Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli's Olivia Dillon Finishes in Top Ten Overall at North Star Grand Prix!

Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli's Olivia Dillon Finishes in Top Ten Overall at North Star Grand Prix! Tour of America's Dairyland Roster Announced Photo Credits Jonathan Devich Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli brought a versatile squad of sprinters, time trialists, and strong all-arounders to the North Star Grand Prix in Minnesota.  Day 1 - stage two (stage 1 was a morning time trial), at the St. Paul Criterium Dillon took a solo flyer to win the first sprint points competition ten laps into the race, and was able to hold her solo move for the next five laps.  With time bonuses on the line, teams were not willing to let Dillon remain off the front and she was eventually reeled back.  However, Dillon had a different plan and several laps later, she broke away again from the pack for the next sprint points competition with 8 laps to go, securing her place as the "Penn Cycle Most Aggressive Rider".  The fast paced and technical course was filled with many crashes, one of which caused Lindsay Bayers and Whitney Schultz to go down late in the race. Both riders were OK and able to start the next day's stage. Lenore Pipes held great position in the final laps ending the day with an impressive 6th place finish.   Photo Credits Jonathan Devich    Dillon continued to ride strong through the remaining stages and heading into the final stage sat 11th overall in the general classification (GC) and 2nd in the sprints point classification.  The final stage, The Stillwater Criterium, includes the famed Chilkoot Hill, with an average gradient of 18%. The famed hill climb along with the very technical downhill turns always weeds out the field very quickly, giving the stage the reputation as one of the hardest in North America. Olivia Dillon, went in with high motivation to finish in the GC top ten and as a result of smart, tactical racing she did it!  Dillon finished in 10th place overall and took 3rd place in the overall sprint competition. A small squad consisting of Erica Allar, Jessi Prinner and Jen Purcell will head to the Tour of America Dairyland's starting on June 19th in Wisconsin. Two of the 11 events fall on the NCC Calendar - on Saturday, June 21st the Giro d' Grafton and Sunday, June 22nd The Waukesha Carl Zach Cycling Classic.  Both events will be key races the squad will certainly look to secure podium spots to help Allar maintain her overall lead in the NCC individual competition. Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli is also looking to re-gain the top spot back in the Team Overall Classification.     Ready to ride like the pros? Check out these tips from Team Colavita riders and staff:  Click here to read Olivia Dillon's "Mixing it Up!"

Colavita Remains on Top in the NCC!

Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli Women's Pro Team Announces Split Roster for the NCC Weekend at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and Air Force Classic! Colavita Remains on Top in the NCC!        Photo credits Jonathan Devich Edison, NJ - Team Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli continues to dominate the NCC, overtaking the top spot in the overall Team Standings this past weekend, while continuing to hold onto the top Individual Standings (Erica Allar). With both top spots secured by Colavita/Fine Cooking/Stradalli the team will look to send split squads to both NCC events this weekend.   In Tulsa, OK the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough is a 3-day omnium event that includes three technical courses starting on Friday evening at 7:55pm with the McNellie's Group Blue Dome Criterium. The weekend wraps up Sunday afternoon with the River Parks Criterium which includes the famed, "Cry Baby Hill". The roster will include: Erica Allar, Jen Purcell, Jessi Prinner, and Mary Zider. Purcell took second place in last year's Cry Baby Hill Crit and third place in the overall omnium. The Air Force Association Cycling Classic's Clarendon Cup will start on Saturday morning in the heart of Arlington's Clarendon business district on a technical 1Km course and wrap on Sunday with the Crystal Cup's 2Km course. The roster will include: Lindsay Bayer, Laura Brown, Olivia Dillon, Lenore Pipes, and Whitney Schultz. Bayer took 2nd place in last year's Crystal Cup and 3rd place in the overall omnium

Team Colavita/Fine Cooking Takes 4th and 5th at the Amgen Tour of California Women's Circuit Race and Individual Time Trial

Team Colavita/Fine Cooking Takes 4th and 5th at the Amgen Tour of California Women's Circuit Race and Individual Time Trial Team Colavita/Fine Cooking squeezed onto the jammed packed start line of the inaugural Amgen Tour of California Women's Circuit Race this past Sunday. With a registered field of 109 riders, consisting of some of the top talent in the world, Team Colavita/Fine Cooking knew they'd have their work cut out right from the opening gun.  The atmosphere in downtown Sacramento was electric, as hundreds of race fans lined the course.  The 1.5 mile four corner circuit course, on a very windy day, made for an exciting day of bike racing. The women's teams were not holding back as attacks and counter attacks were constantly being fired off the front. With no attacks looking promising on the wide open course the trend turned toward keeping the pace blistering fast as average laps speeds exceeded 27 mph! As things got down to the business end, it became clear this race was going to be won out of a field sprint.  With three laps to go Team Colavita/Fine Cooking was preparing to organize for sprinter Erica Allar when disaster struck and riders Mary Zider and Jen Purcell were caught up in a race-ending crash.  Allar quickly adjusted with her remaining teammates Olivia Dillon, Laura Brown and Lindsay Bayer to set up the final sprint. Allar showed great positioning into the final lap of the race and was able to hold on for a chaotic, yet solid fourth place finish.  The team was very pleased with this result in a field of this caliber.   The following day would see Laura Brown, representing Team Colavita/Fine Cooking, in the invitation-only Women's Individual Time Trial.  The time trial course consisted of a 12.5 mile loop that began and finished in Folsom's historic district.  Brown has consistently proven her ability to deliver in time trial events and displayed that once again in a stacked field of time trial specialists. Brown turned in a very impressive time, finishing in 5th place, just :40 seconds off of the winning time.

Team Colavita / Fine Cooking - Stradalli Pictures from Winston-Salem UCI Race 2014

Photograph by Jonathan Devich