a break or come down to a field sprint. I was not wrong.

Action was fast and aggressive, with the pack splitting up and time trial winner Tom Zirbel (Bissell) forced to chase once he found more than half the field up the road. After 150 kilometers of circuits in Schaumburg and Elk Grove, 35 riders were barreling toward the finish line when Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefit Strategies) hit a curb coming out of the final corner, causing a major stack-up. Hilton Clarke (Toyota-United) avoided the mayhem and sprinted for the win and the yellow jersey.

Sunday saw a serious break get away, but it was brought back in the final laps. Again Kelly Benefit Strategies put together a leadout, but after Saturday’s wreck, the major contenders were leary of getting on board. That apparently worked to Kelly’s favor, enabling its GC man David Veilleux to get a big gap in the final meters (photo above). He would get caught by former national criterium champion Brad Huff (Jelly Belly), but he would hold on for 2nd. That time bonus, plus the time bonus for 2nd on Saturday, would give the 20-year-old Veilleux the overall, 10 seconds up on Clarke, who finished a bonus-empty fifth.

And you thought the 3’s and 4’s were riding like crash monkeys lately? The pros got acquainted with the tarmac, too, including one in the break on Sunday. More serious and heart-breaking was Saturday’s final-turn crash, which broke the collarbone of the domestique’s domestique, Chris Horner (Astana). VeloNews reports that this will take him out of the Vuelta a España. But let us again praise the class act that is Chris Horner. Upon breaking a collarbone, your typical pro is going to throw his helmet in disgust and go pout. Instead, Horner was photographed smiling with the medics, and he returned Sunday to put in some time as announcer.

Other riders were less forgiving. Hilton Clarke (Toyota-United) accused Kelly Benefit Strategies, always a major presence at the front of a sprint, of having dodgy handling, telling CyclingNews: “Those guys always ride dangerous in the last corners of races. They are watching everyone else and not watching the corner.” And Freddie Rodriguez (Rock Racing) told CyclingNews he wanted nothing to do with the Kelly Benefit Strategies leadout train: “We all gave them a big buffer, but they need to learn when they take control in a corner they don’t need to own the corner -- just get through it. If you slow the corner it causes problems.”

Notes from the amateur races:

• » With the money cut and no NRC points available, the women’s fields were light. So light, in fact, that the two races were combined into a single open field. Nonetheless, many of the region’s top female amateurs still showed up, and Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia) continued her dynamite season with another win. Coming in 2nd was Jeannie Kuhajek (NZ Tasman Team), a recent arrival from New Zealand who burst on the scene last week by winning the Chicago Criterium 4’s race.

• » UPDATE: Understandably, some women are upset about their weekend in Elk Grove, between the unequal payouts and the combined fields, plus being told afterward that there will be no women’s events at all in 2009. Here’s one take, from Kristen Wentworth (Team Kenda Tire). For historical reference, recall the discussion started by December’s interview with Mayor Craig Johnson, where we first learned about the changed women’s lineup, and this post from the St. Louis Revolution squad.

• » Decatur’s Jeff Schroetlin (ABD/Geargrinder) won Saturday’s 1/2 race, then finished near the back of Sunday’s stage, but his same-time result was good enough to give him the $3,000 overall prize, on top of $2,000 for the previous win. Not a bad payday for an amateur.

• » I’ve come across two references to a fist fight in connection with the 1/2 race. True? Is there any better way to say “Thanks for all the dough and the JumboTron, but we’d rather you cancel this race” than a fight? It’s bad enough when we yell at each other and piss in the bushes. But a fight? Really? (Besides, everyone knows that a fight between cyclists is about the most pathetic thing in the world, what with the spaghetti arms and the slip-and-slide cleats.)

• » If you haven’t added Wolverine Sports Club’s John Coyle to your RSS feed, you should. He the best writer in Midwestern racing, and he often has videos from his sprints. (Unlike some of us who take videos, who require telephoto lenses to capture any sprint action, Coyle can be counted on to be right in the thick of the closing action.) His Elk Grove post includes one such video.

• » I don’t think organizers created three 5’s fields with the intent of people racing multiple times, but double- and triple-up they did. One of them was Liam Bradshaw (Team Tati), who upon having his 4’s upgrade denied went out and placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 5’s heats.

