USA Cycling updates Pro Road Tour rankings after crit weekend

Criterium racing took center stage for USA Cycling’s Pro Road Tour (PRT) in early June with three events across three states — the Glencoe Grand Prix in Glencoe, Ill. on June 2; the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough in Tulsa, Okla. on June 8-10; and the Armed Forces Cycling Classic p/b The Boeing Company in Arlington, Virg. on June 9-10. Sprinters grabbed attention and points to shake up the PRT standings for teams and individuals.

Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling amassed 193 points in June to jump from third to the top of the PRT men’s team standings. The Texas-based UCI Continental team used seven podium finishes at the races in Oklahoma and Virginia this past weekend to jump over UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling and Holowesko-Citadel presented by Arapahoe Resources, who are now second and third, respectively.

Elevate-KHS swept the Criterium Omnium standings from the three days of racing at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough, with the overall Omnium title going to Jose Alfredo Rodriquez Victoria (Mexico). At the Armed Forces Cycling Classic, the split squad nailed a victory on the second of two days of racing by Cory Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.).

“Last year, the Elevate-KHS team won 31 races and had multiple podium finishes at the Tour’s of Utah, Colorado, Gila, and Taiwan. We set the bar high, and the riders and staff all exceeded our expectations. This year, through the end of May, we have raised the bar higher, and the team has responded by winning 33 races already and winning our first UCI race at Joe Martin this year,” said Paul Abrahams, team director for Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling, about his team moving into first place in the PRT standings with a flood of recent success. “The guys have really bonded together and the results speak to their commitment to each other. It is really exciting to watch them grow as a complete unit.”

Rodriquez finished second twice and added a 10th-place finish in Tulsa, which boosted him from 14th to sixth overall in the PRT men’s individual standings. His teammates, Sam Bassetti (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and Scott Law (Australia), also made big moves on the individual charts based on successes in Tulsa. Bassetti, who won the road race at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic on Memorial Day, jumped four spots to third overall with a victory on the opening day in Tulsa and then a third-place finish on Saturday. Law secured the win on Sunday, after taking the bronze in the Friday contest. He moved from 23rd to 11th overall.

Other notables to make moves in the PRT men’s standings were Jarret Oldham (Chicago, Ill./First Internet Bank Cycling Team) and Daniel Holloway (Boulder, Colo./Texas Roadhouse). With a victory in the 12th edition of the Glencoe Grand Prix, the Glencoe Educational Foundation Pro/1 race, Oldham vaulted 11 spots and moved into the Top 25 of the men’s individual standings. His Domestic Elite team moved into the Top 10. Holloway won the second of three criteriums in Tulsa, jumping 27 spots and also landing in the Top 25, now 23rd overall and one spot in front of Oldham.

UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, with 898 total points, and Rally Cycling, with 670 total points, remained in command of the top two spots for the PRT women’s team standings. Teams across the Top 6 remained unchanged, but recent criterium showings by Hagens Berman / Supermint, Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank and ISCorp powered by Progress Software narrowed the margins between these squads, fourth to sixth place respectively, by less than 90 points. The Feed Hungry Kids Project team jumped 68 points in the past two weeks to move into seventh overall, with three riders in the Top 5 at the Glencoe Grand Prix.

On the heels of criterium victories in Rochester, N.Y. and Winston-Salem, N.C. at the end of May, the ISCorp powered by Progress Software squad continued to tally podium finishes and wins in Tulsa. Samantha Schneider (West Aliss, Wisc.) used a win (Friday), a bronze (Saturday) and a seventh place (Sunday) to earn the Omnium title for women. In the past two weeks, Schneider has earned 63 points and moved from 13th to 9th overall in the women’s individual standings. Her teammate, Jose Talbot (Australia), had two podium finishes and a fourth place in Tulsa to move from 21st to 14th in the overall standings.

Also moving into the Top 20 for the first time this season was Skylar Schneider (West Aliss, Wisc./Boels Dolmans Cycling Team), the younger sister of Samantha, who is 18th overall. She sprinted to her second win of the PRT season in Glencoe, taking the title at the American Center for Spine & Neurology Women’s Pro/1/2 race.

