If you’ve read most of my stuff, you’d know how much I despise criteriums during stage races, from a racers point of view and a spectator’s point of view. It is normally super controlled by the race leader’s team. So much so that it becomes a non stage. That was pretty much the case here at Redlands, but not completely.

I was surprised because the race was mildly entertaining. Macebo’s, RealCyclist.com team, set tempo the first half. But, after about 40 minutes, the race got a little out of control from them. A 9 or 10 guy break formed and Bissell had to go to the front and reel them in. But, another group wet off the front and Bissell had Andy Jacques-Maynes in it, so they stop pulling.

A mish mash of teams got to the front, but 6 guys were still away, just a bit, with one to go. The field came up on them, with the Pure Black rider, Roman Van Uden, was leading it out with two corners to go. A Jelly Belly guy got up against the barriers and fell. That left Bernard a huge gap with 200 meters to go. He was not going to win that race without the crash. But, that is bike racing.

The race was a bit more animated than I thought. But, that is mainly because that the RealCyclist.com team is not that strong. Tomorrow is going to be a very, very hard day for them. I hope they remember that a good offense is sometimes a good defense.

Pretty much the first half of the race. Realcyclist.com.

Bissell took over about half way in. Boring.

Roman Van Uden (Pure Black Racing) has an enormous gap with one corner to go.

Our finest saving up a bunch of calories by just standing instead of walking.

This 9 hour off from Europe kind of throws off my live cycling viewing. Flanders sounded fantastic today. I can’t wait to watch.

Kansas has its own classic race today, Bazaar Road Race. The race has been held for close to 40 years. It used to be called Cassidy Road Race, but now it is called Bazaar. It was the first bicycle race I ever attended. I was 14. I’ve won this race lots of times. The claim to fame of this race is the wind. It is very windy always.

The registration is at a Mason’s Hall. Super old, wood floors, middle of nowhere. The race in in the middle of the Flint Hills. The main attraction in this area is that Knute Rockne died in a plane crash very near by.

Historically, this is the time they burn the fields in the Flint Hills. I’ve ridden this race where you can barely see the rider in front of you sometimes. Plus, usually there is a motorcycle rally that rides through the hills, so there are 100’s of motorcycles on the road. It’s a pretty weird environment for bicycle racing.

Anyway, the race is going on right now. The conditions are usually brutal. I’ve ridden in hail many times here. Gutter riding is always prevalent. I just checked out the weather there. Looks like a pretty typical Bazaar day. I can hardly wait to hear the results.

Check out the wind speed. Pretty nuts.