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Brad Huff wins in Tulsa, and Olds is the new star in the women's race.

By Ian Dille
Published: May. 30, 2009
Huff in a team photo
Huff in a team photo
Photo: Courtesy Jelly Belly

Tulsa, Oklahoma, has everything you’d want in a National Racing Calendar criterium series: historic downtown districts filled with old brick buildings and freshly paved streets; immense amounts of prize money (making the event the second highest pro payout in the nation); and lax open container laws, leading to an especially enthusiastic local fan base.

Thus, it’s no wonder this year’s Tulsa Tough drew the strongest field ever assembled. On day 2 of the three-day omnium, the Brady Village Criterium, an intelligent spectator might perch his or herself in front of the Soundpony, a local bar established by a crew of cat 4 bike racers. There, he or she could sample local beers on draft, and chit-chat with the nation’s top crit-dogs, who take advantage of the friendly, air-conditioned confines to pin jerseys and down energy drinks.

The National Criterium Championship jersey of Jelly Belly’s Brad Huff hangs over the Soundpony bar, and — after 80-minutes of the men’s pro-race, held on a wide open L-shaped course with a slight uphill drag on the backside — Huff didn’t fail to impress the Soundpony patrons.

Huff followed the wheel of Fly V Australia’s Jonathon Cantwell out of the last turn, and soared down a 300-meter straight-away lined with fanatical Okie fans, and took his second win in a row at a race he calls a home town event.

“I consider any big race in the Midwest a hometown event for me,” said Huff, who hails from Missouri, but wasn’t able to attend Tulsa during the event's previous four years.

“Looking back on the final straightaway now, it looks like a long way,” said Cantwell, whose team took control of the lead-out with roughly five laps to go, and also placed Bernard Sulzerberger on the podium. “Still, we’re happy with second and third.”

“I gained a lot of confidence last night,” said Huff of his victory in Friday night’s Blue Dome criterium. “For me, right now, it’s all about the field sprints.”

While Huff says his current quickness over the final 200 meters of a race is beyond compare, he’s realistic about his chances heading into Sunday’s difficult Riverview Criterium, which features a climb most of the field will opt to little ring.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to suffer,” said Huff.

The future is Olds?

“Shelly Olds has a bright future in this sport,” said race announcer Dave Towell, as sweat beaded on his forehead in the late-afternoon Oklahoma sun.

Olds, who rides for ProMan-HitSquad, won a tightly contested field sprint in the women’s pro race over Mellow Mushroom’s Laura Van Gilder, the winner of Friday’s Blue Dome criterium, and Colavita-Sutter Home's guest rider Jen Purcell, who claimed her first NRC podium.

“I’ve wanted to win a race here for a long time because I’ve been so close before,” said Olds, who went to the front of the field after an early crash neutralized and shortened the women’s race to just 40 minutes.

“I was paranoid after all the crashes in Friday’s race,” said Olds. “So I today I picked Team Type 1 Jen McRae’s wheel to sit on because she knows what she’s doing.”

Team Type 1’s Alison Powers controlled the action throughout the Bradley Village criterium, frequently riding the front in support of McRae, who placed second on Friday.

But coming into the final straightaway, Van Gilder disrupted the Team Type 1 lead out by jumping before the final turn, opening the door for opportunists like Olds.

Race Notes
Team Type 1's Monique Hanley fractured three vertebrae and dislocated her shoulder in a large crash early in the race. More than a dozen riders, including eventual winner Olds, were involved in the crash.

“I had nowhere to go but to be catapulted,” Hanley said.

The Australian has full range of movement in her arms and legs, Team Type 1 Team Director Jack Seehafer said. “But her dislocated shoulder will require surgery.”

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