Bensenville residents went to a concert Wednesday night and a bicycle race broke out.

And what a race it was. Announcers cajoled dozens of music fans out of their lawn chairs to come watch Jairo Perez Suarez (Colombia) wrap up an amazing solo break from the men’s P/1/2 field. He was off by himself for about 25 of the race’s 80 laps. Several tried to bridge, including hard efforts from ABD/Geargrinder, but none got more than halfway across. This wasn’t Suarez’ only solo effort: He successfully stayed off the front of the field on Tuesday to capture 9th place after the break had lapped the field.

Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing)  won out of that break after attacking early and lapping the field with seven others. Wednesday his team’s attentions seemed to be on the points competition and defending its overall lead. Bahati had had his sprints leader jersey taken from him before the race because of what had been discovered to be a misallocation of points. The jersey thus passed to Chad Hartley (Jittery Joe’s). During the race, Hartley and Bahati were always close, shadowing each other like sumo wrestlers before a grapple, but it was Rock Racing, operating with a full squad, that manhandled most of the points sprints, and the points leadership passed back to Bahati. Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing) finished 3rd on the day to retain the overall lead.

Other highlights from the rest of this week’s Chicago races:

• » As cyclists we talk a lot about courage. Usually it involves an improbable attack or a difficult time trial. We have so much courage, we like to think, that we carry it around in suitcases. No more will I hold this delusion. Tuesday we witnessed true courage when trained spectators leapt into action to save the life of Jim Scott. There was no hesitation. Thinking was quick, actions swift.
• » Firefighter Tony Rienks (Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak) was one of the heroes who gave first aid. Wednesday, he showed his mettle on the bike, getting a well-deserved victory in the 4/5’s race.
• » Richton Park was a well-received course, aside from an egging in the 3’s race. Bensenville? Not so much. Technical is one thing. Unnecessarily dangerous is another. Uneven pavement in Turn 3 caused multiple accidents on Tuesday; to our relief it was paved overnight. (Thank you, Bensenville.) An off-camber turn on the chicane struck me as dodgy, and I was surprised to see only one rider wipe out there. The biggest problem, however, was the finish, which was positioned on the snaking stretch of new pavement in order to be near the park’s bandshell. USA Cycling’s rulebook gives these specifications for road races: “The finishing area should be at least eight meters wide and be adequately protected so as to prevent spectators from running into the street. The last 200 meters should be free of turns and curves.” Assuming that this applies to criteriums as well (which it apparently does not; the national championships in Downers Grove finish a mere 150 meters from the final corner, after all): 1. Promoters have said the path is 25 feet. If that’s accurate, that’s less than 8 meters. 2. The last 200 meters was decidedly not free of turns or curves. 3. It seems painfully obvious that the chute out of the finish should be free of curves, too. Cyclists are utterly exhausted at the end of our sprints, and if we throw, it’s difficult to steer safely. Only one crash occurred at the finish line, but it was catastrophic, and there were many more close calls.
• » All that said, Bensenville was once again a cordial host. And knowing the generous and expensive work the village did in order to construct this course, I don’t mean to be ungrateful when I make these observations. I hope Superweek can return for years and years to come.
• » Not many pros have shown up for the women’s pro tour, but many of the country’s top amateur squads are here. Three locals to root for are Jessi Prinner (ABD), Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire) and Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia).  Meshberg is easy to spot: Just look for her omnipresent grin.
• » Between sprinting and time trialing, most of us have to choose but one. At Blue Island, Tomasz Boba (WDT-Allvoi) showed the 3’s that he can hold his own in a field sprint, getting 2nd in the field. Sunday in Olympia Fields, he proved he can time-trial, single-handedly holding off the field for the final 10 laps. On Wednesday in Bensenville, he proved that he can do both in the same Herculean effort. With just a few laps to go, he easily jumped across to a dangerous three-man break. Just as that break got absorbed at the final turn, Boba launched a ferocious sprint and held off a charging Robert Quinn (Unattached), who himself has proven this week that neither his time trial nor his sprint are to be trifled with. He sprinted to win a three-up sprint Tuesday in Bensenville, and he came in third out of the break on Saturday.
• » Kiwi Daniel Carruthers (Hansaton Hearing Systems) rode to a long solo victory in Wednesday’s 30+ 1/2/3 race. If he does it again, be sure to wave your hands rather than clap to show your appreciation: Carruthers is deaf. (He depends on a flag to know when the bell lap is.)
• » Joe Bippus (South Chicago Wheelmen) is off to a great start: In the first four races of Superweek, he landed two 4ths, a 2nd and a victory in the 4’s.
• » Forgive me for being braggy, but I’m proud of my teammates in the lower categories. Both Monday and Tuesday saw XXX Racing-AthletiCo riders going on successful solo attacks late in the 4/5’s races: Sean Piper in Richton Park, Dave Moyer in Bensenville. Then on Wednesday in Bensenville’s 30+ 4/5’s, Jeff Holland outsprinted the formidable Voytek Glinkowski (WDT-Allvoi), who had come in 1st and 2nd the previous two days.
• » Chicago’s Spidermonkey squad should feel good about themselves, too. They’ve accumulated 11 top-five finishes in the lower-category races.
• » Many people have noticed the smaller fields in the 4’s, 4/5’s and 30+ 4/5’s. I don’t think attendance is necessarily down. Keep in mind that in previous years there has only been a 4/5’s field with the occasional masters race. Last year, most of the Chicago-area 4/5’s races, which were all held on weekends, filled up. So now instead of a crowded 75-man field, we have three fields of 20 to 30 riders. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. This has kept these races safer, and with the 4/5’s races serving as proxy 5’s races, more riders have a chance to be competitive within their own ability levels. My only surprise is that more riders aren’t doubling up, either because the races are scheduled back-to-back or because they are scheduled to be longer than we’re used to.