• » Tomasz Boba (WDT-Allvoi) frustrated the 3’s field once again, breaking free in the last corner in the $5,000 3’s race, thanks in part to a crash. We won’t have Boba to kick us around any more, however, as I’m told he was issued a mandatory upgrade later that day. Tim Henry (Project 5) continues to show good form, too. He placed 5th in the 3’s race, then won Sunday’s masters 3/4’s race.

• » Congrats to Ryan Baumann (Sakonnet), who won Friday’s amateur time trial with a time of 9:16, 1 second ahead of masters national champion Wayne Simon (Verdigris), and a time that would have been good for 42nd among the pros. Check out this photo of Horner signing the handsome trophies. Amateur ride organizer Voytek Glinkowski (WDT-Allvoi) says the special event raised $3,000 for charity.

Full results.

Race reports
Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak (4/5): “Brakes were locking up all over the place sending bicycle sideways. This was evident after one of the leaders got pinched on the last lap, which by itself had three seperate crashes.”

Tom Briney (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “With the 200 meter sign in sight, I get tired of the cat-and-mouse game.  I take off and create a gap that is building slowly.  At 50 meters to the finish, I can just barely see his shadow fading off and I knew I had it.”

Newt Cole (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4, 30+ 3/4): “The moral: Ride with people better, faster and stronger than you and learn, learn, learn.”

Fran Connelly (Tower Racing; 30+ 5): “The effort is so hard. And yet now I’m passing guys. The passing almost feels effortless. It’s like I’m watching from above offering commentary in my out-of-body-experience.”

Ron Cook (Project 5; 30+ 3/4): “I heard the race announcer saying ‘Project 5’ and i knew Tim had won. I clapped and pumped my fist as I crossed the line in 52nd place. 52nd never felt so good.”

John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 1/2): “I’m in the back about 70th place and after the corner manage to move to first over the next mile -- directly through the innards of the pack for the most part.”

CyclingNews (Stage 1): “‘I am absolutely awful at taking the correct line on 180s and then accelerating out of them! I’m just a big diesel -- and with a trailer on the back!’

CyclingNews (Stage 2): “The racing on the main seven-mile loop was a little unconventional, as the terrain was almost completely flat and with a lot of hard turns. As well, the entire starting peloton was only 57 riders. All these elements ended up making the racing fast and aggressive from the first kilometer.”

CyclingNews (Stage 3): “When Kelly Benefit Strategies jumped on the outside heading for the final turn, everyone in the crowd watching the jumbotron held their collective breath.”

Erik Didriksen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “Elk Grove’s L-shaped course features 180-degree turns that create a nightmarish accordion crashfest if you’re in the back of the pack.”

Craig Erbach (Project 5; 3): “There were about 7-8 guys up the road who actually seemed like they were working together and might stay away. Whoa!”

Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-open): “I had chances to move up and didn’t take them -- which I’m furious with myself about -- and when the elastic broke, I was on the wrong side of it.”

Don Hanke (Tower Racing; 30+ 5): “I wish I had a helmet camstart yelling encouragement: ‘Go, Fran, go!!! Come on, Fran GO, GO, GO!”

Chard Hartley (Jittery Joe’s; P): “I’m happy to report that i finally made it past the third lap! Without crashing! It only took three years to get those pesky 180’s down.”

Cory Hickman (Vitaminwater-Trek; 1/2): “ I tried but did not reach the days’ goal, and lost track of the fact that this is supposed to be fun.”

Jeff Holland (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4, 30+ 3/4): “25 minutes of sketchy riding, unnecessary surging and of course, crashes.”

Emir Jganjac (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “I guess my lack of warm-up finally kicked me in the ass and I couldn’t accelerate to move up.”

Andrews Quiros (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “Hello, pavement. My name is Andres. Nice to meet you.”

Jared Rogers (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “After about a half-mile we made it lungs on fire and all -- my first successful bridge in a race!”

June Upshaw (Verdigris; W-open): “A local gal won, Kirsten Meshburg. She rocks!”

Kristen Wentworth (Team Kenda Tire; W-open): “I desperately wanted to maneuver up the right side and attack for the line but I couldn’t get through traffic.”

