COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The second half of the 2018 Pro Road Tour (PRT) calendar had a fast start with three competitions in Idaho and Michigan, July 13-14. The newest PRT event was the Chrono Kristin Armstrong, a UCI 1.2 individual time trial event for men and women, held in Boise, Idaho. It was followed on July 14 with the ASWB Twilight Criterium, held for a 32nd time in downtown Boise. Also on July 14, competitors in the upper Midwest took part in the second annual Detroit Cycling Championship, presented by the Detroit Athletic Club Foundation.
Wearing the Stars-and-Stripes jersey as the reigning USA Cycling Pro ITT women’s national champion, Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif./PX4) took the inaugural women’s title at the Chrono Kirstin Armstrong. She edged two TWENTY20 p/b Sho-Air teammates in the 23.4-kilometer race against the clock, Chloe Dygert-Owen (Brownsburg, Ind.) by seven seconds and Jasmin Duehring (Mission Viejo, Calif.) by 1 minute, 51 seconds.
The second-place finish by Dygert-Owen moved her from sixth to fourth overall in the PRT women’s individual standings, and teammate Duehring moved from up one position to seventh overall. Neben made her first appearance in the standings with the win in 25th position. The individual standings continued to be led by Katie Hall (Saratoga, Calif./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) with 480 total points, a 221-point lead over Sara Bergen (Vancouver, B.C./Rally Cycling) and a 257-point advantage over teammate Leah Thomas (Boulder Creek, Calif.).
"The Chrono Kristin Armstrong was a great event. The course was heavy and rode like a true time trial course, exactly what I would have expected based on who designed it,” said Neben, referring to event host and three-time Olympic TT gold medalist Kristin Armstrong. “It also reminded me of some of the time trials in the middle of French stage races in which I have competed over the years - open roads through the countryside with wind and undulating terrain. It was also special to win in the Stars-and-Stripes jersey. Wearing the jersey is an honor, and winning is never an assumption!”
At the Detroit Cycling Championship, ISCorp powered by Progress Software made it a clean sweep for the women. Samantha Schneider (West Allis, Wisc./ISCorp powered by Progress Software) powered to her third PRT title of the year. Her teammates Yussely Soto (Mexico) and Josie Talbot (Australia) finished second and third, respectively. The win by Schneider moved her from seventh to eighth overall in the women’s individual standings.
The sweep at the new venue at Beacon Park in the heart of Detroit also moved the ISCorp powered by Progress Software team into fifth overall in the PRT women’s team standings, with 274 points. The Top Four teams remained unchanged, led by UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team with 898 points. TWENTY20 p/b Sho-Air continued in third place overall and gained the most points of any team, with the two podium finishes in the ITT as well as a win by Jennifer Valente (San Diego, Calif.) in the ASWB Twilight Criterium.
On the men’s side, Serghei Tvetcov (Lakewood, Calif./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) followed up his TT win at the Tour of the Gila with a decisive victory in Boise. He finished 52 seconds ahead of Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz./Rally Cycling) for the men’s title at Chrono Kristin Armstrong. Tvetcov moved from 13th in the PRT men’s individual standings to eighth overall. There were no other changes in the Top 10 of the men’s standings, led by UnitedHeathcare’s, Gavin Mannion (Fort Collins, Colo.).
Strong finishes in Idaho by another UHC rider, Lachlan Norris (Denver, Colo.), helped push the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team back into the top spot of the PRT men’s team standings. Norris finished fourth in the Chrono Kristin Armstrong and seventh the next day in the ASWB Twilight Criterium. UHC had a slim nine-point advantage over Elevate KHS Pro Cycling, which saw Jordan Cheyne (Canada) finish third and George Simpson (Fort Collins, Colo.) finish fourth at the Boise TT.
The big movers in the PRT men’s team standings in July were Cyclus Sports Starlight Factory, up three spots to eighth overall, and Aevolo Pro Cycling, a three-spot jump to ninth. Cyclus Sports had two riders on the podium at the Detroit Cycling Championship, Corey Davis (Danville, Virg.) in second and Ben Renkema (Greenville, S.C.) in third. Aevolo’s 20-year-old Gage Hecht (Parker, Colo.) took the checkered flag and won the ASWB Twilight Criterium, followed by his teammate Imeh Nsek (Canada) in third.
The next PRT stops will be in August for two UCI stage races, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, Aug. 6-12, and the Colorado Classic, Aug. 16-19. The Colorado Classic will host four days of racing for women and men, while the Utah race is a UCI 2.HC stage race for men only.
The PRT includes a mix of quality criteriums, omniums, road races, stage races and one individual time trial across 15 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.
Find full PRT Standings online - http://legacy.usacycling.org/s...
Women's Individual Standings
- Katie Hall (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 480 pts
- Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling) - 259 pts
- Leah Thomas (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 223 pts
- Chloe Dygert-Owen (Twenty20 p/b Sho-Air) - 211 pts
- Diana Peñuela (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 208 pts
Men's Individual Standings
- Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 228 pts
- Brendan Rhim (Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources) - 181 pts
- Sam Bassetti (Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling) - 161 pts
- Lionel Mawditt (Project Echelon Racing) - 159 pts
- Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) - 157 pts
Women’s Team Standings
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling - 898 pts
- Rally Cycling - 698 pts
- Twenty20 p/b Sho-Air - 442 pts
- Hagens Berman / Supermint - 363 pts
- ISCorp powered by Progress Software - 274 pts
Men’s Team Standings
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team - 631 pts
- Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team - 622 pts
- Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources - 466 pts
- Rally Cycling - 395 pts
- Hagens Berman Axeon - 368 pts
Photo Credit: Craig Huffman
