Final thoughts on Downers Grove:

• » Graham Fisk has some good pictures from the USPRO race, including a shot catching Karl Menzies (Health Net) yelling “Go! Go! Go!” into his radio, moments before a grisly pileup on the backstretch. It’s hard to tell what happens next. Is Brad Huff (Slipstream) the first to hit Menzies? It appears he and Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid) would have had enough room to get by, but anything could have happened on these roads. In fact, it almost looks like Borrajo is starting to lose control here. I’m hoping Huff updates his blog soon to give us the skinny.

• » Have you ever seen four guys so unhappy to have come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place? Even new national champion Kirk O’Bee (Health Net) was mirthless. No doubt about it: These guys were in it to win it and resented having to settle for less.

• » I had fun hanging onto the coattails of freelance photographer Kurt Jambretz this weekend. You may recognize him as the dude with the knee pads and the lenses as long as your arm. He was very nice to this pretend photojournalist, and I think it’s admirable that despite the rain he spent the entire weekend shooting the amateur races. It wasn’t entirely out of altruism, of course: He sells prints at Action Images. But given that he lost some valuable equipment when a flailing masters rider clipped him on Saturday, consider getting something nice for your trophy wall.

• » As unsatisfying as our short races may have been, I still say it’s pretty cool we get to race on the same course as the national championships. Do people ever get to play two-hand touch the morning of the Super Bowl?

• » Did anyone crash in the 5’s? Could it be that these were the safest races of the weekend?

• » Matt Smith (Big Shark) and O’Bee go way back. (I had not realized O’Bee once rode for ABD.)

• » Speaking of ABD, Geneva’s Ben Raby (Kodak Gallery), a former member of the ABD elite team, dodged the homestretch pileup to come across the line in 6th.

Saturday race reports
Ron Cook (ABD; 3): “I’m already rethinking my August ‘08 schedule. I’ll probably skip the Elk Grove and Downers races.”

Ryan Cooper (ABD; 3/4): “When people would soft-pedal down the hill catching their breath, I was still hard charging, sprinting out of every turn.”

Jonathan Dugas (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I glanced quickly at the bunch, saw everyone sitting there, and knew that was it: That was my chance and even though it was unplanned, I just had to hammer it 110% and see what happened.”

Nick Frey (HART; P/1/2): “Everyone was aggressive but knew how to ride, and the field was single-file the entire time. That is my kind of racing!”

Will Frischkorn (Slipstream; P): “Other than dodging the occasional local dude coming backwards like an advertisement for why the race shouldn’t have local riders taking part, things became a bit safer.”

Chris Gould (Racing Union; 3/4, 30+ 4/5): “During the last two laps, I decided it was ‘now or never.’”

Tim Keeley (ABD; 3/4, 30+ 4/5): “It was nice to have someone with the stones to throw his finish chances in the trash for the sake of bringing the field back.”

Brooke Miller (Tibco; W-P/1/2): “Once I am wet, I want the rain to come down hard and make life miserable for my competitors!  The kid in me still comes out and gets giddy with a good storm.”

Shelley Olds (Proman/Paradigm; W-P/1/2): “I couldn’t stand to miss the race and so I waited until the last rider passed and jumped on the course ahead of the follow vehicle.”

Christine Roettger (X Plane Team Revolution; W-3/4): “On the last lap, Kristen Meshberg of Flatlandia took a good pull and I attacked her just BEFORE the last turn. It worked! Until I freaked out about my speed heading into the corner.”

Chris Sherpitis (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I have no interest in racing for second place while somebody from another team gets the glory of a solo victory. So it is with wolf grin and pure satisfaction that I drill the pace in pursuit of this guy.”

Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s; P/1/2): “By the end there were only about thirty of us in the main field with four of the original break staying clear by just two seconds. Maybe Colavita should have accepted my help after all.”

Matt Shriver (Jittery Joe’s; P/1/2): “Over 225 starters.  Mixing that many amateurs with the pros and adding some rain and cash means you are going to have some spectacular crashes.”

Matt Smith (Big Shark; 3/4, 30+ 4/5): “I was scared of cornering in the fresh rain and gapped myself every corner and had to sprint to catch up, slowly working my way to the back.”

Steve Tilford (VW/Trek; P/1/2): “I pretty much lost my bike handling confidence towards the end.”

Toyota-United (P/1/2): “‘This was one of the craziest races I have been in.’”

Lou Waugaman (All9Yards; P/1/2): “It is pretty humbling lining up amidst all of the who’s who of professionals.”

Bob Willems (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “A couple of guys lost either confidence, wheel traction or both going into Turn 7.”

The Editor (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3/4): “‘Pulling out! Pulling out! Pulling out!’”

Saturday photos
Action Images
Team Clif Bar Midwest
The Editor

Sunday race reports
Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing; P): “My shoulder was in so much pain that I could barely grab the bars, but I was so determined to give it everything. My bike was in pieces, too. “

Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2): “When I finally managed to get free of the spokes I realized that the spectators in the corner had taken my bike away and over the crowd control fence so that I couldn’t get back on to chase. Now THAT PISSED ME OFF. I had come this far and wanted so badly to at least finish.”

Nick Frey (HART; 1): “The race Sunday was harder because it was not as easy to carry speed through turns: one could not count on the guys around him to hold their lines or even stay upright.”

Will Frischkorn (Slipstream; P): “Good racing all day until about 10 to go when people decided it was time to kill one another.”

Chad Hartley (BMC; P): “First place ... in the ‘I suck’ competition. I won’t speculate on who won second and third.”

Daniel Holloway (VMG; 1): “I don’t exactly remember what all happened but I do know it felt amazing.”

Brad Huff (Slipstream; P): “I only remember a few fleeting moments where the pack was not in one long strung out paceline.”

Brooke Miller (Tibco; W-P/1/2): “Filled with furry and frustration, I chased and I chased hard.  They were only 200 meters or so up the road, and I was actually convincing myself that I would pull a Robbie McEwen.”

Tommy Nankervis (Jittery Joe’s; P): “Some crazy guy decided to crash in front of me with seven to go! I went straight over the hangers, onto my back, and landed in the gutter hard enough to skip up it, too.”

Shelley Olds (Proman/Paradigm; W-P/1/2): “It began raining again right around the same time I started cramping and it became very hard to see. It was really coming down hard and the race changed pace drastically as you could sense the fear in many of the other riders.”

Jake Rytlewski (Rite Aid; P): “I was looking and trying to hold Alejandro Borrajo‘s wheel towards the end, but that guy moves through the peloton in ways that nobody could follow. Not even a snake. “

Dan Schmatz (BMC; P): “My quick-release was wrapped in his shorts and I was almost dragging him down the road as the field went by. Once I realized what was happening and it was too late and the bunch was by.”

Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s; P): “The last ten laps were full of crashes but luckily I was able to avoid hitting the deck.”

Matt Shriver (Jittery Joe’s; P): “The race was a bit safer today, but there were still guys doing dumb shit of course and stacking it up in the corners.”

Steve Tilford (VW/Trek; 1): “I pretty much lost the race on my own. I wasn’t too upset. The VMG ‘kid’ Daniel Holloway (VMG) rode an almost perfect race.”

Toyota-United (P): “‘Guys were hitting the deck, so I kept moving up and moving up. I think I was one more crash away from being top five.’”

Sunday pictures
Action Images: Elite men, W-P/1/2, USPRO
CyclingNews
Darcy Cycling
Graham Fisk
The Editor