Photos
eddy58
Lee Sam
Julie Pusateri
Ben Ross/Action Images
John Rowland
Matt Smith
John Wilke: Saturday, Sunday

I’m going to be in California for the next 10 days, so unfortunately I’ll be missing the Tour of Elk Grove this weekend, plus two days of great races next week in the form of the Grayslake Cycling Classic and the Glencoe Grand Prix. I’ll still file my usual wrap-ups, previews and other news as it develops. Anyone watching the racing in person, feel free to e-mail me any colorful details.

Speaking of the Tour of Elk Grove, results are already online for Friday night’s 4.5-mile time trial. Tom Zirbel (Bissell) is your leader heading into tomorrow’s road race through Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. He leads Chris Horner (Astana) by 3 seconds. Local product Reid Mumford (Kelly Benefit Strategies) came within 11 seconds, good enough for 6th.

The field of 55 is down from the 97 that started last year, when the event was on the National Racing Calendar, but the notables include Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing), 2007 Stage 2 winner Freddie Rodriguez (Rock Racing), and 2007 Stage 3 winner Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United).

With several teams having an outsized presence in the field -- Rock Racing, Jelly Belly, Kelly Benefit Strategies, Bissell, Team Inferno, Successful Living and Toyota-United all have five or more -- I wouldn’t be surprised if a break got away tomorrow. Kelly Benefit Strategies has three riders in the top 10 and may feel it has license to be extra frisky. But with half the field within 30 seconds of one another and lots of time bonuses available, this could also come down to a contest between the sprinters.

In June the Wisconsin Cycling Series promoted two well-received races in Grafton and Sheboygan. Now it is expanding and renaming itself the Midwest Cycling Series, opening the door to races outside of Wisconsin. The new organization includes former 7-Eleven rider and Olympian Tom Schuler of Team Sports, which manages the Team Advil-Chapstick and Team Type 1 pro cycling teams and organizes the 24 Hours of Nine Mile Mountain Bike Race. Might this become a competitor to Superweek?

Speaking of Superweek, Breakaway Event Productions today announced its 2009 dates: July 9 through July 26. Yes, that’s a Thursday. Andy Garrison tells me the extra day will be an evening P/1/2 event.

This is an important tip considering all the fast, technical crits coming up. Cat 4’s and 5’s, bookmark this page and review it the night before Downers Grove.

As we corner, our bikes will lean into the turn. The faster we go, the more we lean.

Thus it’s important to to keep your inside pedal up, with your weight firm on the outside pedal, lest your inside pedal strike the ground as you lean. The faster you go, the more important this is.

At best, a pedal strike will give you the scare of your life. At worst, it will cause a catastrophic crash.

As you preview the course, be thinking about which corners you can safely pedal through. Keep in mind, however, that on the last lap or two of a criterium, everything will be 10 to 20 percent faster. You might be able to pedal through a given corner at 25 mph, but at 28 mph on the same corner you’ll be sent flying over a fire hydrant.

• » The Tour of Oak Brook, our state road race championship, now has a Web site.

• » The Bicycle Film Festival comes to Chicago next week. “Road to Roubaix” looks particularly good.

• » A friend of Amber Rais (Team Tibco) tells me that her post-up upon winning Sunday’s Chicago Criterium was a new invention: “Spraying the Uzi.” Take that, Flecha!

• » Full but imperfect Chicago Criterium results.

• » Watch as a cyclist brazenly and viciously attacks a police officer’s forearm. (The New York Times has this update, and Bike Snob NYC has this commentary.)

• » Just in time for Cyclocross: Carlos Cabalu is taking orders for his sexy Unattached Rider kits.

• » ABD/Geargrinder coach Julie Carter has been appointed director of the Midwestern State College cycling team. The famed Texas program owns 21 national championships, including Bristol, Wis., native Natalie Klemko (Team Advil-Chapstick) in the 2007 Division I road race.

Superweek and the Chicago Criterium merely set the stage for weeks of big-prestige, big-money racing.

It starts this weekend with the Tour of Elk Grove, where a total of $225,000 is up for grabs for amateurs and pros. Of note is the separate 1/2 series, where a total of $35,000 will go to the riders who spent the past two weeks making donations to Superweek.

