Cyclists of all Ages Race Downtown [VIDEO]

As many as 500 kids and adult cyclists cruised through downtown streets Sunday in the 8th annual Smuttynose Brewing Co. Portsmouth Criterium for nearly six hours.

The estimated 2,000 spectators who converged on downtown Portsmouth were treated to amateur and professional cyclists who competed in several races set against the backdrop of a perfect early fall day.

It was a day where people could celebrate new champions after watching Issac Howe win his second consecutive Pro Men's 1/2 race at the end of the day and four members of the Exeter Cycling team capture the Community Challenge crown earlier in the afternoon.

Others winners included Jason Croteau of Webster, Mass., who captured the Category 3 Men's race with a winning time of 43:46 for the 545 VELO racing team. Tom Reagan of Freeport, Maine won the Category 4 Men's race with a time of 44:53 for the Sunapee Racing Team.

Portsmouth Criterium organizer Susan Delaney said she was very pleased with the turnout the event saw after the Seacoast area experienced violent thunderstorms and torrential downpours on Saturday night. She said the Liftstey Expo had over 60 booths and was sold out. When asked how many people attended this year's Portsmouth Criterium, Delaney estimated the cumulative total at 7,000 for the entire day.

It was also a day where families could let their children sport their bikes and enjoy cruising up and down Congress Street in several kids races held at the very beginning of the Criterium.

The first race of the day at 11 a.m. was for three waves of 4- to 6-year-old children who headed up Congress Street from Jumpin Jay's Fish Cafe 600 meters to the finish line on bicycles with and without training wheels.

They soon gave way to the children ages 7 to 9, who did one full lap around the 1-kilometer course, followed by kids ages 10 to 12, who did two laps.

The kid racers traveled from from way to compete in the Portsmouth Criterium. One them was Olivya Charles, 7, of Roslindale, Mass. She and her mother, Simone Charles, both originally from Trinidad, said they loved the event.

Olivya held the Trinidad flag as she pedaled her bicycle up Congress Street, which made her mother so proud. "This is really good. This is something we want to keep up with," Simone Charles said.

She hopes her daughter will choose to keep riding her bicycle and will pursue cycling as a sport because it is such a fun, healthy activity.

Scott Wilson and his son, John Wilson, both of Methuen, Mass., also trekked up to Portsmouth to compete in the 7- to 9-year old class. John Wilson, 7, said he finished 10th out of his group and enjoyed racing in downtown Portsmouth. He said the last leg of his face, where the young racers had to pedal up Congress Street to the finish line near the North Church left him gasping for air.

John said he has been racing since he was four years old and he plans to stick with the sport so he can get better and compete in future races.

The kids were followed by the 45-minute Men's amateur Category 3 and Category 4 races and the Women's amateur 45-minute race. The Pro Men's race concluded the day with a one-hour race where cyclists achieved speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.

The downtown race course was cordoned off with hay bales and yellow tape and ran from the start/finish line just south of the Old North Church on Congress Street up to Daniels Street then onto Penhallow Street and onto State Street before cyclists completed the 1-kilometer course by Jumpin Jay's Fish Cafe and headed back up Congress Street.

Each of the adult races were accompanied by motorcycle escorts who gave spectators fair warning before the cyclists approached a given part of the race course. There were also 120 Portsmouth Criterium volunteers and a full complement of Portsmouth Police officers to ensure the safety of everyone present.

Besides the races, Portsmouth Criterium visitors could also stroll down Market Street, where a host of vendors hawked their lifestyle wares. There was also a rock climbing wall waiting for the young racers on Pleasant Street, and many of them took advantage of it