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.