After last year’s short races left many riders sour, the 2008 schedule is a little more generous. Still, expect the races to be fast and frantic, and most will come down to a bunch sprint down the curving Elk Grove Boulevard. The finishing stretch will be marked every 50 meters, but this is another course where it behooves you to scout the finish to pick your cues.

This time of year there are a lot riders trying cycling for the very first time, so there will be a wide range of skill level in the 5’s, from seasoned racers to triathletes to dudes with toe clips and Discovery jerseys. Stay near the front from the start. Expect gaps to open early and often. Look for them and quickly skip around slower riders and on to the lead group. If you hesitate, the gaps will grow too big to jump across.

Each day’s courses are L-shaped, effectively flat on smooth roads. (Saturday’s $5,000 Cat 3 race is on a T-shaped variation.) The U-turns, one of which is pictured above, are guaranteed to cause some low-speed drama. Riders at the fore will have an easier time, so get up front and stay there.  Shift down twice before each turn so that you’re able to accelerate out and close any gaps.

Payouts go 20 deep in the 3’s and 4’s, so sprint every last inch even if you’re mid-pack. Quitting early can cost you a nice dinner out.

Once the amateurs are done, the real business starts with the pro races. On Saturday we get to watch the pros roll in from their 150km road race. Grab some lunch in town, replenish your carbohydrates with a cold beer and make a day of it.

I don’t know which pro teams are making the trip, but the action should still be electric. (The race is not on the National Racing Calendar this year, but I expect many big teams will want to come for the big money, at least on the men’s side.)

But Elk Grove isn’t the only big race this weekend. Elgin returns with an interesting neighborhood course on Sunday. The money’s pretty good here, too.

Saturday
Tour of Elk Grove
USCF criterium
Elk Grove, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours

Sunday
Tour of Elk Grove
USCF criterium
Elk Grove, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours

Elgin Cycling Classic
ABR criterium
Elgin, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 1 hour

And here’s the rest of the known reports and photos from the last seven days of Superweek. Reports are still trickling in, so I’ll update this post as needed.

There’s not much more I can add in regards to the racing, other than to congratulate the Chicago-area riders who won their series: Voytek Glinkowski (WDT-Allvoi) earned twice as many points as his nearest competitor in the masters 4/5’s, Alex Smetana (Spidermonkey Cycling) took the 4/5’s, and as previously mentioned, junior Jessi Prinner (ABD) won the women’s 3/4’s. I think she might have a future in this sport.

Tour of Holy Hill race reports
Clint Carter (Ski Utah; 3): “There needs to be a lake at the finish of every hot bike race.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “Got pinched on the right side, and lots of swearing with Australian accents were thrust at the rider responsible for the pinch.”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “The race got shortened to 65 miles, totally reshaping what is typically a long race of attrition into a glorified circuit race. Adding to that the finish was unmarked from any distance until you happened upon it at the crest of a hill.”

Joey Rosskopf (Kudzu; P/1/2): “It actually kind of felt like my brakes were rubbing the whole race. They weren’t actually, but that’s how sluggish I felt.”

Adrian Silva (Half Acre Cycling; 4/5): “Soon the gaps grew, my body redlined and before I knew it there was a big one, right in front of me.”

Cedarburg race reports
Clint Carter (Ski Utah; 3): “The speed is up, then it’s down, and everybody is riding their brakes through the turns. It makes harder.”

Jason Danvir (Sugar Cycles; 3): “Coming out of the last turn I was sitting about 10 back (where I wanted for an uphill sprint) and making ground quick when my rear derailleur pulley threw my chain.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): ”Alors, apres de rien de courer avance pour long temps, avec 10 tours avant de arrive, un petit group de quatre courers gagne une minute sur le peleton.”

Alex Smetana (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “He clipped his pedal coming out of the turn and with some nervous grace, I slipped through the 6 or so inches between his head and the curb.”

Cedarburg photos
Clint Carter
Extreme Photography
John Wilke

Whitnall Park race reports
Jason Danvir (Sugar Cycles; 3): “I felt good about my legs and managed a good move up the last climb but got pinched and was forced to give way (not crash) only to accelerate again and hold on for 13th.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “Slowly moved up, and kept it near the jersey for the final few laps. He’s a good draft, and you know he’s obligated to be at the finish mix, so it works out well.”

