Top Rides, 1-5

Number 5- South Milwaukee Surprise.
Eric Young had shown some good form leading up to Superweek in mid July. However he took his racing to the next level by getting in the break of the day (with NUVO teammate Erik Hamilton) at the South Milwaukee circuit race. He rode the break strongly throughout, winning a prime and had enough in the legs for a podium finish behind the prolific Jonathan Cantwell. This was the start of Eric’s run of great rides that included Elk Grove, Gateway Cup and Indy State Crit champs all of which resulted in a place on the Bissell pro squad next SUMMER.


Number 4- Gutsy, broken but unbowed!
CvK and the Teter girls won the Little 5 but the women with the biggest target on her back was Caroline Brown. Everyone knew that she had to ride maybe 90 laps to have any chance at winning the race and many different strategies floated around how she was going to do this! Caroline lost the leaders early and often but fought back each time in gutsy fashion. The elastic finally snapped after the big Teter attack and she was lapped with about 20 laps to go. The race ended in disaster as Caroline was then crashed out, separated her shoulder. It was an ill-fitting end to a bold effort to retain Pi Phi’s title. Count them out in 2011 at your peril!

Number 3- FIJI take a lap
Men’s Little 500 was a true epic, the weather and the mid-race stoppage combined to make a fantastic spectacle for riders and viewers alike. However after early aggression by PDT and BKB, the Cutters essentially won the race twice in different ways. Firstly by taking the initiative before the stoppage and secondly by easily winning the final sprint. Unbeknowest to most, the real drama was unfolding a lap down where Fiji rode a fantastic race to take back the early lap they lost. If only they had continued to attack they might have taken the most unlikely and controversial victory in the races history. Taking a lap on this track is a supremely difficult effort even in these circumstances! Oh for the repercussions if they’d snuck away for the win!

Number 2- Sherer rocks ToAD
The increasingly fashionable Tour of America’s Dairyland was where Mike Sherer made his second big breakthrough of the year (a few days after Tour de Grove). In this arduous 10-day omnium Sherer finished 5th overall after battling various Pro squads throughout the event. Consistency was the name of the day and the overall result was a tale of two (double points) road races. At the Circuit America RR Sherer claimed 5th place to put himself in the leaders jersey. A few days later, with exhaustion setting in, he failed to place in the Greenbush RR that put paid for this overall chances. For the most part Sherer battled solo against better-represented teams and it will be interesting to see what he can achieve when he is the protected rider with Kelly Benefits.

Tour of America's Dairyland: Day 5 - Road To America from Verizon Wireless u25 Cycling on Vimeo.

Number 1- Points Race Champ
IU Cycling and Eric Young already had had a great Collegiate track champs as the final event began, the Men’s Points race. Young was racing solo against a very strong Marian team (with three young PROs) but was absolutely undaunted as he completed dominated the event. He saw the danger of an early move, jumped across to it and then worked with 4 other guys to lap the field all the while taking the necessary points to assure himself of the win. Ever the champion, Young took the final sprint of the day to cap a great race where he single handedly took apart the best US collegiate racers.