It was a busy weekend for domestic racing in the US. While the 2016 USA Cycling Pro Road Tour kicked off with a pair of one-day events in Alabama, on the West Coast some of the country’s best racers battled it out of a three-day stage race in San Dimas.

Now in its 17th year, the San Dimas Stage Race is a highly competitive stage race consisting of a challenging time trail up Glendora Mountain, a classic road race around Bonelli Park and a fast criterium along the palm tree-lined streets of downtown San Dimas.

Race recap:

The race started with an (GC determining) uphill time trial on Glendora Mountain Road, which is among the most popular climbs in Southern California. It twists and turns up the mountain with a varying pitch between 4.5 and 6.5 percent for a total of 1257 feet of elevation. The TT bikes were left at home for this one and racers opted for their road bikes instead.

In the men’s race it was Colombian Janier Acevedo (Team Jamis) who was the fastest up the 4.25 mile-course, completing it in just 14:21.

Acevedo earned himself an eight second lead over 18-year-old Brandon McNulty (Lux/Stradling) and 22 seconds over teammate Kyle Murphy.

With pack finishes, Acevedo managed to hold onto his lead and the yellow jersey for the remainder of the race while McNulty remained in second place, just six seconds behind Acevedo in the GC. The road race, despite its punchy climbs and treacherous descends, didn’t see much of a GC shake-up and the race leaders successfully secured pack finishes. While Neilson Powless (Axeon-Hagens Berman) slotted into third in the GC, Acevedo remained in yellow and McNulty could diminish the lead by only two seconds. Alfredo Rodriguez (EP Cyclists) sprinted to victory in both the road race and the crit, but even the time bonuses couldn’t make up the gap from the hill climb.

1. Janier Acevedo (Team Jamis)
2. Brain McNulty (Lux/Stradling)
3. Neilson Powless (Axeon- Hagens Berman)

In the women’s race, two-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16 RideBiker) showed good form in the time trial, winning the uphill challenge by 14 seconds over second place finisher Katie Donovan (Colavita-Bianchi). With Armstrong in yellow, the Twenty16-RideBiker team rode defensively, securing pack finishes for Armstrong while teams like Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling, Hagens Berman- Supermint and Colavita went on the attack.

The road race, with its treacherous descents saw some bad crashes. While Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling’s Lauren De Crescenzo was involved in a horrific crash in the final 100 meters of the race, teammate Mia Manganello sprinted to stage victory ahead of Hagens Berman Supermint Pro Cycling Team duo of Lindsay Bayer and Scotti Lechuga.

Young Australian sprinter Lauretta Hanson (Colavita) outsprinted the competition in crit to take the win in the final stage.  But no time bonuses could make up Armstrong’s lead and it was the 42-year-old who took home the GC win.

1. Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16-RideBiker)
2. Katie Donovan (Colavita-Bianchi)
3. Jessica Cutler (Colavita-Bianchi)