Hyde Park

Hyde Park Blast Criterium Race 2009.
Mark the Date
Saturday, June 27, 2009
LOCATION: Cincinnati Ohio
www.hpblast.com

What 2008 Hyde Park Blast Pro Mens Criterium Champion Jeremy Grimm from RGF Solutions had to say about the 2008 Hyde Park Blast.

"Hyde Park is my favorite race. I have done the Athens Pro 1 Twilight Race, Sommerville Pro 1 race, and many other NRC Pro races. Snake Alley Pro Race in Iowa was my recent favorite race and now Hyde Park is number 1! The spectators on the last lap made me get chills as they were cheering us on. Thanks to everyone in Hyde Park and everyone that made this race possible. I thank God and my savior Jesus Christ everyday for the ability to ride a bike. "




2008 Highlights and Race Recap

Record crowd for this years event. Police estimates had the crowd in excess of 3,000 people lining the 8/10 of a mile course.
Hyde Park Blast Criterium course continues its legacy of selection, safety and long lines of anaerobic racers.
Record turnout of 189 competitors.
23 Juniors competing in 3 categories from 10-16 years of age
Thunder and lightning in the womens finish
Largest Category 4 and 5 fields ever!!!

Pro 1-2 event dominated by RGF Solutions

The course for the Hyde Park Blast is unlike any other you will find. Tight technical turns, long straight-aways, climbing and descending. Shady Lane implies anything but its name to the cyclists who ascend this short climb.

True to history, this year the course was on form. Only the riders strong enough to survive all the anaerobic challenges would find themselves among the selection of few to contest a podium spot at the 2008 Hyde Park Blast Criterium.

JR racing was in full force this year. Red Zone Cycling from Lousiville, KY was well represented bringing riders in all three Jr Age groups. Mother Nature provided some challenges, but the Jr's were not to be denied. Ian McShane, John Francisco and Daniel Bush from Red Zone Cycling firmly placed themselves on top of the podium for their age groups.

Enacting its control, the course made short order of the fields in the large Category 4 and Category 5 Races. Each race saw numerous cyclists unable to bridge the many challenges throughout. Both categories saw hotly contested sprints. Category 5 top podium spot was reserved for Philip Bailey. Category 4 saw Darkhorse - RPC Mechanical place two podium spots with Matt Bell taking first and Alex Hasse 3rd.

The womens category had added incentive for a fast pace with mother nature providing thunder and lighting as Kristina Heath representing Indiana University sprinted away from the group to take the top podium spot followed by Sonia Chambers from Huntington, W.VA and Callie Burt, Pedal the Planet/CES, from Lexington, KY.

Category 3 had its share of drama. Ryan Good from the Abundance Investor Team made a strong move from the field and seemed poised for a possible breakway victory only to have the tight technical turn around Hyde Park Square neutralize his effort. The door then opened for Mike Purvis from the Compangeiro Racing Team in Louisville, KY to make his move from the pack. With Purvis dangling within sight, a ramped-up peleton began the chase only to fall meters short at the line as Purvis took the top podium spot. Rounding out the Cat 3 podium were David Schweer, Speedway Wheelmen, from Indianapolis, IN and Dan Green, Trizilla, from Pittsburgh, PA.

As the sun went down and the course lights came on, the premier race began, and the top contenders in the PRO 1 - 2 race took to the course. This race had all the makings of a two team battle with the "big guns" from RGF Solutions and the local team from Huntington Bank bringing most of their arsenal of riders. The rest of the field could only hope to capitalize on this battle with opportunistic racing. As expected RGF sent a strong rider, Jeremy Grimm, off the front in the first lap. He dropped the hammer and held nearly 30 mph for several laps. John Murdock of Huntington threw down some great efforts, but they were no match for the steady pace of Grimm and his pesky teammates who refused to pull through after Murdock's great efforts. The youngsters from One Call Now, Anderson and Allen both tried their hand as well, but their efforts were futile in the face of the pounding pace of Grimm's fierce pedal strokes. Finally with a few laps to go Dan Campbell (recent runner-up in the Tour of Ohio) and Andrew Clark (2007 Ohio Time Trial & Criterium Champion), both of RGF Solutions, threw down a huge attack trying to steal the Podium for RGF. Eric Knight of Huntington Bank was successful in bridging to Andrew Clark only to relinquish his chances for 3rd with a gentlemanly handshake acknowledging a great effort and indeed RGF did go 1,2, 3, and the podium was complete.
Jeremy Grimm 1st, Dan Campbell 2nd, and Andrew Clark 3rd. Knight took a respectable 4th and Ben Weaver, Nuvo Cultural Trail, Columbus, IN took the field sprint for 5th.

The Hyde Park Blast is a non profit 501.c3 organization with all proceeds from the RUN / WALK/ CYCLE / CELEBRATION benefiting charity.
Leukemia Society
The Wellness Community
Cancer Free Kids
SUPPORT THE SPONSORS WHO SUPPORT CYCLING.

Toyota www.toyota.com
Richards Industries www.richardsind.com
MSA Sport. A div. of Michael Schuster Architects www.msaarch.com
Reece Campbell Construction www.reececampbell.com
BioWheels www.biowheels.com
RPC Mechanical www.rpcmechanical.com
Uptown Properties www.uptownrents.com
Perrino Landscaping www.perrinolandscape.com

Photos courtesy of Tiffanie Hills www.velocityimage.com Additional photos available @ Jeffrey Jakucyk
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MANY VOLUNTEERS WHO SUPPORTED THE EVENT. HYDE PARK BLAST 2009 Saturday June 27th


www.msaarch.com www.reececampbell.com

www.rpcmechanical.com www.biowheels.com

Join the fight against cancer by supporting one of the many events of the 2008 Hyde Park Blast, one of Cincinnati's premier events. The Hyde Park Blast will attract over 4,000 spectators and participants in one of Cincinnati's most prestigious neighborhoods. The event begins with the Blast 4 mile run on Saturday morning, kids cycling and running events throughout the day culminating with a twilight criterium bike race and block party on Saturday evening. All of these events are centered in/around historic Hyde Park Square. The Hyde Park Blast is a non profit 501.c3 organization