March 13, 2006 (Fresno, California) – Victory Brewing swept the podium in the final Stage 3 Towers District Criterium at the Central Valley Classic using their well established team cohesion and lead-out prowess.

The final stage saw all riders lined up to begin a furious race for points. After Saturday’s road race, Webcor’s Christine Thornburn, Lipton’s Kristin Armstrong, and Victory Brewing’s Laura Yoisten were in first, second, and third respectively for the overall omnium. The points accumulated in the final Stage 3 crit, would decide the overall winner.

The circuit was technical with the addition of a 180 degree U-turn just after the start/finish line. The race pace was fast as riders tried to break away from the field. Both Webcor and Lipton put forth efforts to get riders off the front but Victory Brewing would only be content to have the race come down to a field sprint.

During the final five laps Victory Brewing began to establish their lead out train for Yoisten. With three laps remaining the blue train was linked tight and no one was able to interrupt their momentum. Coming out of the final corner Victory Brewing sewed up first, second, and third places on the podium respectively with Lauren Franges, Laura Yoisten, and Laura Bowles taking the honours.

“I am very pleased with they way our team has come together to race. Our goal was to set a tempo for the team from the start and our goal now is to keep it going. We had a great race this weekend and we will be focused on building our team and overall strengths even further,” said Team Director Mike Tamayo.

Yoisten gathered enough points during the criterium to win the overall omnium, just one point ahead of Webcor’s Christine Thornburn. Lauren Franges also gained enough points to move her into third place for the overall omnium.

Criterium Results
– 1st Lauren Franges (Victory Brewing)
– 2nd Laura Yoisten (Victory Brewing)
– 3rd Laura Bowles (Victory Brewing)
– 4th Christine Thorburn (Webcor)
– 5th Sarah Tillotson (Colavita/Cooking Light)
– 6th Catharine Powers (Aaron’s )
– 7th Kori Seehafer (Lipton)
– 8th Lisa Sweeny (Colnago/CPT)
– 9th Nicole Freedman (Velo Bella)
– 10th Mari Holden (T-Mobile)