The downtown Niwot Criterium is a Colorado Classic and is formerly an NRC event that shared a weekend with the grueling Saturn Classic. The last time it was held, Floyd Landis was in the field along with Christian Vandevelde and Chris Horner.
With its storied past, a large 75-man field turned out and included the likes of Will Frischkorn, Blake Caldwell and Jason Donald of Team Slipstream, Chuck Coyle of the Succesful Living Team, Dan Schmatz from team BMC and Stefano Barberi of Toyota United among others. With 7 turns, two of which are sharper than 90 degrees, 75 riders just don't fit well on the course and positioning is critical. Vecchios mechanic Jim Potter realized the urgency of positioning as from the sidelines he enthusiastically and humorously encouraged Vitamin Cottage riders to “move up”....during the warm up lap.
The race started fast with the field strung out single file and stayed that way. A number of breakaway attempts came and went before the break of the day formed. In the final lap the break was wittled down to two riders - Christian McCarthy of Vitamin Cottage and Keith Harper of Excel Sports with McCarthy taking the win in front of a sizable crowd. VC's Dirk Friel and Joe Pinkerton finished 4th and 5th.
In the women's race, retiring pro rider Cathrine Powers (Aaron's Corporate Furnishing) took the win ahead of 2nd place Renee Eastman and third place Beth Fisk, both of Vitamin Cottage.
Next up is the Santa Fe Trail Stage race held over labor day weekend in Lamar Colorado followed two weeks later by the Parker Twilight Criterium, the last hurrah for 2007 Colorado Road Events.
The Boulder Daily Camera has a nice article and photos from the event. http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/aug/27/cycling-mccarthy-tops-harper-for-niwot-criterium/