James Pradun (Endeavour; 3): “I covered more attacks than I probably should have. I finally got sick of it near the end, and the next attack that went wound up sticking. Damn.”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4/5): “I really didn’t actively race this one. It felt like no one really did. I sat in. I played it safe. There were no attacks, few surges. Everyone pedaled along with an understanding.”

Whitnall Park photos
Extreme Photography
Dana Melanz
John Wilke

Racine race reports
Jonathan Cantwell (Jittery Joe’s; P/1/2): “Rock Racing were out to brake the field apart from the gun and to have Magnell Sterling try and form a breakaway without me in it. Again the boys did a great job and we did not let anything dangerous go up the road.”

Jason Danvir (Sugar Cycles; 3): “We snaked the entire field and I was able to hold out for 3rd across the line in the field sprint. Good day!”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “I see an opening on the inside and, chop or not, dove into it. Normal stuff. BUT! The big former jersey wearer went even further inside and I had to slam the brakes or take us both down. Dicey, at best.”

Racine phoos
Judith Pannozo
John Rowland
John Wilke

Kenosha race reports
Jason Danvir (Sugar Cycles; 3): “Wreck after wreck, people cutting corners, cutting wheels, coming unclipped (cause of 2 separate wrecks) and just being ignorant. To add insult to injury they were going to the wheel pit, taking their free lap and jumping back in to cause more damage.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “I rolled in probably with a top 10 in the field sprint, but too many breakaway mates were in the mix as well. 48 km/h. Most probably the fastest crit I’ve ever done/seen.”

Angelo DiGiovine (Active Athlete/Squadra Ovest; 3): “I think I did some kind of Superman flying move into the metal barriers.”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “If I run second overall in the race, I’m going to do it in style. I’m very proud of the riding I’ve been doing from the beginning. No one else has had more challenges come their way. I’ve had a target on my back the entire time and I’m stilling putting it to them every time I line up.”

Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek; 3): “I had plenty of spark left, and was simply waiting for a hole, waiting, waiting. Finally I had daylight to the line and I shot through.”

Kenosha photos
Dana Melanz
John Rowland
John Wilke

Downer Avenue race reports
Denny Yunk (CZ Velo; 3): “Playing it safe through the corners put me at the back of the field pretty quickly. I stayed there until guys started popping off the back, requiring me to accelerate around them.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “Wyoming’s finest, Adrian Geritts (La Grange), hit the deck hard. I was twowheels back, on the inside, and luckily he fell to the outside. I saw sparks, and jussst missed his rear wheel. Had legs, but lost the nerve to make the jump, and followed wheels to finish 11th.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “Just as I cracked, Chris Padfield joined the spearhead of it and off he went. I just got spit out the back like shit through a goose.”

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus; 4/5): “I was hurting, as I should be, as I accelerated out of the second turn and snapped a quick glance back. It didn’t look good.”

Scott Peterson (Team Wheaton; 3): “I assumed I could determine who was or wasn’t going to be a problem so I threw down my money like a deep-in-the-hole drunk at a Vegas roulette table.”

Downer Avenue photos
Paul Matsushima
Julie Pusateri
John Rowland
Brooks Taggert
John Wilke

Whitefish Bay race reports
Chad Hartley (Jittery Joe’s; P/1/2): “Don’t get between an Aussie and his beer!”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “I’m happy and disspointed at the same time. It gives me a lot of motivation to go home and work hard to improve my riding.”

Whitefish Bay photos
John Rowland
John Wilke
Runaway Wind

Tower Racing has made a splash this season with some strong performances on the bike, and now it’s stepping up in a big way off of it, having agreed to promote our state championship road race Aug. 23 on a 3.2-mile course in Oak Brook.

The flier is now online, and registration is open.

Contrary to my orginal post, the start/finish will be on 31st street, described as a “blistering two-lane, 3/4-mile rolling hill finish.” Chip timing will again be used at this event. Note that 5’s races are capped at 50, but a second field will be added if necessary.

Save for the first and last five laps of Sunday’s P/1/2 race at the inaugural Chicago Criterium, I could have sworn we were watching a training ride go through Grant Park.

But what a training ride it was!

