June 21st: Schlitz Park Criterium

Battered by the beauty and the beast of yesterday's Greenbush Road Race, riders entered Tuesday craving chocolate milk as well as some recovery time during Stage 6 of the Tour of America's Dairyland presented by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. They were treated to gorgeous riverfront views amid the Schlitz Park development overlooking a metropolis skyline. Thing is, much of that serene setting was the backdrop.

The reality is the actual Schlitz Park Criterium course was a challenge of behemoth magnitude. Its intensity was shredding riders throughout the day as they tried to negotiate Brewers Hill, tricky corners, steep downhills, and a chicane on the backside that led out to the finishing stretch.

Mellow Mushroom's Laura Van Gilder and the Milwaukee Bike Polo Team Podium Boys

If the number of starters vs. actual finishers is any indication, the fields are ready to give the ol' legs a little rest. Nearly half of the Pro Women crossed the line, and of the 102 Pro Men starters, just 30 finished. Race announcers were starting to wonder if a good flick was being shown on the backside. Riders were falling off pace and just surrendering.

The Pro Women faced a brief suspension while the rain and lightning passed but the minor time out didn't seem to halt Mellow Mushroom's momentum. Kristen Lasasso moved off the front with three to go for a $100 prime and never looked back. Lasasso made her win look effortless as the field was back 27 seconds with one to go. Mellow Mushroom teammate Laura Van Gilder, entering and leaving the day in the Becker Law Pink and White Leader's jersey, took the field sprint from Kate Chilcott (FCS/Metro Volkswagen), for the 1-2 Mellow Mushroom punch as they continue their dominant streak as the 5-hour Energy Pro Team Omnium leader. Laura Parsons (Primal Rose Bandits) takes over the Oarsman Capital Amateur Cat 2 Green Leaders Jersey.

The Pro Men's field saw separation throughout the day but the real story began early on, with Rudy Napolitano (Monster Media) and U.S. Pro Crit Champ Daniel Holloway (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Optum Health) forming a 2-man break, which held steady.

Start of Men's Pro Race

Three chasers - Serghei Tvetcov (Aerocat), Luis Alejandro-Zamudio (Herbalife-LaGrange) and Christopher Monteleone (Kenda 5-hour Energy-Geargrinder) - launched off the front for an extended period for an impressive showing but the field all came back together. Brian Sheedy (Hampton Trails Bike Shop) made a valiant effort as well as a solitary chaser with 16 to go.

But ultimately, the gap to the field grew to one minute 15 seconds, with the breakaway approaching the back of the field. Napolitano and Holloway never showed any signs of weakness - even though we learned prior to podium that Holloway lost a pedal with four to go, leaving him to race the final four 0.8 mile laps with one pedal.

In the field sprint, Rahsaan Bahati (SKLZ-Pista Palace) and Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V) played cat and mouse but in the end, Aerocat came around the front with Cantwell on the outside with not enough time or space, giving Aerocat's Tvetcov the green light for the third step on the podium and his team another day as the 5-hour Energy Pro Team Omnium leader. The Oarsman Capital Amateur Cat 2 Green Jersey gets passed to Dallas Fowler.

Tour of America's Dairyland continues Wednesday with a non-aero bar Time Trial in Ripon followed by back-to-back crits in Sheboygan and Fond du Lac before a closing PRIME-a-pa-moooooo-za weekend featuring over $10,000 in primes alone at the ISCorp Downer Classic on Saturday.

View previous race reports in the archive.