The 54th Annual Manhattan Beach Grand Prix was held under overcast skies and cool temperatures that is perfect for racing. The MBGP held NCC status for both the Pro Men and Women’s categories and offered a generous and equal prize list of $12,000. The long standing course is shaped like a hot dog and includes a small power climb and two hairpin turns.
In the Pro Men’s race, a breakaway of four riders including Hilton Clarke (United Healthcare), Garrett Olsen (SoCalCycling.com Team), David Santos (KHS-Maxxis-JL Velo) and Rene Corella (IRT Racing) escaped the peloton early in the race. The break worked well together and eventually put 45 seconds on the field.
Photo ©  Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com
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The Astellas Cycling Team put in a good effort to bring the break back for their sprinter Justin Williams along with some strong efforts from Stefano Barberi (California Giant) and some individual riders, but the break held strong. After some cat and mouse tactics in the break with one to go, Hilton Clarke (UHC) was the fastest and took the sprint ahead of David Santos (KHS-Maxxis-JL Velo) in 2nd, Garrett Olsen (SoCalCycling.com Team) in 3rd and Rene Corella (IRT Racing) in 4th. Rahsaan Bahati (Bahati Racing) won the field sprint for 5th.
The Pro Women’s race had an equal prize list of $12,000 as well as NCC status. The sprinter’s teams were happy for the race to come down to a field sprint, which Samantha Schneider (ISCorp) won ahead of Tina Pic (Pepper Palace) in 2nd and Erica Allar (Colavita/Bianchi) in 3rd in a drag to the line from the final hairpin turn.
Check back to SoCalCycling.com for full results from all categories and a photo gallery.
Results
Pro 1 Men
1st Hilton Clarke (United Healthcare)
2nd David Santos (KHS-Maxxis-JL Velo)
3rd Garrett Olsen (SoCalCycling.com Team)
Pro 1/2 Women
1st Samantha Schneider (ISCorp)
2nd Tina Pic (Pepper Palace)
3rd Erica Allar (Colavita/Bianchi)
