Chicago Criterium Yields Great Results

The inaugural edition of the Chicago Criterium we extremely well for us as a team. We started 8 riders in 3 different reaces. While I'm not sure on every one's results I do know that we placed top twenty in each race including an 11th place finish for Sergio in the second heat of the 5's race.



Having only seen the Masters 4/5 race I will only comment on that for ow until I can recieve some updates from the guys that did the first two races. The race started out quick as usual with the field being stretched to its breaking point after just the first lap. Turn two which was supposed to be the worst corner on the course remained incident free for the duration of the 40 minute race.


Elvis, Tony and Jim managed to keep themselves out of trouble for the first half of the race, while Jorge and Dan were working further back in the field in two smaller groups. Tony was feeling feisty and managed to take a $100 prime, the first of his career. After snatching the prize, Tony planned on sitting up and rejoining the field however he had such a large gap that he gave another dig to try and separate himself even further. The field was having none of this after last week's victory in Bensenville and quickly brought things back together.


With about six laps remaining Tony and Elvis found themselves sitting in the top 10-15 places and things looking good for another possible victory. It was about this time that any one that was not with the main group was pulled from the race, whether they posed any sort of threat to the safety of the race or not. Having been there many times myself, I am always frustrated when officials do this. As riders we not pay a lot of money to race, but we earn a certain satisfaction for having completed a race, no matter where we may have placed.


With just a few laps to go in the race Tony made a move on the backside of the course that I happened to catch on the Jumbotron just as he jumped. However, that side of the course also had a headwind that would occasionally kick up and Tony didn't stand a chance by himself with a hard charging field behind him. He came around turn 3 still in the lead, but the rise over the bridge proved too much and he was brought back into the field. When it came down to the sprint Elvis still had a fresh pair of legs and snatched 13th place.

Congratulations to everyone that raced well today. The Chicago Criterium was a great venue to hold a bicycle race and I for one can't wait until next year to have another try at it.

Evanston Recap

Sunday was by far the most technical course that we have ridden so far this year. We were greeted with a six corner course that was still a bit wet when our race was supposed to start. The start was delayed over half an hour and at one point after having us lined up told us to take another lap which reshuffled every one's original position.

After clearing the course of emergency vehicles we were finally off, better late than never. The pace from the gun was fast and sketchy. Some of the corners were taken 5-6 riders wide with little care for the consequences. As the laps progressed we managed to coalesce into a 6 man team time trial. The team was really starting to steamroll the course and were picking up plenty of places until the race was stopped with 8 to go. After the riders were peeled off the pavement in the infamous BK Stacker, the race was lined up for a third time. The break was given back their 20 second time gap and then the field was let loose to chase the rabbit.

Our plan going into the second half of the race was to continue the time trial and keep picking off riders as we settled into a comfortable working group. This was not to come to fruition however. I set the tempo for the first half lap, then when I looked over my shoulder for a bit of help, noticed our group had been infiltrated by several other teams. Our group eventually consisted of Joe, Sergio, Paul, Clark, Jorge and myself with a few Triple X'ers mixed in. Joe and I took the lion share's of the work while Sergio briefly bridged to a group ahead of us. At this point we aggressively attacked the course as we learned the best line through each corner. Coming down the final straight Joe found himself on the front with his nose in the wind. I sat on the wheels of the X'ers in the group and waited for their jump. With only about a block to go no one was really winding up their sprint yet, so I took the opportunity to get a jump on the group. My sprint went well and I only had one X'er come past me, I believe Joe came in next followed by Sergio, Clark, Jorge and Paul. While we finished mid pack we still managed to ride a good strong race and personally I am satisfied with my results.

The next race saw more of the same action as ours. Big Jim was our only rider in the race and he paid the price of having no help. Once again the race was stopped after Jeff Holland (xXx) took turn 4 a bit too wide and made contact with a barrier. Due to time constraints, the race was restarted with only 5 laps to go, and the pace proved to high for our man Jim. The field was splintered from the five lap drag race and Skip Fotland (NorthBranch Cycling) easily took the win, Jim being content to finish mid pack.