Hagens Berman / Supermint used a split squad to gain spots on the podium at both Tulsa and Arlington events. Peta Mullens (Australia) earned a bronze and a silver on bookend Tulsa races around a criterium victory on Saturday by Jen Luebke (Bend, Ore.). Luebke moved from 14th to 13th overall, and Mullens made her first appearance on the individual chart in 23rd position, tied with Kathryn Buss (Blacksburg, Virg./Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank). At the Armed Forces Cycling Classic, the team had two Top 10 finishes, including a third on Saturday by Harriet Owen (Great Britain), who moved from 35th to 27th overall.

Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank dominated the Armed Forces Cycling Classic in Virginia with seven Top 10’s, led by back-to-back team victories from Alison Jackson (Mission, B.C.) and Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.). Ryan was second behind Jackson on the first day in Arlington. In the overall standings, Ryan was 20th and Jackson was 21st.

The Top 8 of the PRT women’s individual standings saw no movement, with Katie Hall (Saratoga, Calif./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) in first place over Sara Bergen (Vancouver, B.C./Rally Cycling) with a 221-point advantage.

The PRT calendar takes a mid-season break in June for athletes to prepare and compete at the USA Cycling Pro Road, ITT and Crit National Championships, held in Knoxville, Tenn. June 21-24. PRT competitions in July offer a new time trial event and two criteriums. Boise, Idaho will host two events July 13-14. A new UCI 1.2 individual time trial event for men and women, the Chrono Kristin Armstrong, will take place on Friday. The ASWB Twilight Criterium will return on Saturday of event weekend in downtown Boise for its 32nd anniversary. Use Facebook to follow the Chrono Kristin Armstrong (ChronoKristinArmstrong) and the ASWB Twilight Criterium (BoiseTwilightCriterium).

The second annual Detroit Cycling Championship will be held on Saturday, July 14, in Detroit, Mich. The Detroit Cycling Championship, presented by the Detroit Athletic Club Foundation, will offer a new course adjacent to Beacon Park in the heart of Detroit. The Motor City has rich history in cycling dating back to the late 1800s. The first bike ride in Detroit was held in 1868. In 1879 the Detroit Bicycle Club was founded and in 1893 the Unique Cycling Club was formed for women. To follow the Detroit Cycling Championship, visit Twitter (@detroit_cycling),  Facebook (DetroitCycling) and and Instagram (Detroit_Cycling).

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.

Cancellation of North Star Grand Prix
More than 250 of the best cyclists in North America, and thousands of fans, were expected to attend this year’s five-day, six stage North Star Grand Prix in Minnesota. The event was canceled in mid-May. The event was scheduled for June 13-17, with stages in St. Paul, Cannon Falls, Minneapolis, North Mankato and Stillwater.

“Recent changes beyond our control forced our team to make this difficult decision,” explained Brendon Hale, race director for the North Star Grand Prix. “A key factor was solidifying course venues including a recent change of location for our St. Paul Criterium and the late notification of a complex road construction schedule in a part of Minneapolis that would have made it impossible to hold the Uptown Criterium, the most popular stage of the event. Relocating the event at this late date was cost and resource prohibitive. The combination of timing, resource and fiscal factors make it impossible for our organization to produce the quality of event which our partners, fans and athletes expect. Our team of volunteers are using this as an opportunity to gather, re-evaluate, build and strengthen the North Star Grand Prix to come back bigger and better than ever in 2019.”

Find full PRT Standings online – http://legacy.usacycling.org/ series/2018-pro-road-t

Women’s Individual Standings:

1. Katie Hall (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) – 480 pts
2. Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling) – 259 pts
3. Leah Thomas (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) – 223 pts
4. Diana Peñuela (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) – 208 pts
5. Edwige Pitel (QCW Breakawaybikes.com p/b JLVelo) – 197 pts

Men’s Individual Standings

1. Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) – 228 pts
2. Brendan Rhim (Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources) – 181 pts
3. Sam Bassetti (Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling) – 161 pts
4. Lionel Mawditt (Project Echelon Racing) – 159 pts
5. Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) – 157 pts

Women’s Team Standings

1. UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling – 898 pts
2. Rally Cycling – 696 pts
3. Twenty20 p/b Sho-Air – 364 pts
4. Hagens Berman / Supermint – 310 pts
5. Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank – 230 pts

Men’s Team Standings

1. Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team – 582 pts
2. UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team – 568 pts
3. Holowesko-Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources – 466 pts
4. Hagens Berman Axeon – 368 pts
5. Rally Cycling – 354 pts