The second annual Colorado Classic Women’s Professional Cycling Race offered the fourth and final stage race for the PRT calendar for professional women. Four days of racing began in Vail with a 35-mile circuit race and an uphill time trial. The final two days in Denver offered a criterium and a 35-mile circuit race. Katie Hall (Saratoga, Calif./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) used her win in the time trial to grab the overall title. She stretched her overall PRT lead to 595 points in the individual standings, an insurmountable 286-point advantage over teammate Leah Thomas (Boulder Creek, Calif.).
“Going 1-2 in the time trial in both the men’s and women’s races is pretty special. While we have a substantial lead that cannot be overtaken from time bonuses alone, our primary goal will be to keep our G.C.,” said, Hall after the second day of racing in Vail, Colorado. She did retain the G.C. lead the next two days in Denver to win the overall title, making it a sweep of all four PRT women’s stage races this season. “I feel consistent in America, but the new year will be a whole other challenge for me. I’m ready for that challenge.”
Hall conquered the 9.8-mile time trial course by finishing near the top of Vail Pass 26 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, teammate Thomas. With a second-place in the G.C., Thomas gained a 20-point margin in the PRT standings to pass Sara Bergen (Vancouver, B.C./Rally Cycling) to move into second place overall.
The only additional move in the Top 10 came from 22-year-old Sara Poidevin (Canmore, Alb./Rally Cycling), who used her sixth place on G.C. in Colorado to move from ninth to seventh. Her teammate Emma White (Delanson, N.Y.), who scored a bronze in the Vail criterium and a silver in the Denver circuit race, moved from 12th to 10th overall. Another Rally rider, Abigail Mickey (Boulder, Colo.), secured the third step on the G.C. podium at the Colorado Classic and surged into the Top 20 of the PRT standings, 19th overall.
In the team standings, Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank made the biggest move in August with four podiums at the Colorado Classic. TIBCO-SVB moved into the Top 5 overall. Coming off a victory at the Criterium Championship of Quebec, Lex Albrecht (Barrie, Ont.) took second place in the Vail circuit race. Earning three trips to the podium was Kendall Ryan (Camarillo, Calif.), including a win in the Denver circuit race. She jumped from 21st to 12th overall in the individual standings. UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling continued its dominant team lead since the beginning of the season, now with a 247-point margin over Rally Cycling.
Commanding the helm in the men’s individual standings for a 14th consecutive week was Gavin Mannion (Fort Collins, Colo./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team), who captured the PRT crown in 2017. He continued his stronghold for the UHC men by winning the time trial stage and overall title at the Colorado Classic. His teammate, Serghei Tvetcov (Lakewood, Calif.), who was 14th on G.C. at the Tour of Utah the week before, finished second in the Vail time trial, and second on G.C. in Colorado. Tvetcov moved from 8th to third overall in the PRT standings.
“This is the most important win of my career,” Mannion said about taking the overall title for men at the Colorado Classic. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. There were moments on stage 3 where I wasn’t sure we’d be able to hold on, but somehow they brought it all back.”
Surging into fourth overall of the PRT standings was UHC teammate Travis McCabe (Prescott, Ariz.), who had two wins and a silver at the Tour of Utah, and a stage win in the 72.1-mile road race in Denver.
“It's pretty awesome. Team strategy paid off perfectly,” McCabe said about winning two stages at the Tour of Utah. For the second year in a row, McCabe has taken home the Utah Sports Commission best sprinter jersey after a week of tough racing through Utah. “I absolutely love Tour of Utah. I'm an Arizona boy and this is the closest I get to having a home race and being at altitude and heat. I love it. The crowds are incredible, and for sure it's one of the hardest races we do at this domestic level all year long."
Other individuals making noise in August included 24-year-old Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo./LottoNL-Jumbo), Kyle Murphy (Townshend, Vt./Rally Cycling), Joe Lewis (Boulder, Colo./Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources), and Brent Bookwalter (Asheville, N.C./BMC Racing Team). Kuss won three climbing stages and the overall G.C. at the Tour of Utah to vault into eighth overall in the PRT standings. Murphy moved to 11th overall with two Top 10s in Utah, including a third place on Stage 2. Lewis moved 15 spots to 18th overall by sprinting to two third-place finishes, and a fourth-place, at the Colorado Classic. Bookwalter moved into the Top 20 after placing fourth on G.C. at the Tour of Utah.
In the PRT men’s team standings, a once-tight competition between UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling and Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling became a 240-point lead for UHC. Elevate-KHS held a solid margin for second, with only 41 points separating the rest of the Top 5. Aevolo Pro Cycling was the big mover in August, jumping three spots to sixth overall. Two of its top 20-year-old riders were Luis Ricardo Villalobos (Mexico City, Mex.) and Gage Hecht (Parker, Colo.). Villalobos, the reigning Mexican time trial champion, had three Top 10s in Utah and won the Best Young Rider classification. Hecht, who won this year’s ASWB Twilight Criterium, won the Vail circuit race in Colorado.
The Utah and Colorado events were the final stage races for the year on the PRT. The final races for the PRT season are criterium events in Missouri and Pennsylvania, with more than $50,000 in total prize money for men and women. Returning on Labor Day weekend is The Gateway Cup, a four-day criterium omnium for men and women in St. Louis. Held Aug. 31-Sept. 3, races held in historic St. Louis neighborhoods. It is one of the longest-running cycling events in the country, entering its 34th year. The Giro Della Montagna* is part of the USA CRITS Championship Series.
The Gateway Cup schedule includes:
- - Tour deLafayette presented by Studio 2108 - Fri., Aug. 31, PRT races 8:15 and 9:15 p.m.
- - Tour de Francis Park - Sat., Sept. 1, PRT races 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
- - Giro Della Montagna* - Sun., Sept. 2, PRT races 3:10 and 4:25 p.m.
- - The Benton Park Classic - Mon., Sept. 3, PRT races 2:30 and 3:35 p.m.
The PRT season finale will be held at the Criterium of Doylestown, part of the Thompson Bucks County Classic, in Doylestown, Penn. on Sept. 9. This year is the 15th running of the famed criterium, known for its massive crowds and challenging 1.4-mile, eight-turn course. The event will feature Sunday live streaming on buckscountyclassic.com for pro women, pro men and the new Brompton Burst races, a folding bike and best dressed competition. The nation’s top professional racers will vie to be the first across the finish line and claim their share of the $24,000 (equal for men and women) prize purse. The high-speed battles include a 25-mile race for the pro women and a 62-mile race for the pro men, which circles the heart of Doylestown and the Doylestown Arts Festival.
The Thompson Bucks County Classic schedule includes:
- Children’s Races - 10:30 a.m.
- Doylestown Health Pro Women - 11:30 a.m.
- Brompton Burst - 12:30 p.m.
- Thompson Pro Men - 1 p.m.
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/series/2018-pro-road-t
Women's Individual Standings
- Katie Hall (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 595 pts
- Leah Thomas (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 309 pts
- Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling) - 259 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) - 295 pts
- Sam Bassetti (Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling) - 198 pts
- Serghei Tvetcov (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 190 pts
- Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) - 185 pts
- Brendan Rhim (Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources) - 181 pts
Women’s Team Standings
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling - 1099 pts
- Rally Cycling - 893 pts
- Twenty20 p/b Sho-Air - 472 pts
- Hagens Berman / Supermint - 388 pts
- Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank - 332 pts
Men’s Team Standings
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team - 911 pts
- Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team - 671 pts
- Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources - 511 pts
- Rally Cycling - 473 pts
- Hagens Berman Axeon - 470 pts
