Beverly Racer Wins Hometown Race by a Hair

It was just a matter of inches – that’s how close it was for Shawn Milne of Beverly as he won Wednesday night’s Gran Prix of Beverly for the second time in three years.

The bicycle racer spends much of the year on the road but calls Beverly home. He beat out some other top names in bike racing on the .6-mile criterium course. Stephen Hyde was second and Chad Young third.

Wednesday also marked the return of the women’s race, with Gabby Day of the United Kingdom reaching the top of the podium.

The event, in its fifth year, drew thousands of spectators to downtown Beverly, many of them grabbing food and drink course-side at Soma, Barrel House and Atomic Café.

A crash early-on in the elite race – usually on the straight away near the start/finish line and not on one of the sharp corner of the course – slowed racers for a few laps. Other than that, no major crashes or injuries were reported.

See several video clips and photos from the races attached to this story.