About 20 minutes into the 80km race, an enormous, 20-strong group formed that included multiple representatives of all the major teams (above). Two from Toyota-United, two from Bissell, two from Texas roadhouse and four from Kelly Benefit Strategies, not to mention Frank Pipp (Health Net) and Chris Horner (Astana). Once this group came together, it was lights out for the field. Except for some large primes, including a big field prime where Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) pipped Freddie Rodriguez (Rock Racing) with a monster throw and a $1,000 prime won by Josh Carter (ABD/Geargrinder), the next hour was not exactly the most exciting racing we’ve ever seen.

Finally with 10 laps to go, fireworks started happening in the break, largely led by Graham Howard (Bissell) and Adam Bergman (Texas Roadhouse). With five to go, five riders separated for good, including Horner, who in his inimitable way appeared to be the only one not taxed by the effort. It was 2007 Evanston Grand Prix winner Bergman, however, who attacked on the backside and crossed the line with several bike lengths over Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United) in 2nd and David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit Strategies) in 3rd. The amateur Bergman also won the $1,000 halfway prize on top of his $5,000 for the win.

Team Tibco brough its heavy hitters to bear on the women’s P/1/2/3 race, including former Evanston resident and ace sprinter Brooke Miller. After several of her teammates had made some attempts off the front, Amber Rais finally broke free alone with about 20 minutes to go, quickly creating a 45-second lead for herself, and it became a race for 2nd place. Junior Samantha Schneider (Mesa Cycles) would win that race for 2nd, with Miller rounding out the podium in 3rd.

Earlier, the women’s 4’s race was dominated by Jeannie Kuhajek from New Zealand, who scooped up several primes on her way to winning the bunch sprint.

In a fast 3’s race, Ren-Jay Shei (Team Tortuga) shocked the field by slipping away by himself in the final laps and holding a slim lead all the way, followed by Tim Henry (Project 5 Racing) and Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek) in the field sprint. After a rough Superweek for the 3’s, the race was thankfully incident-free, save for a hard crash on the final corner (I’m not aware of any injuries).

In the masters 4/5’s race, the first three through the final corner were the first three aross the finish line: Nate Iden (Spidermonkey Cycling), Newt Cole (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) and Ed Ekstrom (Tower Racing). Several breaks threatened in a loaded masters 1/2/3 race, but it came down to a sprint, where Derek Witte (Bissell) took it ahead of Dave Scherer (MetCycling) and Adam Lesniakowski (PACT/Dish Network).

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus) had targeted this weekend and executed to perfection: After winning Saturday at Downer Avenue, he rode up front the entire 4’s race Sunday, attacking hard on the last lap and holding a large gap all the way to the line.

The juniors race appeared destined for a two-up sprint, but a hard-working chase caught the break in the final laps. Downers Grove’s Adam Kosela (Bikeline) then sprinted for the win in one of the day’s closest sprints, just ahead of Chazz Martin (Smart Cycling).

And in the morning’s very first races, XXX Racing-AthletiCo won both 5’s heats behind Tom Briney and Dave Moyer, not to mention a sizable contingent of teammates in support.

All in all, everyone seemed thrilled with the event. Great weather, perfect organization and fun racing -- let’s do this again!

Full results. (Note that Rodriguez and Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) are swapped.)

Race reports
Brian Boyle (Vitaminwater-Trek; P/1/2): “I rode up to some Toyota United guys, one of whom was Ivan Dominguez. I sat on his wheel coming out of the final turn as we were getting the bell.  I happily pointed this out to my teammates, literally, by happily pointing to Dominguez as we rode by them.”

Gary Chioda (Tower Racing; 30+ 4/5): “With three laps to go the pace bumps up a little and I can still see the Tower colors flying high at the front of the race.”

Ron Cook (Project 5; 3): “I asked Tim Henry to let me know when he wanted to move up. Before he even was able to respond he saw an opening and took it and left me there sitting mid pack.”

CyclingNews: “There were more attacks but with a smaller group the marking was much easier, especially when you are Horner or Rollin. But not as easy when you are a wild card in the group, as was Bergman.”

Jason Danvir (Sugar Cyles; 3): “I hit the last turn full-tilt and then it happened: Some morons decided to dive into the last turn and take me out from the side.”

