National Criterium Championships

First you ask what is a criterium? Being married to a cycling fanatic husband, I have come to learn many new things about the sport.
Criteriums are the bicycling equivalent of the Indy 500. Fast. Exciting to watch and somewhat dangerous to race contestants.
A criterium, known among racers as a "crit", is the most popular form of bike racing in the US, for several reasons. The race course is a closed circuit track around downtown streets. That makes it convenient for spectators. Racers complete a lap a minute or two, traveling at speeds exceeding 30 m.p.h. And sometimes, because of the speed, the tight corners and several dozen racers packed closely, there are some crazy crashes. Well, here in the Chicago area there are a few major "crits" that some of the pros race in. So come rain or shine...in our case rain, a lot of rain, the whole family went to watch this exciting event. I will admit, it is exciting and fast to watch. At times I was afraid the riders would fall, and slide into the kids. We did survive the day and had great fun doing it. Here are a few pictures of the day. Even one of Lily still with smiles even though she is all wet.