While our results weren't great, we lived to race another day and managed to avoid all the mayhem out on the course. Next stop, Whitnall Road Race on Wednesday

AND THE GOOD

Bensenville had those two tricky turns from parking lots to street. Day one seemed like it was all out for all the races. In the 4/5 with 7 laps to go around an easy left turn half the lead pack went down. Unfortunately Clark and Elvis were behind the crash and were not able to bridge the gap. Credit goes to Joe and Jorge who worked good together in the back and this was with Joe riding on a leaky tire which he did not pit for. Results:16th Clark, 17th Elvis, 25th Jorge Maters 4/5 result: 18th Jim


Day two was our moment of glory. May we ride the positive karma wave for a while! It seemed like the pace was a little more tame than day one, but there was the Xers with flier after flier. With 3 left a Half Acre went on a flier and stayed out until the bell lap when he was caught then Tony attacked and was able to hang on for the victory in front of the gentelmanly Nate from xXx by 4 bike lenghts. Masters 4/5 Jim played it cool the whole time with team Mack and the Xres doing all of the work coming in 9th with little effort at all.

THE BAD THE UGLY

Foremost, our hearts go out to James Scott (Apache) who went down in a freak accident on Tuesday at Bensenville. Congrats on third place and a speedy recovery!

The Bad- Blue Island had a nice enough course but none of us did all that well. Tony and a Wild Card rider had about a ten lap break before Tony shut it down with three laps to go. With 2 laps left Tony got squeezed and went down. Road rash is nothing compared to what can happen going in excess of 22 mph. Clark around a turn jumped the curb and rode on the sidewalk for a while to the delight of the pack which complimented him on his mad bike skills. Results, Cat 4/5: 18th Jorge, 22nd Elvis, 23rd Sergio, 25th Joe, 27th Clark, 29th Damon, 32nd Bob Cat4/5 Masters:22nd Jim, 35th Paul, 37th Rich

The Ugly- Olympia Fields had a 45 minute delay to start with. Seeing as how everybody was going around the course before the race started we were all joking that we already did a crit before it actually started. Safety was a key issue with this course and looking back on it 45 minutes was probably even not enough time to implement all the precautions that were needed for that course. Wind in your face and uphill. One by itself is bad enough but with this course you got the double whammy. Of course you had the Xers pushing the field to it's limits from the get go. After a seven man break was out front for a couple of laps two Xers went down, with Clark able to maintain his momentum and stay out front with Tony an Xer and Get a grip now chasing. Tony's tactics in the three man chase will not be mentioned here, but his brain was seperated from his body at this point. With five laps left and clark with a good 13 second lead he goes down in turn 3. Not because of the corner itself but because of a mechanical. Note to all riders, make sure all your gear is tuned AND tightened before your races. The three man break worked well, but like I said earlier Tony's head was detached from his body and came in third. In the pack nobody wanted to help pull, so Damon and Jorge wore themselves out prematurely. Results Cat 4/5; 3rd Tony, 11th Elvis, 13th Joe, 18th Jorge, 19th Sergio, 20th Clark, 21st Damon Didn't hang around for the Masters 4/5 but heard one cyclist veered off the course before turn three unfortunately hitting a rubble pile. We hope he's doing well. Results Masters 4/5: 14th Elvis, 27th Jim, 31st Bob, 34th Paul, 39th Rich

A Geat Start To SuperWeek

The residents and fans that braved the heat and humidity last night were treated to a spectacular kick off to SuperWeek. The pace was high from the first lap, and those caught off guard were quickly shot out the back. The race also made quite a few men richer last night with primes offered every few laps, my guess being that a few thousand dollars were given away in primes alone. Rahsan Bahati (Rock Racing) took advantage of the veritable ATM at the finish line and collected his fair share of primes himself. Meanwhile, Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing) was working the group that he was in, and taking advantage of the primes as well. Since the entire course was wired with a PA system, the two Rock Racing teammates were able to cheer for one another as their prime wins were announced even though they were seperated by half a lap.

Eventually a ten man break formed and lapped the field, causing a bit of confusion everytime the came as you weren't sure if you were looking at the leaders or not. In the end it came down to two sprints, one for the break and the second for what remained of the decimated field. The first sprint was for 11th, and Rahsan Bahati easily took that, then about a minute later the field came charging with Sterling Magnell just pipping local boy Chad Hartley from Jittery Joes.

As for us, BBVP had a great time highlighting a great race and great neighborhood. Our sponsors, Beverly Bike & Ski and Vee Pak, Inc. truly made this a spectacular race to be remembered for years to come. We would also like to thank all the other individuals and organizations that helped to make the race possible especially BAPA. Finally, a last big thank you goes out to all the volunteers that gave up their evening to help ensure a safe and succesful event. See you all next year!