Team Optum pb Kelly Benefit Strategies used a well-executed leadout to put Ken Hanson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) in perfect position to speed to victory at the 2012 Herman Miller USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship.
Hanson outsprinted Brad Huff (Springfield, Mo./Jelly Belly Cycling Team) down the finishing straight to earn the Stars-and-Stripes jersey. For Huff, it was the second time in as many years that he was runner-up. Last year he lost a close finish to Eric Young (Boulder, Colo./BISSELL Pro Cycling Team), who placed fourth today. Bradley White (Holland, Mich./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) was third and K Frank Pipp (Boulder, Colo./BISSELL Pro Cycling Team) rounded out the podium in fifth.
In front of excited crowds lining the streets of downtown Grand Rapids, teams started to jockey for position as the laps remaining entered the single digits. At 11 riders strong, BISSELL Pro Cycling Team was one of the first to start massing at the front as they looked to set up defending champion Young. Jelly Belly Cycling Team was another that put forth strong efforts for its sprinters. But as the laps ticked down, the riders of Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies took over. It was all Optum at the front with three, two and one lap to go, and it paid off with a national title.
“The team was perfect today,” said Hanson, who has wins this year at the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix crits, and currently ranks fifth in the National Criterium Calendar.
2012 Herman Miller USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship
1. Ken Hanson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
2. Brad Huff (Springfield, Mo./Jelly Belly Cycling Team)
3. Bradley White (Holland, Mich./UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team)
4. Eric Young (Boulder, Colo./BISSELL Pro Cycling Team)
5. K Frank Pipp (Boulder, Colo./BISSELL Pro Cycling Team)
6. Alexander Candelario (Reno, Nev./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
7. John Murphy (Asheville, N.C./Kenda 5 Hour Energy p/b Geargrinder)
8. Andy Jacques-Maynes (Watsonville, Calif./Kenda 5 Hour Energy p/b Geargrinder)
9. Luke Keough (Sandwich, Mass./Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop)
10. Andrew Dahlheim (Austin, Texas/BISSELL Pro Cycling Team)
