Some notes from another exciting edition of Hillsboro-Roubaix, which on Saturday saw record numbers tackle the rough roads and rougher bricks:

• » I never bother with spare wheels in road races. At our level, what maniac honestly thinks he can catch back on after changing a wheel? Meet two such maniacs: The first was Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew), who flatted out of the 3’s break and, with 10 miles to go, chased solo into the headwind to regain contact. He still had enough gas to throw down some attacks and would hold on for an impressive fourth. Then in the P/1/2 race, three-time runner-up Brian Jensen (Tradewind Energy/Trek Stores) flatted in the final few miles and not only caught back on to the remaining break but came around to win by a healthy 7 seconds (above). Truly, two heroic performances.
• » Chicago native Rebecca Much (Webcor Builders) paid us a visit and walked away with a victory in the women’s P/1/2/3 race, attacking on the final climb out of a five-woman break. Among her breakmates was junior Jessi Prinner (ABD). Meanwhile, Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA) won the field sprint for 6th.
• » Young Danny Robertson (Team Mack) of Rolling Meadows is showing good form. After two top-10 finishes at the Spring Super Crit, he won out of the break in said 3’s race, then won the 3/4’s race Sunday in the Tilles Park Criterium in St. Louis.
• » The complexion of the 3’s race changed when, with riders strewn from gutter to gutter, an official neutralized the pack just as a group of about 10 was coming together off the front. His scolding was brief and I’m not sure anyone came to a complete stop, but it was just enough to enable the break to get out of sight. The field would lose momentum three more times: Twice for cars in its path, and once for a confusing pass of some masters riders.
• » Something needs to give on the centerline. Enforcement is too spotty to be effective, and there are many stretches where it simply is not tenable to use less than half the road. Surely I’m a dreamer, but how impossible would it be to close traffic between Miles 2 and 11? It’s those 9 miles that are the dodgiest. At the very least, would it be practical to close that stretch to oncoming traffic?
• » How big were these packs? Big. 121 started the P/1/2 race. (54 finished.) At 97, this was the biggest 3’s field I’d ever been a part of. Here’s video of the P/1/2 field on the first lap. (I understand some crashes followed not long after.) Here are the 3’s starting their second lap.
• » Chicago riders went 2-3-4 in the 50+ race: Wayne Simon (Verdigris), Stuart Grinell (ISCorp) and Tom Doughty (Amgen/Giant Masters), respectively, all members of a five-man break that finished 3 minutes up on the chase group and an astounding 11 minutes up on the field. In the 40+, our top finishers were Michael Zellman (Verizon Wireless) in 1st and Brian Haas (Alberto’s) in 3rd.
• » In the womens’ 4’s race, Chicago riders took home two bricks: Jeanette Schrand (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) in 2nd and Leah Sanda (Flatlandia) in 3rd, and Elgin’s Josh Crane (ABD) took the juniors U15, with Samuel Bianchi (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) in 2nd.
• » In the run-up to April 4, more than one person said to me, “Just so long as we beat St. Louis.” By my accounting, St. Louis riders won only one race: Kristin Moore (Big Shark) in the women’s 4’s.  Mission accomplished!
• » Hooray for perfect weather!
• » And three cheers for for the chip timing, a pleasant and well-run surprise. Sprints still needed to be decided by the human observers and cameras, but it sure was nice to have the next 100 placings posted — with acceptable accuracy — within a few minutes, instead of waiting all afternoon as officials squinted at video in order to pick 47th from 48th place.

Photos
John Bennett
Bill Cahill
Dennis Fickinger
Rachel Pomberg
Matt Smith

Race reports
Jim Brady (Pony Shop; 40+): “I started just counting down the miles… one… at… a… time.”

Doug Braun (Tower Racing; 40+): “I was in a really good position when my rear wheel exploded.”

Erik Didriksen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “As we hit the feed zone my arch nemesis Gravity started to tug at my seatpost.”

Elvis Falbo (Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak; 4): “On my way up the final climb I saw one racer walking his bike up inch by inch with the bike between his legs.”

Ryan Fay (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “I kept my composure down the hill and over the brick.  I got back on the other rider’s wheel at the final turn and with about 200M to go, I hit the gas as hard as I could.”

Steve Driscoll (Team Mack; 3): “Screaming downhill on the bricks and rough pavement,  the hardware in my legs could not take all of the jarring.”

Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-P/1/2/3): “take the corner hot and sneak a look behind me

—

I still have a good gap!”

Waylon Janowiak (WDT-Allvoi; 3): “No excuses but I felt like hell that last lap.”

Chris Kinonen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “Why is half the field on the left side of the road?”

Rich Kisseloff (Dogfish; 3): “Ride, turn, accelerate, catch up, turn, accelerate, turn, hit afterburners, recover, turn, bridge gap, fight headwind, recover.”

Ryan Knapp (Panther/RGF; P/1/2): “The rubber band was thoroughly stretched in the front, but we couldn’t seem to get another group to break off and catch the six just up the road.”

Ben LaForce (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “The one time a year when the midwesterner gets to try their hand at a spring classic of their own.”

John Meyers (ABD; P/1/2): “About 4-5 minutes passed before I got my wheel change, and I said screw it.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “First-race jitters kept me from going out on my own, like I’d told myself I would at least try.”

Rebecca Much (Webcor Builders; W-P/1/2/3): “You never know how races are going to play out in a local fied, but this race was probably one of the most fun and aggressive races I’ve ever witnessed, which was delighting!”

Avi Neurohr (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 4): “Uh, plenty of room up here if you want to show us how it’s done.”

Madeleine Puissant (Team BH USA; W-P/1/2/3): “I tried a few more attacks but Kenda and Mercy were quick to react.”

Rob Ragfield-Schofield (Wild Card Cycling; 4): “Midway up I had to slow way down. I just got stuck behind the wrong people.”

Joe Schubert (Half Acre Cycling; 4): “I’m riding all-out trying to make up lost ground and tuning out the unholy chatter of carbon on brick.”

Luke Seemann (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “As we headed down the final 400 meters, my mind did a quick catalog of all the sprints I’d lost. This is an extensive catalog.”

Mike Sherer (Alderfer Bergen; P/1/2): “I was cramping in places I didn’t know I could even cramp.”

Team Tati (4, W-4): “Undaunted, our long-limbed theologian shouldered his bike ‘cross style and remounted only on the descent.”

Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy/Trek Stores; P/1/2): “I was riding up the hill and somehow a cone ended up in my front wheel and I instantly went over the bars.”

Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 3): “I flatted right at the same part I attacked last year. Am I doomed to torture by the final 8 miles of merciless crosswinds every year?”

Kristen Wentworth (Team Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “With a small hill approaching and the crosswinds blowing, I attacked hard and hammered up the hill.”