Womens Race – Kendall Ryan Wins Dana Point Grand Prix for Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank
The Dana Point Criterium was full of attacks from the gun. The team worked hard to bring the breaks back and on several occasions Lauren Stephens and Nicolle Bruderer were instigators of attacks to put the other teams under pressure. With four laps to go the Team got organized for a field sprint and Lauren Stephens gave Kendall a great lead out to take the win.
Sports Director Ed Beamon commented, “Kendall is from Southern California, in good form and as preparation for the China World Tour race next week we really wanted a field sprint finish. Madeleine did a great job patrolling the front nearly all the race. As we planned it came down to a field sprint and Lauren gave Kendall a killer lead out.”
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Photos © Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com
DPGP winner Kendall Ryan explained, “Maddie and Nicolle did a great job keeping the race together for the team. Lauren took me into the final corner and I just popped out around her. I really could not have done this without my teammates, they made the race easy for me.”
The Dana Point Criterium was full of attacks from the gun. The team worked hard to bring the breaks back and on several occasions Lauren Stephens and Nicolle Bruderer were instigators of attacks to put the other teams under pressure. With four laps to go the Team got organized for a field sprint and Lauren Stephens gave Kendall a great lead out to take the win.
Rounding out the top three was Elizabeth Williams (Hagens Berman Supermint) in 2nd and Mandy Heintz (Visit Dallas DNA) in 3rd.
Men’s Race – Justin Williams (Cylance Pro Cycling) Wins DPGP
The Pro men’s race was animated with several small breakaway attempts, but the breakaways did not seem to stick as they have in years past.
Cylance Pro Cycling took control of the race early to monitor any dangerous moves and attacks. As the race gained speed and momentum with 8 laps to go, the team assimilated on the front to begin the leadout at 5 laps remaining. Hunter Grove (USA), Orlando Garibay (MEX) and Andres Diaz (COL) were pivotal in the final laps to bring back the late attacks and keep the speed high into the final corners. Menzies used his experience and legendary power to take the team first into the final corner. The sheer magnitude of his final effort, allowed Scott Law (AUS) to complete the leadout for victory as Williams crossed the line first, followed by his two teammates to finish 1,2,3.
“The race had a tailwind home straight so it made it for a very fast race, which nullified all of the breakaways and played into our hands since we were hoping for a bunch sprint.” explains Hilton Clarke. “Looking back at Tour of the Gila, we did a perfect leadout in the criterium stage but we didn’t end up with a result there, but none of the guys had their heads down because we all knew we had our leadout dialed. Coming into Dana Point we had our two sprinters join us and we put that same leadout to work coming away with sweeping the podium so we’re really happy!”
“It was a great day for us especially with Cylance being based in Southern California so there was quite a bit of pressure on us to perform. We’ve been knocking on the door so this is quite special for the team everyone did their job perfectly and it’s really difficult to beat us when we do that we’ve been so close to taking the win so this feels extra special and now we’re looking forward to Redlands” says Menzies.
With the Redlands Bicycle Classic starting on Wednesday, both the men’s and women’s Dana Point Grand Prix events attracted strong fields as the Pro riders prepare to race again starting with the Greenspot Time Trial.
