Cycling the downtown circuit

Missouri Criterium turns downtown streets into race course on Sunday

The annual Missouri State Criterium Championships drew about 250 riders to Jefferson City, mostly from the Show-Me State, on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016. They competed in various divisions throughout the day, racing in a 0.85-mile loop around the state Capitol, from High Street to Madison Street to Capitol Avenue.
The annual Missouri State Criterium Championships drew about 250 riders to Jefferson City, mostly from the Show-Me State, on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016. They competed in various divisions throughout the day, racing in a 0.85-mile loop around the state Capitol, from High Street to Madison Street to Capitol Avenue.

 

Waves of cyclists, from beginners to cycling stars, flew down High Street faster than most downtown cars during Sunday's Missouri State Criterium Championships.

The annual event drew some 250 cyclists, some of whom were using the event as a tune-up for the upcoming Gateway Cup in St. Louis.

One of the elite riders on Sunday was Brian Dziewa, an accomplished former pro cyclist who is now a St. Louis attorney. The Division I racer was lapping the competition during an early afternoon race.

Event Director Mike Weiss said with the Olympics casting more light on cycling, some cyclists are using the Missouri championships, along with other such races, as a way to get to "the next rung on the ladder" in hopes of becoming an Olympian some day.

Some Olympians likely will race at the Gateway Cup, he said, along with some riders in Sunday' race. The Gateway Cup draws 5,000-10,000 fans daily.

Weiss said while the Missouri championships doesn't have that many fans, the race does bring in an estimated 1,000 people between the cyclists, their families and other people who come downtown to watch the races.

Two of those people on Sunday were Jim and Kathy Henderson of Indianapolis, Indiana. 

They were staying at the DoubleTree Hotel and stumbled on the event.

"We didn't know it was going on," said Jim Henderson, who is an avid cyclist, but, according to his wife, "not like these guys." Likewise, she said she rides a bike "with a basket in the front of it."

"It's a nice event," Kathy Henderson said. "It's too bad it's not better attended."

Last year, the event was held in conjunction with a "Fun-day Sunday" event designed to bring more people downtown, but that event wasn't held this year.

Once sponsored by the Capital City Cycling Club, the race now is sponsored by Weiss' Big Shark Racing in St. Louis.