Erik Didriksen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “Several times I’d try to move up, but the 119 riders in the field managed to fill the spacious course and made moving up quite the chore.”

Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2/3): “Like any good team should, Tibco pretty much neutralized anything that tried to bridge to Amber which made it clear that we were at that point racing for 2nd place.”

Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-P/1/2/3): “Bike racing is humbling. I hadn’t forgotten that, I just haven’t been so thoroughly humbled in a while.”

Nick Gierman (Vitaminwater-Trek; 4): “The break is only as strong as the weakest rider and I was that rider today.”

Cory Hickman (Vitaminwater-Trek; P/1/2): “At the second to last corner I was fourth wheel and proud of myself.  What happened in the next 300 meters is a blur, save for the absolute insanity of people diving this way and that.”

Jeff Holland (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Someone dives in front of me, stuffs their pedal into my front wheel and down I go.”

Aaron Hubbell (Nuvo Cultural Trail; P/1/2): “I was 5 meters off his wheel and starting to die. I looked at my computer: 58 kph! I immediately decided that was enough of that shit and sat up. The pack swallowed me and I went about 60 places back before I started to recover.”

Emir Jaganjac (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “The pack was really moving down Columbus and the second time down Jackson, the front 15 already gapped the rest of the field leaving the rest of us to try and form groups.”

Brooke Miller (Team Tibco; W-P/1/2/3): “17-year-old Sam Schneider most certainly made me pay for my bad finish focus!  She had a great sprint and I did not have enough time to grab her on the line.  Hat’s off to her for a great finish!”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Not knowing if Jeff was OK -- he’d crashed hard at Evanston just a week earlier -- took all the fight out of me.”

Damon Nelson (Beverly Bike/VeePak; 30+ 4/5): “With just a few laps to go in the race Tony Rienks made a move on the backside of the course that I happened to catch on the Jumbotron just as he jumped.”

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus; 4): “I knew I was not where I wanted or needed to be, but nothing to do about it now other than dish out the hurt to everyone else and see how it shakes out.”

Jared Rogers (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): ”Dave Moyer livens things up for a lap to try and break the field.  It did some damage and strung us all out and as soon as they were done, some unattached rider countered to prolong the agony going into the kicker on Balbo.”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4): “It was long enough and somewhat technical enough to make it interesting. The turns and the bend at Congress forced me to plan my advances up the field.”

Ren-Jay Shei (Team Tortuga; 3): “With me being the only Tortuga rider there and with a few other teams having like five or more guys in, I figured I should play it smart. It worked out.”

Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek; 30+ 1/2/3, 3): “On the last lap, Ren-Jay made a good move and people just watched. I watched too, but I was also yelling my fool head off in the hopes that someone would make it fast.”

Team Tati: (4, 5, 30+ 4/5, W-4): “Was this an omen of some sort? Should I advise our little elephant to sit this one out?”

Jeff Wat (Vitaminwater-Trek; 3): “ I moved up with him, but was pinched on the inside as riders from the right started to converge on the apex of the turn. It was an aggressive move and I was confident everyone would make it though OK. I was wrong and my hole closed on me and down I went.”

Andrew Yeoman (Team Pegasus; 5): “I was pedaling down harder and harder to get up to the front two. The rider in 2nd place was beginning to lose it. This was all the motivation I needed.”

Photos
Matt Dula
Carolyn Golz
Eric Goodwin
Jason Knauff: P/1/23, 4, 30+ 1/2/3, W-4
Melody Kramer
Jeff Lynch
Paul Matsushima
Cecile Redoble
Lee Sam
Second City Warehouse
Luke Seemann
Bob Segal
Tricia Smith
Don Sorsa

No details yet, but Superweek has already updated the results to reflect Sunday’s action.

Jairo Perez Suarez (Colombia) won, his second of the series after winning the second day of Bensenville. Jonathan Cantwell (Jittery Joe’s) finished well ahead of Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing) to secure the overall title. Meanwhile, Rahsaan Bahati appears to have been a no-show for the fourth consecutive day came up empty in the sprints after a break got away and devoured most of the available points, enabling Chad Hartley (Jittery Joe’s) to run away with the sprints title.

