US Criterium Championships - NEDowner's Grove, IL, USA, August 18-19, 2001The Schedule
Day 1 - August 18Timex USCF Women's OpenResults1 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 2 Katrina Berger (USA) Autotrader.com 3 Kristy Scrymgeour (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 4 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 5 Anna Millward (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team ... 10 Lyne Bessette (Can) Saturn Cycling Team Full results and report to follow Extran Pro-Am ChallengeBouchard-Hall wins Extran Pro-AmBy Chris Baldwin, cyclingnews.com correspondent Is it possible to win a criterium by slowing down? That's what Mercury's Derek Bouchard-Hall did Saturday in Downers Grove after he braked to avoid a crash on the final corner; a crash that Saturn's Ivan Dominguez and NetZero's Graeme Miller are probably still arguing about. The field of 166 riders was together at the end of 32 laps when they came barreling into a left turn with less than perfect clearance. Dominguez skipped a pedal and went down, taking Miller with him. Bouchard-Hall held back to execute the turn and hold on for the win. "We were four-abreast duking it out into the last corner on the far left side," said Bouchard-Hall. "And that was just not the right line to be taking. About 20 meters from the turn I looked up and saw that we weren't going to make it. They didn't want to give an inch and I put on the brakes." Rain had preceded the day's racing, with cold showers coming in the morning throughout Chicagoland. Not enough rain to delay the races, or flood the roads, but enough to have an effect on the 8-turn course. "It was a bit dicey in the last corner,' said 2nd place finisher, Australian Hilton Clarke. "Nothing too bad, but still a bit slippery. I was there to help my teammate Graeme Miller in the last lap but he fell off and I ended up 2nd wheel." Alex Candelario of THF Racing was third on the podium and the race's top amateur finisher. Saturn's Trent Klasna and Mercury's John Peters got away early in the race and stayed out for 10 laps. A stall by some riders on the course's only climb, dubbed 'suicide-hill' by the announcers, split the peloton apart, putting some favored riders off the back, including Prime Alliance's Jonas Carney. Once the field regrouped at lap 22, Carney's teammates Danny Pate and Colby Pearce took turns pulling at the front, all the while casting wide glances around to see which of the other teams would make a move. Finally, after prime laps gave hundreds of dollars, Timex watches, and a set of Mavic wheels to Chad Gerlach, Mark McCormack, and Soren Petersen, Saturn made a four-man train, with Dominguez as the anchor. At the bell lap Saturn's train was overcome by inertia and a hard NetZero effort and the race reopened. Bouchard-Hall made his move on suicide hill and stayed in front with the rest of the sprinters. "The hill was a good opportunity to jump in and move up in one fell swoop," said Bouchard-Hall, last year's US Pro Criterium Champion. "It was really, really aggressive out there, and it looked like nobody would back down. Today a good defense turned out to be the best offense."
Results1 Derek Bouchard-Hall (USA) Mercury 2 Hilton Clarke (Aus) NetZero 3 Alex Candelario (USA) THF Racing 4 Oleg Grichkine (USA) Navigators 5 Juan Pienda (Gua) 7Up-Colorado Cyclist 6 Vasilii Davidenko (USA) Navigators 7 Jason Waddell (USA) Jelly Belly 8 Chris Fisher (USA) Saturn 9 Franky Van Haesobroucke (Bel) Navigators 10 Steve Tilford (USA) Independent 11 Jesse Lawler (USA) Zaxby's 12 Kirk Albers (USA) Jelly Belly 13 John Peters (USA) Mercury 14 Todd Littlehales (USA) Navigators 15 Gustav Carrillo (Gua) Independent |