Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle Wins the NCC
Overall Team Competition!
Erica Allar- 2nd Place - USA
Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships
High Point, NC - Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle competed in the USA Cycling
Professional Criterium National Championships this past Saturday afternoon in
High Point, NC. This was the second consecutive year the National Championships
have been held in High Point, which offers some unique features never seen in a
crit course. This year's race was on a new, 0.95-mile course that once again
started and finished at the covered Mendenhall Transportation Terminal. In the
early laps of the race Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle traded blows with United Health
Care (UHC) at attacking the peloton. Each team attempted to send a rider
up the road, but was unsuccessful, until Team Colativa/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle's Mary
Zider attacked the field. Zider was able to get away from other riders
that attempted to go with her, and ended up on a solo break that reached a gap
of nearly 15 seconds. Zider's move forced the UHC riders to move to
the front of the peloton and chase her down. Once Zider was caught, UHC's
Alison Powers countered with a solo move of her own. Many riders
remembered Powers winning last year's race out of a break, so her move was
quickly brought back. Multiple attacks continued to fire off the front of
the race making it a very exciting and animated race as moves by the top teams
would continue to dwindle down the field. Inside of 25 laps, Alison
Powers threw out another vicious attack. This time she was marked by Mary
Zider glued to her wheel as she launched out of the peloton. Inside of 20 laps
Power and Zider continued to drive their break remaining away from the field
for nearly 10 laps and building a nearly 20 second gap. Several teams
moved riders to the front and began chipping away at the Zider/Powers time
gap. After a determined effort by the field Zider and Powers were pulled
back with just over 10 laps to go. In the closing laps of the race the
heat and intensity of the race, coupled with the additional 30 minutes of
racing (this was a 90 minute crit compared to the typical 60 minute) the field
had been dwindled down to a small group of approximately 25 riders. Team
Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle demonstrated their prowess by animating the race at every
chance possible. Whitney Shultz was able to sprint out and grab a late
race prime worth $500! Jessica Prinner and Jen Purcell worked tirelessly
in the closing laps to cover moves that allowed Erica Allar to challenge for
the sprint finish.
Mary Zider
(with Alison Powers) drives the break
The race was thrown a curve ball with 3 laps to go as reigning
champion Alison Powers, Tina Pic, Mary Zider and other riders were caught in an
untimely crash in turn 1. The crash caused chaos for many teams, but Team
Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle's remaining riders protected Allar, who remained
upright and in good position n her Stradalli R7 to tackle the final laps. Out of the final corner
Allar positioned herself well and sprinted like a demon, only to be nipped at
the line. Allar's efforts made for a very close and exciting finish, all
while grabbing the team an impressive 2nd place finish at the USA Cycling
Criterium National Championships.
Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle finally sealed the deal on winning the
National Criterium Calendar (NCC) Overall Team Standing competition. The
team was able to capture the team competition with one race left on the
calendar, the TD Bank Mayor's
Cup, in Boston, MA on September 20. Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle ended the
calendar with 1,835 points followed by United Health Care in second place with
1,365 points. Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle dominated the NCC competition with
Erica Allar winning the Individual Competition with her Stradalli R7 by a large margin over second
place finisher Tina Pic of Fearless Femme.
Up next for Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Cycle is the last stop on the
NCC, the TD Bank Mayor's Cup,
on September 20th in downtown Boston, MA.
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