August 11, 2017 (Colorado Springs, CO) – Amongst the sandstone formations within iconic Garden of the Gods Park, the men and women of Rally Cycling laid the foundation for overall victories in stage one of the Colorado Classic. Sara Poidevin put rival climbers on notice by claiming the Queen of the Mountains jersey, and Emma White sprinted to a stellar third place finish. In torrential rain, Colin Joyce finished eighth in the sprint as Rob Britton and Sepp Kuss finished safely in the peloton.
“The plan for the day was to get to the finish and lead me out for the sprint,” said White. “The leadout was perfect, and I just got swarmed by other teams. I ended up in third. I am happy with it, but it would have been nice to get the win. It’s great that Sara (Poidevin) got the Queen of the Mountain’s jersey. The QOM was not our primary objective as Sara is focused on the general classification. However, she was feeling great today and went for it. She is our girl for tomorrow.”
With the objective of delivering White to the line, the women of Rally Cycling controlled the race and prevented any rider from gaining a meaningful advantage. The peloton was all together as the first Queen of the Mountains approached, and Poidevin launched off the front to take maximum points. A lap later, the entirety of Rally Cycling was called on to deliver Poidevin to the top of the mountain. With rivals looking to steal Poidevin’s QOM lead, Bergen, Amy Benner, Allison Beveridge, and Kelly Catlin led the charge up the ascent with Poidevin in tow, helping her grab maximum points again. The quartet would again take to the front in the race’s closing kilometers, giving White a near-perfect leadout and the team another podium.
Men’s Race
In the men’s race, the day’s five-man breakaway with Evan Huffman built a 3:15 gap on the peloton. As storms rolled in and the rain started to fall, the peloton began to close in on the breakaway. As torrential rain and wind pounded the riders, the gap plummeted and with 35 kilometers remaining the break was reabsorbed. John Murphy (Holowesko-Citadel) to the win with Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare) second and Logan Owen (Axeon Hagens Berman) third. Alex Cowan (Can) Silber Pro Cycling led the Canadians in 43rd.
Results
Women
1. Jennifer Valente (Sho-Air Twenty20)
2. Skylar Schneider (Iscorp Powered By Progress)
3. Emma White (Rally Cycling)
4. Heather Fischer (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)
5. Rebecca Wiasak (Fearless Femme)
6. Lauren Hall (Unitedhealthcare)
7. Samantha Schneider (Iscorp Powered By Progress)
8. Kendelle Hodges (Colavita/Bianchi)
9. Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling)
10. Jessica Mundy (Colavita-Bianchi)
14. Sara Poidevin (Rally)
50. Steph Roorda (Sho-Air Twenty20)
51. Allison Beveridge (Rally) 0:10
DNF Joelle Numainville (Cylance)
Men
1. John Murphy (Holowesko-Citadel)
2. Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare)
3. Logan Owen (Axeon Hagens Berman)
4. Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini)
5. Kiel Reijnen (Trek-Segafredo)
6. Dennis Van Winden (Israel Cycling Academy)
7. Alex Howes (Cannondale-Drapac)
8. Colin Joyce (Rally Cycling)
9. Christopher Blevins (Axeon Hagens Berman)
10. Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing Team)
43. Alex Cowan (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
46. Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling
49. James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
52. Nigel Ellsay (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
58. Ryan Roth (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 0:24
59. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 0:29
76. Julien Gagne (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 4:42
87. Reid McClure (Can) Team Novo Nordisk 10:23
DNF Nicolas Masbourian (Can) Silber Pro Cycling