Peloton Star: Menomonee Park Criterium

Albeit breezy and a little chilly, it was a beautiful day here in Wisconsin as racers battled on the 0.9 mile twisty circuit under a cloudless, blue sky. Field sizes were not huge, but those that did show up, came to race and race to their full potential. Lots of action was to be enjoyed in all divisions. While not the fastest class of the day, the Men's 4/5 is easily the premier race of the day if judged by sheer number of riders and spectators. There is not shortage of supporters when these guys are out there.

Today's race came down to a field sprint with the top two separated by mere inches. Here Kelson Danielson (5Nines Cycling) beats Andrew Tegge (Wheel & Sprocket) right on the line with Lionel Rocheleau (Team Geargrinder) coming in third.

Twenty one riders competed in the next event, the Women's Cat. 4 plus Junior 15-18 Girls. There were several attacks throughout the race but it came down to a sprint on the line taken by 15 year old Sarah Huang (IS Corp). While she won the bunch sprint, she get's credit for the Junior 15-18 (2 riders) and Ashley Jensen (Team Kenda) get's the Cat. 4 Women's race.

Kaitlin Antonneau (Team Kenda) won the Women's Open division over Carrie Ann Kopernik (IS Corp) and Sarah Huang (IS Corp).

Next up was the Master's 35+ Cat. 4/5 which was won in a field sprint by Richard Baisa (South Chicago Wheelmen) while the Master's 35+ Cat 3/4 was taken by a solo effort given by Albertus Rohling (Unattatched). Take note of this name because he won last week's GDVC race in the same manner! Ken Peerson (Michaels Cycles) was second, Michael Davis (California Giant) third.

The Men's Cat. 3 race went pretty much straight from the gun with two riders escaping and staying away for the duration.
Brandon Meinke (Team Pegasus) and Darrell Kohli (Team Geargrinder) almost got caught but held 20 to 30 seconds on the field for the duration of the race. Meinke took the win over Kohli and a last lap crash decimated the field with Kelby Shaw (River Valley) taking third.

The Pro 1/2 race went blasting off last today and despite a very fast tempo right from the gun, numerous breaks were off the front. An initial 10 rider break got about 20 seconds but were caught at half way. 8 more got away after that and with 5 laps to go they still only had 30 seconds over the field which was chasing for all they were worth. In the closing laps two riders were attempting to bridge but were ultimately unsuccessful. Down to the final sprint it came with IS Corp's Erik Loberg taking the sweet win with a final surge at the last moment. BUT WAIT! Down goes a rider at the back of the bunch! He said that he bumped wheels with another rider and that took him down, and he went down HARD breaking both a wheel and his frame. Other than some scrapes he was okay himself which is good. On the upside, if you're going to crash, crash were there are cameras ... LOTS of them! For example, the finish line camera? Apologies for not having more Pro 1/2 results. Computer problems at the last moment prevent us from give them out at this time, but we will publish them as soon as they are available!