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.
- Janier Acevedo (Team Jamis)
- Brain McNulty (Lux/Stradling)
- 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.
- Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16-RideBiker)
- Katie Donovan (Colavita-Bianchi)
- Jessica Cutler (Colavita-Bianchi)
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- Glendora Mountain Road is a local favorite for riders of all abilities. The San Dimas Stage Race uses the first half of the climb for its stage 1 time trial.
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- The next generation of women cyclists put on an impressive show in the Category 3/4 race.
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- Scotti Lechuga (Hagens Berman Supermint Pro Cycling) will be looking towards Redlands after a solid fourth-place finish in San Dimas.
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- National time trial champion Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16 Pro Cycling) took stage 1 of San Dimas Stage Race, 14 seconds ahead of Katie Donovan (Colavita).
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- Geoffrey Curran (Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team) is a local Southern California rider with a promising future.
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- Mia Manganello (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) settled into a steady pace up the Glendora Mountain Road ascent.
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- With the rest of the team in Europe, Jennifer Tetrick (pictured) and Summer Moak (Twenty16 Pro Cycling) were responsible for keeping national time trial champion Kristin Armstrong in yellow all weekend.
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- Janier Acevedo (Jamis – Sutter Home) took stage 1 of San Dimas Stage Race by eight seconds over 18-year-old Brandon McNulty (LUX Development Cycling Team).
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- The San Dimas Stage Race gives juniors an opportunity to compete on the same course as the professionals.
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- Mia Manganello (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) took stage 2 of the San Dimas Stage Race in front of the Hagens Berman Supermint Pro Cycling Team duo of Lindsay Bayer and Scotti Lechuga.
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- Riders tacked the climb up Heckler’s Hill once every lap. Many riders had this same view as their race slowly slipped away.
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- Alfredo Rodriguez (EP Cyclists) out-sprinted Ulises Castillo (KHS Maxxis JL Velo) to take stage 2 of the San Dimas Stage Race.
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- Bonelli Park contains two fast descents. Speeds exceeding 70kph are often recorded on the short downhill sections.
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- Race leader Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16-Ridebiker) settled into her office for the day.
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- The bottom of the second descent in Bonelli Park contains a tight right-hand corner that was both fun and treacherous.
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- Andrew Dahlheim (Team Arapahoe Resources) on his quest for the polka dot jersey.
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- The Jamis-Sutter Home squad of Janier Acevedo kept a very short leash on all breakaway attempts.
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- Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16-Ridebiker) found herself in a very familiar position during Sunday’s Incycle-Cannondale Old Town Grand Prix.
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- The Hagens Berman Supermint Pro Cycling team was ready for the racing to commence.
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- Kate Wilson (Velo Club LaGrange MIchelob Ultra +21) held her place as the pack flew up the Incycle-Cannondale Old Town Grand Prix race course.
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- Visit Dallas DNA and several other teams tried their best to beat the sprinters.
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- Aussie Lauretta Hanson (Colavita-Bianchi) took the win in front of Visit Dallas DNA riders Mandy Heintz and Mia Manganello.
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- Luis Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home) worked to keep race leader Janier Acevado out of harm’s way during the Incycle-Cannondale Old Town Grand Prix.
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- The breakaway was only given a little bit of room to roam on the final stage. In the end, it was the sprinters that would battle for the win.
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- The Cylance-Incycle team had the race under control as the laps counted down to one to go.
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- Alfredo Rodriguez (EP Cyclists) took his second of two stage victories in front of Corey Williams (Cylance-Incycle) and Ulises Castillo (KHS Maxxis JL Velo).
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- The pro women”s overall GC podium: Kristin Armstrong (Twenty16-Ridebiker), Katie Donovan (Colavita-Bianchi), Jessica Cutler (Colavita-Bianchi), Scotti Lechuga (Hagens Berman Supermint), and Leah Guloien (Trek Redtruck).
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- The pro men’s podium: Janier Acevedo (Jamis – Sutter Home) in the yellow leader’s jersey, Bryan Gomez (Gateway Harley-Davidson-Trek U25 Cycling) in the green sprinter’s jersey, Andrew Dahlheim (Arapahoe Resources) in the polka dot jersey, and Brandon McNulty (LUX Development Cycling Team) in the best young rider’s jersey.