Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles) and Richard Holec (Cadence Cyclery) took sprint wins in the Windy City at race five of the American Criterium Cup. Both races were action-packed with constant attacks before the sprinters came to the fore to duke it out for the final day of Chicago Grit presented by SRAM.
For the women, the power of Kendall Ryan was simply too much for the sprint field as she out-kicked the rest for her second straight win at the Fulton Market Grand Prix. Aline Seitz (UTC Butcherbox) was second, but that was enough to all but seal the overall individual ACC win in St. Louis next month at the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup. UTC Butcherbox is also now in the lead of the team’s classification ahead of Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty28.
On the men’s side, attacks were flying constantly but nothing stuck as each few laps would see another rider roll the dice. Through the bell, the attacking was done and L39ion of Los Angeles was in control for Danny Summerhill. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to stop the power of the overall winner of Chicago Grit, Richard Holec. With that win, Cadence Cyclery has locked up the team overall classification while the individual standings still hang in the balance, as Maurice Ballerstedt leads with one race to go.
In the women’s race, it was almost a tale of two races. On one hand were the ACC contenders, namely Aline Seitz and Andrea Cyr, vying for points for their overall season tallies. On the other hand, riders were fighting for wins at Chicago Grit, like Kendall Ryan, Skylar Schneider (SD Worx-ProTime), and Josephine Peloquin (LA Sweat) who was leading the Chicago Grit general classification.
Kendall Ryan was the big favourite on the day as not only the defending champion at Fulton Market, but also the best sprinter in the American peloton aided by a very strong two-women leadout duo in Holly Breck and Laurel Rathburn. That trio was strong enough to secure a commanding team win at Tulsa Tough, while Ryan was fast enough to win by herself at Utah Crits the next week.
Nevertheless, the race was still action-packed as a deep race of 65 took on the long straights and tight corners of Fulton Market’s rectangular course. Through the first half of the race, the peloton stuck together as prime sprints caused slight fractures that were stitched together by the likes of L39ion and LA Sweat who were protecting the interests of Paloquin.
Right before the halfway point the race was neutralized when a fire truck had to enter the course to answer a call unrelated to the race.
The regroup set the table for a rapid second half of the race with the ACC mid race point sprint coming just two laps after the restart. The points on offer brought Rylee McMullen and her Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 teammate Olivia Cummins to the front to scoop up the available points and consolidate McMullen’s lead in the classification.
Soon after the sprint, the race had its first true escape with a big move from Emily Herfoss (Unattached) who hit out of the peloton with less than 20 laps of racing. Quickly her gap ballooned to 30 seconds as the teams behind played a metaphorical game of chicken over who would be leant upon to bring back the solo rider. Ultimately, that responsibility fell on the shoulders of L39ion and LA Sweat who began to chop off chunks of the gap in earnest with ten laps to go. Five laps later, it was all back together with a sprint looking likely.
One final move came from Shannon Koch (Kingdom Elite Racing) and Elizabeth Dixon (Fount Cycling Guild), two breakaway artists with history making late-breaking moves, with three laps to go. The attack ultimately was doomed, but it did force L39ion to burn Holly Breck closing the gap down in the final lap to setup Ryan for the final long drag to the line.
Nonetheless, bringing the two escapees back into the fold was all the US national champ needed to seal the deal with a massive sprint, kicking from the draft at around 100 meters to go to securing a comfortable win ahead of Aline Seintz and Bethony Botha (Fearless Femme Racing) to make it two for two at Fulton Market for Ryan who has also won her third ACC event of the season.
“I knew if the time came, [my teammates] were ready to throw down,” Ryan said after the finish. “It seemed that the field was happy to let those two riders roll away, so I told Holly to send it.
“I kind of messed up and got a little too far back, there were some shifts in the peloton. It kind of swirls in there, so I got swarmed and I had to come from far back. I just tried to tick off people on the final straightaway and give it everything I had.”
While this is Ryan’s third ACC win of the summer, she is only third in the overall standings since she has only started three of the five races. The only rider who can challenge the overall lead of Seitz is Cyr, but a lot would have to happen for Cyr to close the 24 point gap in St. Louis.
- Kendall Ryan— L39ion of Los Angeles
- Aline Seitz — UTC Butcherbox
- Bryony Botha — Fearless Femme Racing
- Claudia Marcks — Ccache x Bodywrap
- Skylar Schneider — SD Worx Protime
- Paula Munoz — Fearless Femme Racing
- Andrea Cyr — Fount Cycling Guild
- Josephine Peloquin — LA Swea
- Rylee McMullen — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28
- Jenna Nestman — Kingdom Elite Racing
Women’s ACC overall standings
- Aline Seitz — UTC Butcherbox Cycling — 160 points
- Andrea Cyr — Fount Cycling Guild — 134
- Kendall Ryan — L39ion of Los Angeles — 110
- Rylee McMullen — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 — 103
- Makayla MacPherson — CCB p/b Levine Law — 82
- Odette Lynch — Fearless Femme Racing — 66
- Marlies Mejias — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 — 64
- Jenna Nestman — Kingdom Elite Racing — 59
- Bryony Botha — Fearless Femme Racing — 58
- Arielle Verhaaren — Automatic Racing — 56
Women’s ACC sprint standings
- Rylee McMullen — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 — 11 points
- Olivia Cummins — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 — 8
- Andrea Cyr — Fount Cycling Guild — 6
Women’s team standings
- UTC Butcherbox Cycling — 242 points
- Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 — 233
- Fount Cycling Guild — 173
The men followed the women with their turn at the fifth of the six ACC races of the season. Unlike the women, however, the race for the ACC points and the win were likely to be decided amongst the same riders as the best sprinters in the peloton have been locked in battle all summer long.
