A lot of Chicago riders picked up some new laundry Sunday at the state criterium championships in Peoria.

I was pleased to see championships go to two of our newer, scrappier teams. In the women’s 4’s race, Brynn Schwaba (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew) got on the good side of an early split. After her two break mates had a mishap, she was able to ride home solo for the win. Also going solo was -- surprise, surprise -- Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus). He attacked with six laps to go in the men’s 4’s, and the field was never able to commit to a chase until it was too late. He dipped into his suitcase of courage, his carry-on of mettle and finally his portmanteau of pluck to barely hang on in dramatic fashion.

With several unfamiliar teams in the 3’s pack, including squads from Iowa, Missouri and even Texas, nobody was given a long leash, and the pace stayed hot the entire race. With a few laps to go, Vitaminwater-Trek started firing off fliers like artillery shells ahead of a beach landing. None held, but they wore down and stretched the field, thus setting up Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek) for a narrow sprint win over junior John Tomlinson (XXX Racing-AthletiCo). Despite last week’s blunder, Smith again raised his arm before the line, but this time he held on (photo above).

Many races this year have come down to Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles) and Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia) at the finish line, but I was astonished to see the women’s P/1/2 race reduced to them at the start line. Despite a $1,000 purse that paid 10 deep, Haskell and Meshberg were the only Illinois residents coming to play in Peoria. They quickly took their leave from the other 1/2’s and the 3’s and stayed together until the final corner, where Haskell took a lead and held it all the way to the line to add to her collection of championship jerseys. Meshberg would have to wait until the afternoon to get her victory, this time in the women’s 35+.

Kyle Jacobson (IS Corp) made an audacious move in the P/1/2 race, getting a 20-second gap within the first two laps. He dropped his Bissell companion but kept plugging away by himself. Within a few laps later four others had joined him, including teammate Matt Busche, and it wasn’t long before their lead grew to an insurmountable minute and a half. Jeff Schroetlin (ABD/Geargrinder) was the only Illinois resident in this bunch so he had a lock on the championship, but it was Busche who made a move on the final backstretch and took the race. Meanwhile, Scott Pearson (Comcast/Higher Gear) once again was able to slip away from the field to finish in 6th overall, 2nd in the state.

Other local champs: James Bird (IS Corp) in the boys 15-18, Kaleb Koch (Smart Cycling) in the boys 10-14, Dani Witt (ABD) in the girls 10-14, Andy Kerr (Village Cyclesport) in the 50+, Voytek Glinkowski (WDT-Allvoi) in the 30+ 4/5’s, Jessi Prinner (ABD) in the women’s 3’s and girls 15-18, and Kathleen Corbett in the women’s 55+.

Full results.

Photos
Steve Daggs
Fick’s Photos
Matt Smith: P/1/2, 4, 3
Snapshots by Stacy
XXX Racing-AthletiCo

Race reports
Erik Didriksen (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “While sliding across the pavement (whee) I somehow kept my hands on the bars and managed to make myself as small as possible so I wouldn’t be run over.”

Nick Gierman (Vitaminwater-Trek; 4): “I could have sworn Chris was behind me. I never saw him come up to the front. “

Tim Henry (Project 5; 3): “JD and I were cutting the corners elbow to elbow with speed north of 30 mph, just flowing through the field. It was just flawless: the power, the fluidity. This race was perfect: fast, aggressive but safe.”

Seth Meyer (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; P/1/2): “It wasn’t that awful I-feel-my-muscle-fiber-being-torn-to-shreds pain, but just a slow, general, embarrassing I’m-running-out-of-steam kind of thing.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4): “I could complain about how strong I felt but didn’t really apply myself, HTFU, and sling my own pair around with a counter-attack into that wind, but I won’t.”

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus; 4): “I struggled to keep my anaerobic eyes open and kept coasting through the hay bales that separated turns one and five, pulled over, got off my bike and collapsed into a mess of heavy breathing, the clouds, and disbelief.”

Rob Raguet-Schofield (Wild Card Racing; 5): “It kind of sucked to watch the leaders pull farther ahead of me each lap, but at the same time it was a bit of relief to not have to worry about other riders in the turns.”

Brynn Schwaba (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; W-4): “A couple of crashes at the last few turns caused the tactics in place to not go as well as we hoped but, hey, that’s what happens sometimes.”

Mike Shea (Spider Monkey Cycling; 4): “Less than 100 meters after the finish he fumbled off his bike and sat on the curb, spent.”

Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek; 3): ”John Tomlinson (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) was moving very very fast, and I inched my way even with him, then inched my way ahead of him.”

Bob Willems (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Do I have enough in the tank? Is that headwind too much to go? Can I really commit to this?”