Photo by Luke Seemann

It’s state championship time!

Jerseys are up for grabs at both Saturday’s road race and Sunday’s criterium of the Proctor Cycling Classic. I haven’t done the crit, but the road race is run on a rolling 17-mile course. Most races have a king- or queen-of-the-mountain contest, although I don’t remember the climb being significant enough damage the men’s fields.

Several rollers lead up to the finish area. Use these climbs to make up ground in the pack. Narrow roads make it hard to do so anywhere else. By the time the course flattens out for the run-up to the sprint, it will be too fast and congested to sprint. Last year’s Cat 4 sprint was particularly argy-bargy, with at least one rider (Hi, Joel!) bailing out into farmland. As always, scout the finish beforehand so it doesn’t catch you by surprise.

If anyone was planning to race in Indiana this weekend, the Hendricks Regional Health Fast Crit in Indianapolis has been moved a day earlier to Saturday, June 30. There’s also a crit in Elm Grove, Wis., about 2 hours from Chicago.

Saturday
Proctor Road Race
USCF road race
Brimfield, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 3.5 hours

Elm Grove Criterium
USCF criterium
Elm Grove, Wis.
Distance from Chicago: 2 hours

Hendricks Regional Health Fast Crit
ABR criterium
Indianapolis, Ind.
Distance from Chicago: 3 hours

Sunday
Proctor Criterium
USCF criterium
Peoria, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 3 hours