Between Maurice Ballerstedt (Rose Bikes), Brody McDonald (Golden State Blazers), Danny Summerhill (L39ion of Los Angeles), and Lucas Bourgoyne (Cadence Cyclery), all eyes would be on one and other as each could theoretically move into the red leaders jersey with a win on Fulton Market.
The big variable heading into the race was how would Richard Holec ride, as the Cadence Cyclery rider had been dominating the Chicago Grit omnium through the first nine days. Holec was far back on the ACC individual standings, but clearly had flying form and was, on paper, just as fast if not faster than the other four riders. His power, mixed with the other strong teams on the start list like MitoQ NZ Cycling Project, L39ion of Los Angeles, and the Golden State Blazers provided plenty of intrigue as the attacks started rolling early in the race.
A key subplot in all of this is the ACC mid race sprint battle between Summerhill and Owen Gillott (Chaney Window and Doors Pastaria). The two have been trading blows in the competition and essentially trading the green jersey each round. Their fight for points spilled over into the racing action as both Gillott and Summerhill were present in a massive ten-plus rider break away before the halfway point. Not only did the move have Gillott and Summerhill, but also Summerhill’s teammate Robin Carpenter and both Holec and Bourgoyne for Cadence. This set off alarm bells once the group’s gap hit 20 seconds as the move would have essentially ended the chances of McDonald and Ballerstedt winning the ACC overall.
Nevertheless, after the mid race sprint, which Summerhill won over Gillott, the group exploded and the race came back together.
More attacking followed, but never amounted to much of a gap as the flat course kept things from getting out of hand. Primes would start some moves, the group would stretch, and then it would all come back together. One strong move from James Gardener (MitoQ NZ Cycling Project) got a decent gap, but a solo rider never stood a chance on a course like Fulton Market. Everything was turning towards the sprinters as the ACC favorites gathered near the front.
With a lap to go it looked like the team and sprinter who was going to get it right was L39ion of Los Angeles with Carpenter setting up a resurgent Justin Williams to lead out Summerhill. They had the position and the numbers for that final lap, but with a long drag to the line those in the wheels still had a chance.
Summerhill gave it a great run, with a long sprint and a high peak power north of 1,600 watts, but Holec emerged from the wheels and stormed past in the final meters to the line. The Cadence Cyclery rider was simply too quick, as he has been all week.
“Last year, day six, I crashed out and had a concussion — it didn't end so well,” Holec said after the race. “So to come back and win not only five stages but also the GC, it's been amazing.”
The win from Holec is the third win for Cadence Cyclery on the ACC this year with their third different rider. While supporting Holec has essentially taken Bourgoyne out of the fight for the overall ACC win, the race has all but guaranteed Cadence Cyclery is going to walk away from the summer with an overall ACC title and a long list of wins on America’s premier road racing calendar.
- Richard Holec — Cadence Cyclery
- Danny Summerhill — L39ion of Los Angeles
- Maurice Ballerstedt — Rose Bikes
- Brody McDonald — Golden State Blazers
- Lucas Bourgoyne — Cadence Cyclery
- Dusan Kalaba — Parks Law Firm All Stars
- Christian Ignacio Arriagada — MBO Racing
- Brandon Feehery — South Chicago Wheelmen
- Michael Garrison — MGR
- James Wilson — MitoQ NZ Cycling Project
Men’s ACC overall standings
- Maurice Ballerstedt — Rose Bikes — 153 points
- Danny Summerhill — L39ion of Los Angeles — 150
- Brody McDonald — Golden State Blazers — 146
- Lucas Bourgoyne — Cadence Cyclery — 138
- Dusan Kalaba — Parks Law Firm All Stars — 124
- Richard Holec — Cadence Cyclery — 60
- Luke Fetzer — Cadence Cyclery — 51
- Tim Smith — Chaney Windows and Doors Pasteria — 49
- Kyle Tiesler — UTC Butcherbox — 43
- Dario Rapps — DCC — 40
Men’s ACC sprint classification
- Danny Summerhill — L39ion and Los Angeles — 20 points
- Owen Gillott — Chaney Windows and Doors Pasteria — 19
- Ben Elumbaugh — RF Foundation p/b George’s Cycles — 6
Men’s ACC team standings
- Cadence Cyclery — 268 points
- Golden State Blazers — 164
- L39ion of Los Angeles — 150
Photo Credit: Ethan Glading
