Cylance-Incycle p/b Cannondale brought a young and aggressive team to the highest ranked one-day race in the US, the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic. Team Director Hilton Clarke knew going in it would take a team effort to make our mark on a race with such a stacked field. “For this young team to race the way they did in a prestigious race like that,” said Hilton, “I’m really happy with how it turned out.”
Early on our goal was to be present in the breakaways and race aggressively looking for opportunities in the mid race competitions (KOM and Sprint jerseys). Camilo Zambrano set the tone early taking top honors on the first ascent of Lemon Hill. From there the peloton never got comfortable enough to establish a true breakaway and Philadelphia would see several short lived breakaways throughout the first half of the race.
Three-quarters of the way through the race the peloton had finally grown comfortable with the group of riders up the road, however Cylance-Incycle was not represented. Diego Sandoval and Andres Diaz then made a real brave attack with Luis Lemus of Cycling Academy to try to get across to the lead group. The “monster effort,” as Camilo put it, saw the three riders join the break and stay away for another 12-mile lap. The break ended up getting absorbed and then the team focused on Orlando Garibay and Camilo for the finish.
Hunter Grove then did an amazing job on the last lap bringing Orlando and Camilo to the very front of the race dropping them off in ideal position for the finishing climb. “Hunter was great in his lead out for us, however, once we hit the wall we were 15-20 position,” added Orlando. “I started to gain some spots, maybe like 10 so; I tried as hard as I could to keep the position but at the end wasn’t enough.”
Orlando finished in 14th and Camilo in 19th, putting two Cylance-Incycle p/b Cannondale riders in the top 20. “Everyone was great today,” continued Camilo. “Stephen chasing down moves and keeping us in good position along with Corey, Diego and Diaz getting in the break of the day Hunter helping us with positioning all day and Orlando coming away with the top result of the team.”
Next up for the team will be a dual schedule of the Airforce Cycling Classic and the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough multi-day criterium events.
SoCal’s Doebel-Hickok places Top Ten at UCI Philadelphia International Classic
At one of the most exciting UCI Women’s World Tour races, Cylance Pro Cycling’s Krista Doebel-Hickok finished 9th at the Philadelphia International Classic. The stars of the Women’s World Tour lined up at the top of Manayunk Wall prepared to take on six laps of a challenging 19.7km course for a total of 118km of racing.
Attacks launched throughout the day, and all Cylance Pro Cycling members contributed to the action. In the final lap, Krista and Rossella Ratto—last weekend’s winner of UCI Winston-Salem—stayed in contention up the climb of infamous Manayunk Wall. While Megan Guarnier took the win for Boels-Dolmans, Krista climbed with her signature power and finished just seconds behind the podium of Guarnier, Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) and Alena Amialiusik (Canyon SRAM).
“This is my second time doing Philly,” said Krista, “It is just what I remember: aggressive racing and a brutally painful, punchy climb to the finish.” She also cites her teammate for helping both the physical and mental demands of the climb.
“Rosella, was amazing,” Krista adds. “She helped me position and believed in me more than I would alone. I trusted her to help me position into the final climb, and then I gave everything I had left after a hard race. I wish that had been more, but we have to be proud of how we raced.”
Proud indeed! Three weeks of top ten finishes are a fantastic way to ring in a new season for a new team. Up next, Cylance Pro Cycling heads to England for the Aviva Women’s Tour June 15-19.
Be sure to check out SoCalCycling.com’s Event Calendars for upcoming Road Events, Mountain Bike Events and Fun Rides throughout the season for great cycling events.
