Violent thunderstorms interrupted the early races and delayed and shortened the rest, but it turned out to be a fantastic day for racing in Spring Prairie for Wisconsin’s state road race championships, and lots of Chicago riders headed up to create some sound and fury of their own.

Two Chicago women had big days: Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia) once again took on the IS Corp army to win the women’s open, and Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) slipped away with some masters riders to win her 4’s race.

Four riders made early leave of the out-of-state 4/5’s race, attacking at the beginning of the second lap. Thanks to the blocking efforts of Chicago Cuttin’ Crew and XXX Racing-AthletiCo, the move stayed off and together for the rest of the race, with Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew) taking the win -- stuck in his small ring! -- and proving that his great job at Hillsboro-Roubaix was no fluke. Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus) put in another herculean solo effort attempting to bridge, spending the final two laps in no-man’s land and barely holding off the charging pack for 5th. And Tower Racing again impressed: Jim Hamman got 3rd in the break while Doug Braun was first up the hill in the field for 6th.

XXX Racing-AthletiCo had good numbers in the 3’s race but couldn’t close on the win there either, settling for three in the top 10, including junior John Tomlinson in 5th and Jacques Cartier, making his Cat 3 debut, in 7th. (It’s always nice when an upgrade is validated like that in the first time out.)

Chicago riders were isolated in a P/1/2 race dominated by IS Corps, but Northwestern’s Will Nowak (Targetraining), in his last race before heading east for the summer, won the field sprint/climb for 6th. And in masters racing, Michael Heagney (PYOC) took 3rd in the 30+.

Full results.

Photos
Peter Strittmatter

Race reports
Tamara Fraser (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; W-4): “I realized the other three were masters racers. If we could stay away, I would win the cat 4 race!”

Jim Hamman (Tower Racing; 4/5): “A smile started to creep over my face as I realized that we would not be caught and was finally part of a breakaway that succeeded!”

Donald Hanke (Tower Racing; 4/5): “It was tough, but what a great course.”

Jeff Holland (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I got halfway there, and then the crit racer in me said, ‘No, conserve your energy, stay with the pack.’ Dumb, just dumb.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I was forced to make a choice to bridge to Chris or get back in the pack, and the pack was closer, so in I went.

Avi Neurohr (Unattached; 4/5): “If only I’d shaved my legs and carried a couple of water bottles!”

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus; 4/5): “Cuttin’ Crew was absolutely dominating the front, blocking for their man in the break. Major respect to them for their teamwork and execution there.”

Brian Parker (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “It was just like Big Brown’s jockey said about trying to get Big Brown to sprint: When he tried to whip the horse, there was just no horse underneath to whip.”

William Pankonin (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 4/5): “I raced over the top and somehow kept the legs spinning until the line.”

Tristan Schouten (Planet Bike; P/1/2): “It was fun to get out there and go fast for a few hours while ISCorp did all the work and shut everything down.”

Luke Seemann (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 3): “They caught me again. Argh! They weren’t supposed to do that!”

Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew; 4/5): “I don’t just let people box me in. I shouldered my way out to the left, finally got some open road, and my frustration powered me up that hill.”