Some highlights from yesterday’s Winfield Twilight Criterium:

• » ABD/Geargrinder appeared to have all its ducks in a row in the final few laps of the P/1/2 race, but it was Ben Renkema (Turin) nipping ABR national champion Josh Carter (ABD/Geargrinder) in the sprint, flashing a cheeky tongue as he crossed the finish line (above).
• » Adam Lesniakowski (PACT-Dish Network) has always done well at Winfield, including winning last year’s 2/3 race and coming in 2nd thrice previously. This year he got 7th in the P/1/2, but also decisively took a $200 king-of-the-hill prime with five laps to go.
• » An hour before her women’s open race, Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia) was dealing with a major mechanical and was about to ask for her registration money back. Instead, she found a bike she could borrow and used it to outsprint Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles) by inches.
• » Endure It! had a great day in the 4’s, with Colin Riley and Mike Will coming in 3-4 in the bunch sprint. Teammate Ron Good lived up to his team’s name by continuing on after a crash took a big gash out of his right elbow. You think that hill was hard? Try doing it with only your left hand. “I really banged my melon,” he tells me, “and I couldn’t put any pressure on my right hand or get a deep breath as I really messed up a couple of ribs.” He gets the HTFU award of the day.
• » After several attempts to break away, it was the move of Will Nowak (Targetraining), Tomasz Boba (WDT-Allvoi) and Dave Stone (Lucas Oil) that turned out the lights in the 2/3 race. Nowak won the sprint after the threesome built almost a minute lead.
• » It was a black storm in the 5’s race, with XXX Racing-AthletiCo dominating a lead group. Unfortunately for them, it was Ryan Freund (Unattached) who took the win and they had to settle for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place, a veritable conga line of bridesmaids to Freund’s bride.
• » Hyde Park’s Team TATI made its competitive debut in its retro knickers and wool jerseys, and they swept the podium in the side category of “People who rode to the race from the city.”

Full results.

Photos: Seth Meyer Team TATI John Wilke (scroll down)

Race reports Grant Davis (XXX Racing-AthletiCo; 5): “In attacking my plan wasn’t really to get away, but to liven the race up a bit.”

Nick Gierman (Vitaminwater-Trek; 4): “The hill on the back side of the course was a long, gradual climb, but this is where I figured the attacks would come and the field would crack.”

Don Hanke (Tower Racing; 4): “This was a nice course and we all agreed that we enjoyed it, after it was over.”

Chris Padfield (Team Pegasus; 4): “That hill put the hurt on my big frame, and it was a VO2Max session every trip up.”

Mike Shea (Spider Monkey Cycling; 5): “This hill really would come to be my enemy, far more than the other racers.”

Scott Van Maldegiam (Spin Doctor Cyclewerks; 4): “I took it easy on the hill to save something for the finish, but that was a huge mistake. I hammered out of every turn, but it just didn’t matter in the end.”