Belmont man pedals past all in Modesto Criterium

Viktor Rapinski of Belmont won the Modesto Criterium professional cycling race on blazing downtown streets Saturday.

Rapinski, riding for BPG/Montano Velo, beat runner-up Chris Turner, a Mountain View resident and member of Page Mill Racing.

Daniel Holloway of Morgan Hill and VMG/Felt finished third.

Rapinski, a Belarus native racing for the first time in the Modesto event, said he was not bothered by the heat -- 94 degrees at the noon finish.

"When it's hot, it's hot for everyone," he said while cooling off with a soda near the H Street finish line.

The 42 pro riders raced on an L-shaped course between H, J, 12th and 14th streets. The event took place next to the Family Cycling Festival.

Three riders from the Northern San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada took part. Andres Gil of Stockton and Delta Velo finished seventh. David Loogman of Modesto and EMC/Felt was 27th. Jeff Poulsen of Arnold and VOS Racing was 41st.

The criterium was sponsored by Ciccarelli Enterprises and Fiscalini Cheese.

This story was originally published May 18, 2008 at 3:10 AM with the headline "Belmont man pedals past all in Modesto Criterium."