Spectators watch from the middle of 8th and Massachusetts St. as cyclists competing in the men's pro race streak past during the Tour of Lawrence downtown criterium Sunday afternoon.

For the fourth time in four tries, Brad Huff won the men’s pro race of the Tour of Lawrence’s downtown criterium Sunday after edging Garrick Valverde by less than a second.

Huff, who has competed professionally since 2006, clocked in at 1:13:30 after out-sprinting Olathe Subaru Cycling teammates Valverde and Scott Williamson.

“There are a lot of competitive athletes out here. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to chase down the pro,” Huff said. “It’s a good race. It’s well-supported. Lawrence gets behind it, and I just want to say thank you.”

The cyclists went around a figure-eight loop that stretched from New Hampshire and Vermont streets, and Seventh and Tenth streets.

Valverde and Williamson were in a pack of five Olathe Subaru Cycling teammates who led with three laps to go as they raced down Massachusetts Street, but the seasoned veteran Huff knew he was still in an OK spot.

“It always just depends on the wind. This year, there was a pretty strong headwind. With four turns to go, there was quite a bit of wind, so you kind of had to time it just right,” Huff said. “Luckily, one of the Tulsa Wheelman jumped at the right time for me to get on his wheel. Then it’s just trying to get position and hold it until the line. Usually it’s first and second who come through that corner who is going to win.”

Huff was impressed by the competition, but there was one Lawrence native who he wished would have entered Sunday’s race.

“Everyone here that lives in Lawrence needs to give Joe Schmalz a bunch of grief for not showing up to a local race, and he only lives just up the hill. He could even coast down to the race and still win, but the guy doesn’t show up,” Huff said as he joked with the crowd after the race. “And you know why? Because he knew I was going to be here.”

While Huff did not get the chance to race alongside his friend Schmalz, the winner of the women’s pro race, Britta Siegel, finally got a victory over one of her close cycling colleagues.

Siegel narrowly edged Gwen Inglis with a time of 50:29 to prevent her friend from winning her fourth race of the weekend. Inglis doubled up with wins Saturday in the women’s pro and Masters 40-plus races at the Haskell Indian Nations University Criterium before winning the Masters 40-plus race Sunday. Siegel finished as the runner-up to Inglis in Saturday’s pro race and Sunday’s Masters 40-plus, so she was excited to get a win in her first time competing in the Tour of Lawrence.

“It was on today,” Siegel said with a laugh. “Gwen is my friend. We’ve been racing together the whole weekend. She’s an awesome racer, but I was waiting for the last lap. She took the preme (cash prize for the lap), so I was sitting in for the sprint finish.”

Despite being exhausted from a full week of racing, Siegel made one guarantee after her victory Sunday.

“I’ll definitely be back,” Siegel said.