The 20th annual Dave Kagy Memorial Wheels on Willy Criterium reached its competitive apex late Sunday afternoon, as the USCF Pro and Category 1/2/3 bike race unfolded on Madison's east isthmus.
Hosted by Cronometro and its racing team, the Brazen Dropouts, this year's day of bike racing was held on a new course that started and finished on Williamson Street but -- unlike previous years -- turned south on Dickinson, then left on Spaight and left again on Thornton Avenue, zooming back up alongside the Yahara River to yet another left back onto Williamson.
The day started at 9 a.m., with the Masters - Category 4/5 race, followed by Junior Boys and Junior Girls, Junior Men, Cat 4/5 and Masters 45+ leading up to one of the event's annual highlights, the fun race for neighborhood kids, ages 10 and younger. The Junior Women raced next, followed by Cat. 4-Women, Master's - Cat. 1/2/3, the women's open race and the Pro/1/2/3 finale.
In the early laps, the last race of the day -- a 60-minute test of speed, endurance and nerves -- began to unfold with cyclists riding in tight formation. The excitement builds as the USCF Pro/Category 1/2/3 race approaches its midpoint, when two cyclists make a move to break away from the peloton as they pass the booth where the announcers can be heard calling the action in the video clip that follows.
As is so often the case in bicycle racing at the elite level, the peloton reels in the breakaway. On the final lap of the USCF Pro/1/2/3 race, as cyclists make the turn off Spaight Street onto Thornton Avenue and then another left onto Williamson Street in this video clip, the last race of the day at Cronometro's 20th annual Dave Kagy Memorial Wheels on Willy Criterium comes down to a sprint for the finish.
A photo gallery from the criterium is available at top right.