Full Superweek results.

Richton Park race reports
ABD/Geargrinder (P/1/2): “With only three riders it was difficult to cover every move and a couple of times it looked like the team would only have stories about the one that got away, but then Zach Watson bridged across to a large group.”

Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “After a number of attacks, a group of eight guys slipped away and we had the youngster Justin Williams there.”

Taggert Brooks (CZ Velo; 30+ 1/2/3): “tTey had better numbers when the field was together. Why would they block for one teammate in a break of 10 when they had nearly 20 percent of the remaining field?”

CyclingNews: “With one lap to go it was all green and gold of Kelly Benefit on the front

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but not far behind were the Texas Roadhouse riders waiting to crash the party.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “Major props to perennial ‘sit in and sprint’ guy Justin Williams (Rock Racing) for getting up the road and lapping the field. Never seen him attack, let alone lap the field. Bravo, guy.”

Kudzu (P/1/2): “The race started off faster than a blitzkrieg as we averaged 412 watts for the first 15 minutes.”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “I’m on this like you wouldn’t believe. I’m scared, I’m nervous. I’ve been getting support from every angle and I feel like I’m on a razors edge. It feels good. I feel compelled. This is big for me.”

John Meyers (ABD/Geargrinder; P/1/2): “Superweek races are way better than 9 out of 10 regional races. Fast people show up. The races are hard, and hard men do well.”

James Pradun (Endeavour; 3): “Someone started throwing eggs at the riders in the Cat 3 field. Two guys got hit in the head and shoulder. WTF?”

Joey Rosskopf (Kudzu; P/1/2): “Having already made the mistake of letting one break slip away today, no one in the bunch wanted to let it happen again.”

Richton Park photos
CyclingNews

Bensenville Tuesday race reports
ABD/Geargrinder (P/1/2): “Although this was the fifth day in a now of racing for many riders, the attacks started once again from the gun.”

Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “Back to business and with a very technical course, I did what Justin did the day before and lapped the field very, very early in the race.”

Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak (30+ 4/5): “In the 4/5 with seven laps to go around an easy left turn half the lead pack went down.”

CyclingNews: “All looked set for a two-up sprint when a moment of inattention over a dodgy corner by Katie Weber (WebCor) sent her to the ground with 10 laps to go.”

Debbie Dust (Team Kenda Tire; W-P/1/2/3): “It was definitely a good race: difficult, sometimes twitchy, but that’s just part of criterium racing.”

Jeff Holland (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “Brian Morrissey and I were ready for a breakaway when the time presented itself, but nothing really stuck in the wind.”

Nate Iden (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4): “Why did they have to change the Superweek course n Bensenville? Last year’s course was kick’ass, and it was right in the village next to the greatest deli in the Chicagoland area, Mario’s.”

Karla Kingsley (Easton/ Sugar CRM/ Specialized; W-P/1/2/3): “I was grateful to have my break companion back with me, and we got down to business working together again.”

Kudzu (P/1/2): “The slightest gap on this course could spell disaster, as the pace stayed high on the long straights and especially out of the turns.”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “[Bahati] cleaned up like a formality with a little trackie split to the right while everybody was looking at their shoes. He won by four bike lengths. Ha.”

Brian Morrissey (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “The last thing I remember before realizing that I was on the grass with a torn skinsuit was thinking, as I was hurtling towards a barrier,  ‘Oh, shit.’”

James Pradun (Endeavour; 3): “I was probably 8th position as someone a few bikes ahead of me took the turn too hot and slid out. The guy on my inside panicked to avoid the crash, swung right, and rode me right into a rock garden.”

Joey Rosskopf (Kudzu; P/1/2): “With expert timing, as soon as Oscar saw me surrender to the charging field, he jumped off the front, and within the next lap or two he joined the group already off the front.”

Jeff Schroetlin (ABD/Geargrinder; P/1/2): “Hence, a semi-gianormous bunch of impatient over-achievers pedaling faster than the rest of us, went on ahead and, apparently missing the security of the general population, ended up pedaling all the way around to the tail end of the main mob from which they pedaled so feverishly to escape. Nice work, geniuses.”

Team Tati (4/5): “Early attacks meant that the speed was very high for a one hour, lower-category crit.”

Bensenville Tuesday photos
Luke Seemann

Bensenville Wednesday race reports
Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak (30+ 4/5): “Tony attacked and was able to hang on for the victory in front of the gentelmanly Nate Gayesky from xXx by four bike lengths.”

CyclingNews: “The Colombians are always floating on the front of the field, looking for cash primes and any opportunity they can use.”

Aram Dellalian (Bearclaw; P/1/2): “The course was an odd one, but didn’t worry me too much. When the legs are good, minor things like course type, pavement, hills, etc. are just interchangeable variables that don’t mean much in crit racing.”

Kudzu (P/1/2): “When a rider in front of you pulls off at 30 mph it makes it very difficult to close the gap, thus it usually means you are in a spot of bother.”

Jeff Holland (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 30+ 4/5): “I’ve never seen such unselfish and committed teamwork as I did today from my teammates Chris Sherpitis and William Pankonin.”

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing; P/1/2): “The only thing we couldn’t control was this one Colombian who is riding otherwordly.”

James Pradun (Endeavour; 3): “Losing positions sucked, but luckily there was no crash this time and the long sprint started from the last turn.”

Joey Rosskopf (Kudzu; P/1/2): “Attacks had started once again, and I was only jumping on the stuff that had Rock guys in it.”

Chris Sherpitis (XXX Racing-AlthetiCo; 4/5): “My vainglorious hope was that I could lift the pace even higher on the backstretch of the last lap so that nobody could attack or at least not with great speed.”

Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek; 3): “We weren’t flying, but it was fast enough for that muggy day. With six or seven to go, I started checking the lap counter. Not a good sign.”

Bensenville Wednesday photos
Chris Carter: W-P/1/2/3, P/1/2, 3
Luke Seemann