2010 Burnham Spring Super Criterium

The 3rd annual and many more to come, no doubt. The Burnham Racing, Spidermonkey Cycling, USAC folks did a great job putting on a grand day of racing at the Blachkhawk Ridge race track in South Beloit, IL today. There was a nice turnout on this fine day that saw much better weather than last year's rain and snow! Most fields were filled if not almost filled. The final Cat. 5 race at the end of the day even had a waiting list.

In the early bird races, the winner of the men's Cat 5 was a name that we're all getting familiar with. Taking an early prime and then adding his third victory in as many races, Patryk Limanowicz (XXX)took the top spot. Leah Sanda (Flatlandia) won the Women's 3/4, Robert Downs (Planet Bike) aced the Masters 40+ field, and Mark Shea (Team Mack) won the Masters 50+ race.

In the Masters 30+, Patrick Fasse (Bicycle Heaven) won the first mass stampede of the day taking the field sprint by a bike length over a mass of riders stacked up curb to curb.

After a few cruising laps the Women's Open race started to heat up with a number of attacks that just didn't stick. That brought it down to a tightly contested field sprint and a wonderful post up right on the line.

But WHOA, WAIT JUST A MINUTE SISTER! Lets look at the photo finish on this one! Oooops! First place was way on the left Valerie Brostrom (Bouledogue Tout Noir), second was Jessica Helmlinger (Cafe Hollander) and THEN came Morgan Moon (Team Kenda)!

The action continued in the Men's Cat. 3 race with an aggressive race right from the gun. It seemed like there was a different break off the front on every lap and with the sounding of the bell for the final lap, it was three up the road. But, WHAT? One rider just pulled off and sat up! That left two to take it to the line and it was XXX Racing's Liam Donahue with an impresive lead over the charging pack at the line. Justin Armsead (Team Mack) was second followed by Nate Iden (Burnham Racing).

Men's Catagory 4 began with call-ups at the start. Huh? Call-ups for a 4's race? Oh well, it was a large field and they charged around the course intact through to the final bell. Just out of site in turn two we could hear the carnage of a crash where about a half dozen riders went down, then another few got tangled in the final sprint and crashed as well. It was Spidermokey Cycling with their first win as Michael Shea won it in style.

The Pro 1/2/3 was a barn burner affair as it always is. Five riders got away early on and they looked like they meant business - Tomasz Boba (WDT), Ryan Freund (ABD), David Moyer (XXX), John Tomlinson (XXX), and Ben Anderson (?). A vicious chase ensued and three more bridged up - Al Urbanski (WDT), Andrew Lister (Dogfish), and Dan Ajer (?). These eight riders then worked smoothly like a well oiled time trial machine and built up to a 40 second lead. The field did not want to let them go however and they were strung out in a long line much of the race trying to get back the escaping bandits. Al Urbanski got dropped from the winning break in the final miles and in the end it was Tomasz Boba (WDT) taking the sprint and the win.

 The final race of the day was a Men's Cat. 4/5 which was filled to the brim. There again was plenty of aggression but ultimately no one could break the chains and get free. In addition to the three scheduled primes, an impromptu crowd prime worth $42.99 was offered. This was the only cash winnings of the day and I'm sure made some rider very happy. In a mad dash for the line, it was Kyle Selph (Tower Racing) who took the final win of the day.

Racing continues tomorrow at both Kenosha and Joliet.