USPRO Criterium Championship - 1.3

Chicago, USA, August 17-18, 2002

Photography

Photos supplied by Ken Carl

• The kiddies get set to burn some rubber
• Nicole Freedman (RONA) sits comfortably in Jessica Phillips' (Saturn) wake
• The women sprint to the finish line.
• Tina Mayolo-Pic lunges and crosses the line the winner.
• Winner and National Champion Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite).
• James Baldesare (West Virginia/Go Mart) scored a clear victory in the elite men's race
• James Baldesare (West Virginia/Go Mart), happy to have put the peloton behind him
• James Baldesare can't believe it, but Go Mart teammate and second place Paul Martin can
• It was flat-out right from the start of the men's race, taking the corners at full speed
• Frank McCormack marvels at Chann McRae's stars and stripes
• US Postal's Robbie Ventura had his fans out in force
• The championship peloton was an all professional affair
• The pro peloton leans into the first turn
• What better motivator than a dangling bag of cash?
• Henk Vogels (Mercury) started the sprint and never looked back
• Mercury's Henk Vogels raises an arm in victory
• Henk Vogels stretches a one-armed victory salute as far as it will go

Photos thanks to Clark Maxwell

• Saturn's LeMond collection.
• I don't know, but if it moves, I'm outta here
• Someones after some Jelly Bellies
• Ivan Dominguez tries to wheel in the break
• Gordon Fraser shows off his Fuji
• Frankie Anderu talking to Lance
• The field spread out from the start
• I'd trust that "Don't Walk" light if I was you.
• 62 seconds to the start
• Marty Nothstein's yummy Colnago
• And the gap keeps on growing
• The three man breakaway that formed for the finish

Images by Martin Boehm

• Plenty of fans eagerly await the sound of the starting gun
• And they're off...
• You're never too old to be fed
• Riders sped in and out of the shadows on turn two
• David Zabriskie (US Postal Service) was particularly aggressive early on
• The peloton a blur as the riders speed by
• After Suicide Hill, riders encounter a high speed descent
• Riders lean hard into turn five, coming off the high speed descent
• The rest of the peloton come through turn five a little more cautiously
• The pack kicks hard coming out of the turn five corner
• Feeble attacks formed constantly throughout the race but were routinely reeled in
• Aggressive bunch riding consistently reeled in the seemingly incessant stream of attacks
• Yet another break on the loose
• And another...
• For the riders at the back of the peloton, it was a constant struggle
• David Zabriskie (USPS) animated the race with some aggressive riding
• The bunch were always attentive, and left nothing to chance
• With 30 laps left, Saturn had two of its men playing part in an break that were clear by a mere eight seconds
• Soon after the two-thirds mark, an aggressive pull by Chad Gerlach of Sierra Nevada set up a breakaway of eight riders including Paolinetti, Saturn's Eric Wohlberg, Ciaran Power of the Navigators and Phil Zajicek of Mercury
• The break was short-lived however, and faltered shortly thereafter
• The break is inevitably caught by the fast-chasing peloton
• David Zabriskie (US Postal Service) walks away from a crash-marred event that took out two-thirds of the field
• Team Saturn gather the troops at the front of the bunch in an effort to set up the race for their sprinters
• Peter Rogers (iteamnova) won the sprint against Ryan Guay (Navigators) and claimed his booty for the $1,500 prime
• The boys from Navigators gather in numbers, with Chann McRae sitting pretty on third wheel
• The next lap was almost a carbon copy of the previous loop, with the boys from Navigators setting the pace
• Chann McRae (USPS) leads his Postal sprinter Robbie Ventura on the second last lap
• On the final turn of the last lap, it was Vogels (Mercury), Ventura (USPS) and Monahan (7-UP/Nutra Fig), with Vogels triumphant
• Peter Rogers (iteamnova) with a wad of cash in his hand - $1,500 big to be exact. Rogers described it as 'the biggest payout I've ever seen'
• The Robbie Ventura fan club was out in force
• Race winner Henk Vogels (Mercury) is interviewed
• The podium - Henk Vogels (Mercury, 2nd from right) wins the race, ahead of USPRO Criterium Champion Kevin Monahan (7-UP/Nutra Fig, 2nd from left), Robbie Ventura (US Postal Service, first right) and Roberto Gaggioli (Schroeder Iron Pro Cycling, first left)
• The podium placegetters are congratulated by the race organiser
• Henk Vogels (Mercury) looks yonder before letting loose with the champagne
• Henk Vogels (Mercury) opts for a closer shot, slam-dunking the newly-crowned USPRO Criterium Champion with champagne
• The podium placegetters teeter on the podium in their cycling shoes

Photos by Mark Zalewski

• The Women's peloton digs in.
• Hoping for the best aerodynamic position
• Cornering fast during the Women's Elite race
• A premature expulsion of bubbly
• Nicole Freedman with her ever present smile.
• Nicole Freedman sits in behind
• The Women's peloton about to enter the turn
• Hey! It even fits!
• The Saturn team warming up.
• The Saturn team kicking back.
• Tina Mayolo-Pic screams as she crosses the line in first place
• Every colour of the rainbow
• The lead bunch work hard.
• The Women's Elite podium finishers.
• Hey, stop pushing!
• Hilton Clarke resting before the start
• Hi, howarya? Haven't I met you somewhere before?
• I wish I got to wear the white helmet
• Henricus Jansen of Saturn and Martin Wayne Nothstein (Navigators) testing radios
• "Tell me where it hurts". A Downers Grove Fire Dept. cycle paramedic applies some first aid
• Peter Rogers with a nice little chunk of change
• A few of the coaches doing what they do
• A nasty little climb.
• Ben Sharp who unfortunately DNF'd
• Sorry, can't drink another drop.
• The West Virginia/Go Mart team celebrate
• Dear Tommy, thanks for the support, signed... err... Lance
• James Baldesare crosses the line
• Please don't let a pedal dab
• Yes, a lot of people entered the race
• The Elite Men's peloton leans it over
• One lap to go and the tiredness shows
• A Mavic support guy on every corner
• The top four finishers.
• James Baldesare having a little trouble with his zipper
• The USPS bikes, dumped in the corner
• Kevin Monahan celebrates with his team mates
• Kevin Monahan can't believe he won
• I won! (I think)
• The final sprint
• Now that's my kind of feedzone
• The breakaway group prior to the crash
• The main bunch enter the corner just prior to the crash
• And they are down. Bikes and bodies everywhere
• Support arrives and riders try to rejoin the race.
• However, some riders won't be rejoining