The 41st International Cycling Classic, better known as Superweek, is in the books. The phrase I heard most over the past two weeks was “better than last year,” and indeed I believe it was. The races were closer to running on time, fewer had to be cut short and nothing turned into a fiasco. The best improvements were the additions of the Elgin and Lakefront road races. I will always miss the Tour of Alpine Valley, but these help make up for it.

Size and caliber of fields did seem to be down up and down the board, despite a good collection of international riders. Part of that could be because of 2008’s problems, but I chalk most of it to the economy and the high costs of travel and registration.

All that said, read this note if you earned any checks.

Finally, if you didn’t get enough of the ever mellifluous Eddie van Guyse, here are his daily audio recaps.

Local highlights from the final four days of racing:

• » Team Get a Grip Cycles didn’t contest many races, but it made the most of its entry fees. Ben LaForce won twice in the 3’s, and Chris Padfield picked up a win Thursday, going solo for most of a rainy 3’s race in Racine. I expect it won’t be long before his victory post-up, shown above, makes its way into the pro peloton.
• » Christian Zauner (Verdigris) won the 40+ 1/2/3 in Kenosha on Friday and Robert Kron (Team Mack) was consistently near the top, but they finished 3rd and 2nd in the overall to Wisconsin’s Chris Halverson (IS Corp), who has been having a tremendous summer. He swept the weekend races, and Brent Emery (Emerys.com/Team Life Cyclists) nipped Kron by one point.
• » Pascale Petro (Project 5) won the women’s 3/4’s race Racine but placing 5th the next three days — Project 5, indeed — wasn’t enough to get the top spot in the overall, and she finished 2nd by four points. Champaign’s Anona Whitley (Wild Card Cycling) finished in 4th.
• » Chicago-area riders took the final 4/5’s races behind Ben-Jamin Widoff (Team Powerbar) in Racine, Joel Friedman (Bicycle Heaven) in Kenosha and Humboldt Park and Rob Karlow (Verdigris) in Whitefish Bay, his third of the series. Karl Schult (Guiness) picked up two more 2nd’s, and in 5th he was our highest placement in the overall.
• » For more complete reports of the elite races, check out Lyne Lamoureux‘s excellent Podium Insight. And once again John Wilke did yeoman’s work over at Peloton Pix, working harder than any of us to shoot most of the races and provide entertaining reports.

Full Racine results. Full Kenosha results. Full Humboldt Park/Downer Avenue results. Full Whitefish Bay results.

Racine reports Peter Beels (Leadout Racing; 3): “Throughout the rain many people got gapped and dropped in the corners and abandoned.”

Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “There’s still work to do here to maintain these positions and possibly move up.”

Chris Padfield (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “I took a quick glance back and no one wanted to come along and suffer with me, but that’s cool, less to worry about.”

Racine photos John Rowland: P/1/2, W-P/1/2/3, 3 John Wilke

Kenosha reports Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “Racers down in general classification want those last couple of stage wins, and there was no patience in the peleton.”

Geoff Kuyler (Leadout Racing; 3): “I was worried about riders coming out of drafts but never saw anyone in my peripheral vision and took my second win of the week.”

Podium Insight: “As usual the last lap were chaotic and according to Hayden Godfrey (Subway-Avanti), ‘there were guys going all over the show as usual.’”

Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy/Trek Stores; P/1/2): “Obviously, from the photo below, the race yesterday could have gone better.”

Kenosha photos Extreme Photography John Rowland: P/1/2, W-P/1/2/3, 3, W-3/4 John Wilke

Humboldt Park reports Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “Josie Giddens tried to make the bridge for hub racing, and almost had her until the rain started down.”

Humboldt Park photos Nikki Cyp Extreme Photography John Wilke

Downer Avenue reports John Meyers (ABD; P/1/2): “Freaking Blue Angel jets buzzing us mid-race? Wow, that was sweet.”

Podium Insight: “The Kelly Benefit squad controlled the front as the lap cards were flipped with primes still being announced until the final big daddy of them all, the crowd prime of almost $1,200 with one lap to go.”

Downer Avenue photos Extreme Photography John Wilke

Whitefish Bay reports Hub Racing (W-P/1/2/3): “When she came off, everyone in the field went for the attack, and the result was an extreme acceleration. No attack was going if everyone went.”

Julia LaFranchise (Team VRC; W-P/1/2/3): “Perhaps everyone was a little jittery because in the third corner of the VERY first lap, half the peloton went down.”

Podium Insight: “The duo along with two other teammates earlier in the series defended the lead from day one, a new feat for Superweek.”

Michael van Eerd (Team VRC; P/1/2): “Eric Bennett got taken out by crashing against a little kid. Both are fine though.”

Whitefish Bay photos Extreme Photography John Wilke