Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 18, 2018) - - Four days of racing in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas provided the second stop for the Pro Road Tour (PRT) at the 41st annual Joe Martin Stage Race. This is the 16th season for the Joe Martin Stage Race to be part of the PRT, and a fourth year as a UCI America Tour stage race.
The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling women dominated the Joe Martin Stage Race, April 12-15, with two riders wearing the pink leader’s jersey sponsored by EPIC Cyclewear across all four days. With three riders finishing in the Top Five of Joe Martin Stage Race, the UHC Pro Cycling team would surge to the top spot in the women’s PRT team standings.
In addition to a stage win and a second-place finish, Katie Hall (Saratoga, Calif.) claimed the General Classification victory in Arkansas, and also the lead for the women’s individual PRT standings. Teammate Leah Thomas (Boulder Creek, Calif.) would finish in the Top 10 all four days and third on G.C. Colombian Diana Peñuelawore the pink jersey first for UHC with the opening stage win on April 12 on the summit finish at Mount Sequoyah, and finished fourth on G.C. Both Thomas and Peñuela are now third and fourth, respectively, in the individual PRT standings.
Sitting in second place in the PRT standings for the women is Canadian Sara Bergen of Rally Cycling, just seven points behind Hall. Bergen won the 64-mile road race at Joe Martin on April 13, which featured an 8 percent gradient on the finishing straight. She finished on the podium for two other stages.
The Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources team played out a similar scenario on the men’s side by taking the yellow leader’s jersey sponsored by EPIC Cyclewear on Day One. With two stage wins, a silver and the top two spots in the G.C. at the Joe Martin Stage Race, the Greenville, S.C.-based team took a commanding lead in the men’s PRT team standings.
Ruben Companioni (Cuba) of Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources won the men’s 104-mile Stage 1 road race and the G.C. title, moving him into second overall in the men’s PRT individual standings. His teammate, Brendan Rhim (Greenville, S.C.), finished second on Stage 1 and won the uphill time trial for Stage 3 to finish second on G.C. With a second-place finish at the Sunny King Criterium on April 7, Rhim now takes the lead in the men’s PRT individual standings. Third place in the PRT standings is Australian Lionel Mawditt (Project Echelon Racing), who finished third on G.C. at Joe Martin.
The Joe Martin Stage Race began as the Fayetteville Spring Classic Cycle race in 1978. It has become one of the longest and continually held road races in the country. The event is sponsored by Experience Fayetteville, the visitors bureau for Fayetteville, Ark.
Next on the schedule will be the Tour of the Gila, April 18-22, located in and around Silver City, New Mexico. This five-day stage race is a UCI 2.2 event, with 18 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams competing at the 32nd Tour of the Gila in the desert southwest. Follow on Twitter (@tourofthegila #gila2018) and Facebook (TouroftheGila).
The PRT includes a mix of quality criteriums, omniums, road races, stage races and one individual time trial across 16 states, with 20 events taking place from April to September. The PRT features the nation's top road race events and is open to both professional and amateur cyclists. Individual and team champions are crowned at the conclusion of the calendar.
Photo Credit: SnowyMountain Photography www.snowymountainphotography.com
