Olejniczak wins Lake Bluff Criterium

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The second stop of the Intelligentsia Cup, the National Criterium Calendar Northwestern Medicine Criterium in Lake Bluff, saw two different but exciting races across the pro/elite men and women races.

In the women’s race, Erica Allar (Team Colavita-Fine Cooking) doubled up on her Intelligentsia Cup wins against a tough field sprint win ahead of Tina Pic (Fearless Femme) and Skylar Schneider (TIBCO). Allar’s strong Colavita team had to fend off attacks from a sizable Pepper Palace team and the presence of sprinter Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom). However, the long rising finish stretch of the 1.4km course proved too tough to power against Allar’s sprint.

Olejniczak wins men's criterium; Keough relegated for dangerous sprinting

The men’s race saw a five-man break form just after the mid-point of the 90-minute race with two UnitedHealthcare present including NCC leader Luke Keough and Brad White, along with series leader Chad Hartley (Athlete Octane) and Hogan Sills (Astellas). But it was the young amateur Peter Olejniczak (St Paul Bicycle Racing Club) who everyone overlooked that came away with the win after out-kicking Keough to the line.

In a dramatic turn, Keough was relegated by race officials for dangerous sprinting after the other riders in the break protested he came off his sprint line pushing them into the barriers. This pushed Hartley into third place behind Sills and extended his overall lead in the Intelligentsia Cup series.

The series moves on to Crystal Lake on Sunday then continues Wednesday with a road race followed by four criteriums around Chicagoland.

Full Results