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
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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
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