Alex Voitik (Turin) finished 4th to wrap up the 3’s overall title, and Jessi Prinner (ABD) came in 3rd in the final women’s 3/4’s race, giving the South Elgin junior the overall title.

Full wrap-up to come.

Adam Bergman (Texas Roadhouse) wins the inaugural Chicago Criterium after attacking out of a large break, above, that included teammate Paul Martin and Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United). Full report to come.

Rock Racing let its legs do the talking at Downer Avenue on Saturday with Justin Williams winning the $7,000 prime -- the largest prime in American racing -- and then Sterling Magnell winning the race to get within 3 points of Jonathan Cantwell (Jittery Joe’s) for the overall. Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) took another day off and it now looks doubtful that he can win the sprints competition, with Chad Hartley (Jittery Joe’s) leading by 18 points.

Update: CyclingNews has a full report.

Chicago’s Chris Padfield won the 4’s race, and Alex Voitik (Turin) and Matt Hebard (GS Boulder) went 1-2 in the 3’s, which is also where they stand in the overall.  Jessi Prinner (ABD) won the women’s 3/4’s and now leads by 4 points.

With two days of Superweek left, things are getting tense up in Wisconsin.

Yet another Colombian won in Kenosha Friday -- Juan Pablo Forero Carreno, the fourth from the squad to do so this Superweek -- but the real action is for the overall, where current leader Jonathan Cantwell (Jittery Joe’s) and Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing) have stopped being polite and started being real. Check out this CyclingNews report or this race report from Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw) for all the drama.

Sprints leader Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) took two days off for a wedding and has now lost the red jersey again to Chad Hartley (Jittery Joe’s), who leads by 4 points. The CyclingNews story reports a clever tactical move, in which with a large break up the road Friday, Jittery Joe’s intentionally slowed the field so that the break would lap, thus giving Hartley a chance to pick up points.

Same old, same old in the 3’s: A horrendous crash took down several riders in the final sprint Friday. My eyes on the ground, John Wilke of Peloton Pix, says three ambulances were required. Meanwhile, Chicago’s Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek) won just inches ahead of Turin’s Alex Voitik (above). It’s now a three-man race for the overall, with Voitik leading by 4 points over Matt Hebard (GS Boulder) and Tomasz Boba (WDT-Allvoi).

(Myself, I was registered for what should be a thrilling day on Downer Avenue today, but with the way the 3’s have been riding, I’m not confident about getting through those tight corners without major incident. I’ll be taking the day off.)

In women’s 3/4 racing, South Elgin’s Jessi Prinner hasn’t won since Evanston, but she’s been racking up the points and now leads the overall by 1 point.

Just got an update on some of the pro stars registered for the Chicago Criterium.

Among those representing Kelly Benefit Strategies will be sprinter Alex Candelario and David Veilleux, winner of two stages and the overall at the Tour of Pennsylvania.

From Bissell we’ll see Benjamin Jacques-Maynes and Tom Zirbel, who recently placed 2nd at Italy’s famous Granfondo Pinarello.

And from Toyota-United we’ll have the Cuban Missile himself, Ivan Dominguez, winner of Stage 1 at the Tour of Georgia, and 2006 Downers Grove and Tour of Elk Grove champ Hilton Clarke.

This is just a partial list. Organizers are also still expecting Chris Horner (Astana), as well as some of the biggest names in women’s racing.

Finally, here is a story from today’s Sun-Times. [Insert rant about how with a Chicago rider sitting in 6th place in the Tour de Frickin’ France, you’d expect more coverage -- and better coverage -- from local media.]

In last night’s Racine Criterium, cyclocross star Jonathan Page (Battley Harley-Davidson/Planet Bike) went up a lap with four others, then outwitted the sizeable Kelly Benefit Strategies leadout train to take the victory.

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing) continued to find himself marked like a jelly donut at a Weight Watchers meeting and couldn’t slip away from the field. In the sprint, Jonathan Cantwell (Jittery Joe’s) was able to pad his lead by a few more points and now leads by 5.

I don’t have any 3’s results from Racine, but it continues to be a tight race for the overall between Tomasz Boba (WDT-Allvoi), Alex Voitik (Turin), Matt Hebard (GS Boulder) and Robert Quinn (Unattached). Crashes again marred Thursday’s race. Here’s video of one that Tim Keeley (ABD) repor