4 Bridges of Elgin International

Race winner and three of the top five finishers: Aldapa Chaves Moises, Team Tecos, Mexico Victor Prapinski, Team Saturn David Wenger, Mercy Cycling Danny Pate, Prime Alliance Photo by E Ken Carl

The second edition of the 4 bridges of Elgin featured 21 teams including international teams from Mexico, Canada, Ontario and Puerto Rico. The American teams included all the powerhouses: Team USA-USPS, Prime Alliance, Mercy Cycling, Saturn Development, DeFeet Lemond, Realitybike, and Zaxby's. Regional teams included Athletes by Design and Cityscape-HigherGear.

It was a classic Midwest summer day, hot and humid. 114 riders rolled into the tree-lined neighborhoods of Elgin on a 5.5 mile circuit. The race was fast from the start and soon the field trimmed down. On the 6th lap, Matt Dubberley of the Momentum Expedition team captured the 1/2 race winner prize of $500. Following the sprint for the 1/2 race prize, a small break-a-way soon developed into a 10-second lead. By lap 7 the breakaway pack had established a 60-plus second lead. This 5-man pack included Danny Pate of Prime Alliance, Mercy Cycling's Ian Dille and David Wenger, Victor Rapinski of Saturn and Moises Aldape Chaves of Tacos-Mexico. Missing from the break were Team USA-USPS and last year's winning team, Canada.

The Field. Photo by E Ken Carl

Danny Pate pushed the pace up the small hill on the back of the course, taking the KOM prize while helping the lead pack increase its gap to 70 seconds. A very frustrated USA team, led by Elite Criterium Champion Rahsaan Bahati, tried to reel in the breakaway but by lap 11 it was obvious the winner would come from the lead group of 5. The race finish is on 6 short closing loops after 12 laps of the main circuit. The chasing group was within seconds of missing the cutoff for the closing loops. As the two groups blended together Danny Pate of Prime Alliance used the moment of confusion to his advantage and shed all but one of the breakaway group. Sprinting to the finish, Ian Dille of Mercy Cycling challenged for the win, but it was to be Danny Pate's day in Elgin.

Summary of Results:

King of the Hill: Danny Pate, Prime Alliance
“Land of Lincoln” Sprints: David Wenger, Mercy Cycling
Half Race Leader: Matt Dubberley, Momentum Expeditions

Complete Results:   [Race Finish]   [Sprints]   [KOM]
No of km: 113 km
Average speed of winner: 41.7 kph
Also see: www.4bridgesofelgin.com (results for other categories)