*** The Illinois Cup is drawing to a close with the last race being the Elgin Road Race which takes place on 7/21 and is a part of the Intelligentsia Cup. Illinois Cup director Chad Briggs took a moment to sum up some of the close competition that is still going on in many of the categories. Stop out and put your best effort in or watch the competition come to a close as we celebrate the season’s efforts with final Illinois Cup Presentations at the Elgin Race in real time. ***
The Jr Boys 17-18 category features a tight race with Alex Tantasook (xXx Racing) and Sam Cummins (The Pony Shop) in a tie for first place with 50 points each. Ethan Hansen and Julian Mejia (Team Veloz), however, are also within striking distance of winning the IL Cup with 36 points each.
The Masters 40-49 category standings are very tight with 6 riders still in contention for the Cup: Jason Knauff (Burnham Racing) is in the lead with 77 points, followed closely by Jose Rodriguez (INTENT, 71 pts), Rick Schopp (INTENT, 66 pts), Mark Nowack (Franco Factory Racing, 61 pts), Nate Iden (Burnham Racing, 58 pts), and Tim Strelecki (Franco Factory Racing, 52 pts).
In the Masters 50+ category, Aaron Katin (Burnham Racing) leads Dean Abt (xXx Racing) by 22 points with 25 points up for grabs to the winner of the Denis Jurs Memorial State Championship Road Race in Elgin.
Three riders are in contention for the Women 4 Cup: Margaret McGill (105 pts) and BFF Bikes teammate Donais Deetz (85 pts) lead, but Jacqueline Wunrow (The Bike Hub) is in a close third with 84 points.
In the Women’s 1/2 Category, Katherine Isermann (PSIMET Racing) has the IL Cup sown up, but there is a battle for the other two podium spots between Francine Haas (PACT, 76 pts) and PSIMET Racing teammates Allison Schroeder (71 pts) and Leah Sanda (61 pts).
The Men’s Category 3 Cup is wide open: First and second place are currently occupied by Craig Kielbasa (75 pts) and Ryan Beeson (University of Illinois, 63 pts), but both riders have upgraded to Category 2 and are no longer eligible to earn points. That leaves the IL Cup up for grabs among three riders who are closely behind: Kurt Druffel (Waukesha Animal Hospital Cycling, 62 pts), Chase Negley (60 pts) and Dominic Lopez (xXx Racing, 56 pts).
The Men’s 1/2 Category comes down to Michael Lanyon (Burnham Racing, 88 pts) and Craig Kielbasa (72.5 pts) who upgraded from Category 3 mid-season and promptly won his first race (the Region Riot Criterium) as a Category 2 rider.