Rainy, accident-filled finish to Tour of Elk Grove
Luis Amaran wore the yellow jersey, the mantle of victory among the men competing in the sixth annual Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove.
But runner-up Bobby Sweeting bore the visible signs of his moral victory after a rain-soaked finish in the tour’s third stage Sunday featured a pileup involving anywhere from 10 to 20 bicycles on the straightaway near Elk Grove Boulevard and Victoria Lane.
Sweeting emerged with a bloody elbow, but still stood among the top finishers showering the audience with champagne and left the victory platform with a $75,000 check.
As for the elbow, he said, “I’ll just put a little champagne in it.”
Those who didn’t have ponchos or umbrellas ducked for cover, as the rain came down.
One of the riders, Calin Samaan, when asked what it was like to ride through the downpour, said, “Holy moley!” as he recalled how his back shivered after being soaked with the cold rain, while the wind inflated his jersey. It was all he could do to keep the water out of his eyes, he said, as he tried to keep his vision fixed on his feet.
As if that weren’t enough, he was forced to slam on his back brakes to avoid the pileup ahead of him.
“Thank God I didn’t hit one of them,” he said.
Sweeting wasn’t so lucky. He said his strategy when the rain started was to play it safe on the course’s many corners.
However, it was on the relatively safe straightaway that he ran into trouble after one of the cyclists, he said, stumbled over either a pothole or a drainage ditch.
The accident occurred along a median. People in the crowd along the street said it was about 10 to 20 riders who fell.
Injured riders were taken to a first-aid tent. Workers at the tent said at least five were treated.
Sweeting tumbled over cyclists in front of him.
Fortunately for him, he was helped back up by his teammates from Kenda Pro. From that point on, it was an adrenaline-charged rush to stay in contention.
The winner of the third stage was Australia’s Hilton Clarke, the overall winner of the very first Tour of Elk Grove. He was being watched, he said, by in-laws from Wisconsin.
The women faced a drier and more sedate finish.
Canadian Leah Kirchmann, who won both the third stage and the overall women’s pro competition. Kirchmann’s achievement was groundbreaking, since it was the tour’s first three-day, three-stage women’s event.
“I’m so excited that they were able to have a women’s race this year, and we were able to come and participate,” Kirchmann said. “More and more women will hear how great of an event it is and come and race.” She said she was just as pleased with the racing surface.
“It is a great course,” she said. “The roads are in fantastic condition.”
“They have got everything the men have,” said Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson, referring to the fact that now both men and women have a three-day, three-stage event.