LF_080918

28 | August 9, 2018 | The lake forest leader SPORTS
LakeForestLeader.com
Criterium runner-up shares passion, commitment for cycling
Michael Parsky
Sports Editorial Intern
Before the sun even rises,
a pack of cyclists are
getting their early-morning
workout in around
Lake Forest and Lake
Bluff.
Odds are Jack Rohrbach
is in that group.
Rohrbach, an amateur
cyclist and Lake Bluff resident,
goes on these rides
three to four times during
the work week with other
North Shore residents. He
has found solace in those
early morning rides as a
means to work around his
busy life.
“No one is doing anything
besides me,” said
Rohrbach, whose ride
typically lasts two hours.
“A lot of the time, the
family is still asleep and
they have no idea I went
out for a ride.”
This daunting training
schedule may seem
undesirable to many, but
it helped the 52 year old
to an impressive second
place in the Master’s 50-
plus division at the eighth
annual Lake Bluff Criterium
race July 21.
Rohrbach discovered
his passion for cycling
when a friend’s dad
brought him to a race in
Wisconsin, he was just 14
years of old.
“I was just watching it
as a spectator and I was
so impressed and excited
when I went to the race,”
Rohrbach said. “It became
a life sport for me.”
Rohrbach frequently
participated in races from
his late teens and into his
mid-twenties, but with
work and a family, the
cyclist scaled back his
participation to just one or
two events a year in order
to accommodate his busy
schedule.
Feeling in good shape,
Rohrbach entered his
name for the Lake Bluff
Criterium as a last minute
decision.
In its eighth year, the
Criterium features some
of the top amateur and
professional cyclists
from around the world
and across multiple age
groups as the cyclist’s
race around the streets in
downtown Lake Bluff.
The Criterium is a part
of the Intelligentsia Cup,
a 10-day series of races
around the Chicago area.
Basically, the Le Tour De
France of Northern Illinois.
With his immediate and
extended family in attendance,
the hometown cyclist
felt a little bit of pressure
heading into the race.
“No matter when I was
young and racing 10 days
straight or racing only
three of four times a year I
get the nerves,” Rohrbach
said. “You’re at the starting
line like at any event,
you are always going to
get nervous.”
The pre-race jitters
soon turned into confidence.
By his own estimation,
Rohrbach, along
with three other cyclists,
made a move about a
quarter-way into the race
that put themselves ahead
indefinitely from the rest
of the pack.
“We created a bit of a
gap, and once we got that
gap we worked together
to increase the gap over
the main field,” Rohrbach
said. “The timing was
right, my move was right
with the other guys, and it
worked out.”
Lake Bluff resident Jack Rohrbach, shown here competing in the Lake Bluff Criterium race is an avid cyclist. 22nd
Century Media File Photos
Accompanying Rohrbach
at the front were
fellow cyclists James
Brown, Hunter Greene,
and Thurlow Rogers, a retired
professional cyclist
and former U.S. Olympian
who placed sixth in the
1984 Olympic road race
in Los Angeles.
After working together
to build such a strong
lead, Rohrbach was able
to fend off Rogers and
Brown, but ultimately
lost to Greene in the
final stretch of the race.
While Rohrbach did
not win the race, it was
not too shabby for the
52-year-old to beat out the
former Olympian for second
place.
“It felt great. Of course
I wanted to win the race,”
Rohrbach said. “It was
exciting. I’m from Lake
Bluff, and my family and
friends were there.”
Apart from his second
place finish, perhaps the
most rewarding part of
Rohrbach’s experience was
Rohrbach (left) celebrated his second-place win at the Lake Bluff Criterium where he
beat out a former Olympian.
racing in his hometown.
“It’s so special to live
there and race there,”
Rohrbach said. “People
come out and support.
They love community
events that bring the community
together and they
welcome people from the
outside into this beautiful
community of Lake
Bluff.”