The American Criterium Cup will take its final bow this Sunday at the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup in St. Louis. For the third straight season, the end-of-year omnium in the Show Me State will bring the ACC to a close over the 1-mile four-corner course of the Giro Della Montagna.
The race, which is also known more simply as “the Hill” as a nod to the neighborhood's name, is an institution in the Midwest cycling scene with the race’s first edition coming way back in 1986. The race was originally formulated by lifetime Hill resident, Joe Torrisi. The Giro slowly gained steam as it was held over the Fourth of July weekend to draw additional racers who were in town for the VP Fair cycling races held in St. Louis on the same weekend. In 1998 the Giro became the cornerstone of the Gateway Cup and was moved to its Labor Day slot as a part of the final stop on the American professional cycling calendar.
On paper, the course is like several other races on the ACC calendar with the lap featuring four corners over one mile. Nevertheless, as the name suggests, the race is defined by the hill that takes riders to the top of the course around turn three, before they plunge back down to the long finish straight. The Gateway Cup’s Giro Della Montagna is a great example of how not all four-corner criteriums are created the same and should provide a fascinating cap to a great summer season of racing in the American Criterium Cup.
What’s more, the race takes place in one of the most vibrant Italian-American communities in the country. Complete with a piazza, Italian restaurants, gelati options, an Italian grocer, and a massive sense of community that comes from age-old Italian heritage in the bones of the neighborhood that produced Italian American legends like Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola. Here are all the details of the weekend before things get underway on Sunday:
Where does the Gateway Cup take place? The Gateway Cup takes place in St. Louis, while the Giro Della Montagna is located in the Italian neighborhood called “The Hill.”
Where does the Gateway Cup take place? The Gateway Cup runs from Friday, August 30 through Monday, September 2. The Giro della Montagna is on Sunday, September 1st with the women’s race starting at 4:10 pm and the men taking off at 5:40 pm.
What are the course attributes? The Giro Della Montagna is a one-mile, four-corner, rectangular course with a hill between turns two and three. In total, there is just shy of 40 feet of climbing per lap.
How many editions of the Giro Della Montagna have taken place? The Giro della Montagna began in 1986 and has run every year since except for 2020 when the race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who won the Giro della Montagna in 2023? Danny Summerhill and Marlies Mejias won their respective races last year in 2023.
The Giro della Montagna is a four-corner crit with some pazazz. The course has a rising climb on the backstretch of course heading into turn three which defines the race – not for its race-breaking difficulty but for how it plays in a sprint.
The position of the hill sets up a very early sprint as whoever managed to lead into turn 3 is in the box seat to have a smooth final two turns to set up the rapid downhill run to the finish. It is rare for anyone to come back from behind the first few wheels to win the final sprint with two turns to go. By the last turn, a rider needs to be either in first or second position.
A breakaway is always possible in criterium racing, and this year has seen breakaways in a few scenarios where it was unexpected, however with lots of room to chase and strong sprint teams looking to end their seasons on a high note, it seems likely that after 70 minutes of racing it will be all together for a sprint in the end.
By this point in the season, the contenders for these races are pretty cut and dry, with certain names on everyone’s lips. Nevertheless, there are still a few things to play for in the last opportunity to score points for the final ACC tally and prizes that come with those totals.
On the women’s side, Skylar Schnieder of the Miami Blazers has been the most consistent all year and has already locked up the individual ACC crown. However, she has not been as prolific of a winner as she has in years past with only wins in the ACC this summer. Even still, Schnieder’s consistency has been amazing with podium finishes at all of the seven stops so far. A third win would be the cherry on top as it would also put her equal on wins with Kendall Ryan who is not making the trip to St. Louis.
The other ACC race winner present in St. Louis should be a big threat to Schnieder as Marlies Mejias of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24 will be looking to defend her win last year at the Giro Della Montagna to add points to her tally that took a huge step up with her win at the Indy Crit this June. She will be hoping to bump up her final ranking as she sits in ninth in the overall standings with one race to go.
Lastly, this is the swan song for DNA Pro Cycling as the team will close its doors at the end of the season. The team has been a stalwart on the ACC calendar and has virtually clinched the team's overall victory. Nevertheless, the team is yet to have scored a race win and they will be going all out to go out on top with either their Kiwi sprinter Rylee McMullen or the American Makayla Macpherson. Both riders are also in the top five of the overall standings and will be hoping to consolidate their place near the top of the rankings.
For the men, it is only fitting to start with one team: Reign Storm Racing. Not only has the team won five of the seven races with four different riders, they have also secured $22,500 of the final ACC prize purse through constant domination. Jordan Parra currently leads the overall, but Alfredo Rodriguez and Danny Summerhill have both been prolific point scores, while Fergus Arthur and Bryan Gomez have been race winners. Summerhill, however, is the only Reign Storm point ACC point scorer who has yet to win an individual ACC race, so expect him to try to make it three wins in a row at the Giro Della Montagna this weekend.
While the start list is 111 riders deep with strong teams like the Miami Blazers, L39ion of Los Angeles, Work Hard Be Humble, Above and Beyond Cancer, and the Austin Outlaws all looking for a final score to end their season on a high, Reign Storm seems likely to be the buzz saw that will continue to take all the prizes of the 2024 criterium season. If not them, Ben Oliver, Lucas Bourgoyne, Clever Martinez, and Noah Granigan will all be ready and waiting as they fight for the points that will move them up the overall standings.
Live timing and results during the weekend can be found here.
Photo courtesy of the American Criterium Cup
