More Tour of Elk Grove highlights, in addition to Sunday’s early report:

• » Each race featured primes bigger than most of the winner’s purses we’re accustomed to. This turned the races into two contests: The dash for cash, with riders going solo and hoping to stay off long enough to scoop up Benjamins, and then a twitchy, congested bunch sprint for the overall. Occasionally the prime hunters would nab a double payday with solo escapees staying away for good: Tim Yuska (Iron Cycles) survived a four-man break in Saturday’s 4’s race to stay off by himself, and then Alex Pavlov (Vision Quest) put in a brave ride to solo to victory in Sunday’s 35+ 3/4 race.
• » Elk Grove has more than its share of crashes, most occurring at low speed in Turn 1, the U-turn where brake pads go to die. Indeed, several riders wiped out, jumped back in and still got good results. Brandon Diffenderfer (Unattached) crashed in the first 5’s race but still won by such a margin that he was originally mistaken for a lapped rider. In Sunday’s women’s P/1/2/3, Jeannie Kuhajek took a spill in the U-turn but later sprinted to 4th, and in the pro criterium Ken Hanson (Team Type 1) bounced back from a crash to sprint to 2nd.
• » Saturday’s 3’s race both started and ended with crashes, and in between, wipeouts on the wet tarmac punctuated the entire race. Most were minor, but the sprint crash sent two XXX Racing-AthletiCo riders to the hospital; both checked out fine — or as mentally fine as you can be to have dared a Cat 3 race in the rain.
• » Junior Waylon Janowiak (WDT-Allvoi) made a smart move in Saturday’s 3’s race, jumping from about 700 meters as a flier was caught and holding off the sprinters. Chicago Criterium winner Paul Wood (MOB Squad) was the first of those sprinters, followed by Team Pegasus heartthrob Henry Loud.
• » Wood also won the field sprint in Sunday’s 35+ 3/4 race. (Before my Indiana readers e-mail me again, yes, I am aware that Wood was given a mandatory upgrade to the 2’s. Officials have allowed him to ride out the 3’s races he pre-registered for.) Other consistent sprinters: Nate Iden (Burnham Racing), Keith McMahon (Van Wagner/Yojimbo’s) and Ricardo Otero (WDT-Allvoi) all hit the top 8 in both races.
• » Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA) had a great weekend, sprinting to 4th in Saturday’s women’s P/1/2/3 and then improving that by one with a 3rd on Sunday. Pascale Petro (Project 5) has had a dynamite season, and she picked up her biggest win to date with Saturday’s 3/4 race.
• » Light rain made for a slippy, slidey Saturday afternoon, but Sunday brought perfect racing weather: Warm and sunny with low humidity and a slight breeze.
• » In Saturday’s pro road race, Phil Gaimon (Jelly Belly) got a gap of more than a minute all by himself, but wiped out in a wet corner. Chicago Personal Photographers was right there.
• » The criterium course changed slightly this year, taking a slight jog through the neighborhood and eliminating one of the U-turn, and riders approved of this revision. The other U-turn, however, remains unpopular for its frequent mishaps and repeated accelerations. The Tour of Elk Grove improves every year, and major sponsors Alexian Brothers and Gullo International have committed to three more years of the race — might we hope for further course refinement in 2010?

Full results.

Saturday reports
John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 1/2): “The idea of moving up did not enter my oxygen starved brain until two to go.”

CyclingNews: “[Team OUCH] set a pace fast enough to bring back the pair of escapees while saving enough energy to circle the final lap in an impressive lead-out for sprinter and new overall race leader Menzies.”

Daily Herald: “Spectators spent the day taking in the races from a variety of vantage points all along the track.”

Brian Hill (Team Get a Grip Cycles; 3): “Enter turn one at 8 mph and sprint out at 30 mph while riders hit the deck. Enter turn two at 8 mph and sprint out at 30mph. Enter turn three smoothly, move back around juniors and dumdums that crashed the line on the last three corners.”

Brad Huff (Jelly Belly; P): “I can’t remember any of the course but the smell of brake pads and the feel of burn in my legs as we sprinted out of every corner.”

Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA; W-P/1/2/3): “It started to rain on Saturday before our race and it was terrifying!”

Podium Insight: “‘Everybody had so much energy, they probably had coffee in the afternoon for the first time in a while, so much energy and everybody is just trying to attack and get into breakaways.’”

Mike Shea (Spidermonkey Cycling; 4): “It was nice to have a good wheel in that finish because of all the jockeying and the length. I didn’t need to fight for one; I just needed to decide when to go.”

Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy; 1/2): “I tried to explain to the bike that it isn’t an easy life being under me. I’m not sure it understood, but it will eventually get it.”

Chris Uberti (Panther/RGF; 1/2): “My particular excuse is that at the exact moment when the race winning three man breakaway was being established I got a flat tire.”

Sunday reports
ABD: “Carter told Schroetlin ‘keep them within 100 yards and I can catch them.’”

John Coyle (Wolverine Sports Club; 35+ 1/2/3): “A sudden cold feeling rang through me with the bell as I sat 100 meters off the front of the peloton.”

CyclingNews: “‘The last lap was a total mess and I was lucky to have a couple of good teammates to help me get around the swarm.’”

Daily Herald: “‘This race is here to stay for a long time to come.’”

Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA; W-P/1/2/3): “People watching said it didn’t look weird but I felt like I was completely out of control and my Power Tap showed a new max wattage.”

Podium Insight: “‘You’ve got the fastest guys in the country and all the best teams, it’s just a shame that you don’t get this every race. This is the best field assembled and it’s amazing.’”

Steve Tilford (Tradewind Energy; 1/2): “I jumped out of the U-turn and tried to bridge up. I only managed to launch Josh Carter (ABD) and Chad Cagle (Mercy) up to the move. I didn’t make it. I wasn’t that tired. Just was lazy or something.”

Chris Uberti (Panther/RGF; 1/2): “My ‘Sprinter Cocky’ attitude ended about three seconds later when Will Nowak (Alderfer Bergen) piped me at the line.”

VeloNews: “‘The race was very, very fast and very crazy!’”

Kristen Wentworth (Kenda; W-P/1/2/3): “Only three of us racing, but we were able to really take control of the race and it ended up being a fantastic weekend for the team.”

Kyle Wiberg (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 35+ 3/4): “This masters race was a wee bit slower, but much smoother.  Things were looking good.”

Photos
Chicago Personal Photographers
Steve Dennis
Carolyn Golz
John Rowland
Luke Seemann