In the white jersey of Best Young Rider, Sara Poidevin stormed up the final climb Sunday to take victory in stage five of the Cascade Cycling Classic, and came within six seconds of capturing the overall title. In an incredible display of teamwork, the women of Rally Cycling ended the week with three stage wins, second overall, Queen of the Mountains, Best Young Rider and Sprint competitions. Also, the men won two stages, and Evan Huffman claimed third overall.
“I am thrilled to have been able to pull off a win after the team worked so well together throughout the day and week,” said Poidevin. “Kirsti (Lay), Sara (Bergen) and I each got our first UCI stage wins this week, which is exciting! The team was aggressive all day to make up the 16 seconds I needed to take the general classification win. We forced the race leader and her team to put in some big efforts throughout the day, but in the end, I came up to the final climb with Allie (Dragoo), so my last shot at winning the overall was to go for the the time bonus that came with the stage win. It was a tough fight throughout the race, and even though we didn't take the yellow in the end, it was still an incredibly successful week for the team!”
Sara Podevin on the top step of the stage five podium
In the final stage, the team went on the attack early, making it a tough day for overall leader Allie Dragoo and her Sho-Air Twenty20 team. The day was marked by a strong three rider breakaway containing Rally Cycling’s Heidi Franz, Abby Mickey (Colavita Bianchi) and Steph Roorda (Sho-Air Twenty20). Franz’s presence in the breakaway allowed Bergen the freedom to contest the intermediate sprint and retake the green jersey in the Points Competition. Midway through the race, the peloton began to shatter. Seeing an opportunity to grab yellow, stage one winner Lay, dragged Poidevin across the gap. Despite making the breakaway, Sho-Air Twenty20 brought everything back together just before the final climb. On the final, Poidevin was aggressive and powered clear in the final meters to take the win and time bonus to close within six seconds of Dragoo, who finished third and retained the overall title. In addition to second overall, Poidevin’s stage five victory gave her the Best Young Rider competition and the Queen of the Mountains title. Bergen finished sixth overall and won the sprint competition to give Rally Cycling three of the four classification jerseys.
“This week was another great display of the progress this group has made,” said Team Director Zach Bell. “Three of our riders came away with their first UCI win, and we swept all the secondary jerseys. It was also good to see Sara Poidevin step up to the challenge of being a real general classification contender. This week was a glimpse into the future of women's racing in North America.”
Shane Kline wins the stage four criterium with a perfectly timed bike throw
The Rally Cycling men went into the final stage riding a wave of momentum after Shane Kline sprinted to a spectacular win in Saturday’s stage four criterium. With a dramatic bike throw at the line, Kline edged out Miguel Bryon (Holowesko | Citadel) in a photo finish to earn the first UCI win of his career. Joe Lewis (Holowesko | Citadel) crossed the line in third.
“It felt great to take the win, extra special being it was my fiancé's birthday so I could call her with good news!” said Kline. “It was fast all night and the field was strung out. A dangerous break got up the road with about 16 laps to go, but the guys did a stellar job of pulling it back. The sprint was a close one. I came out of the last turn third wheel and just hit out from there. It was a rather long sprint but all the years of track racing came to my advantage in the bike throw to the line.”
With spirits high, the team looked to stage five to make up Huffman’s three-second gap to Gavin Mannion and take the overall victory. The team put Emerson Oronte into the day’s 13-rider break and prepared for the last general classification battle. As the riders turned onto the final 500-meter ramp up to the line, only a reduced bunch remained to contest the finish, and it would be Alex Howes (US National Team) taking the win with Robin Carpenter (Holowesko | Citadel) in second. Huffman finished four seconds back in 12th to maintain his third place in the general classification as Carpenter captured the overall the title.
Cascade Classic Stage Five | Women
1. Sara Poidevin (Rally Cycling)
2. Emma Grant (Colavita/Bianchi)
3. Allie Dragoo (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
4. Kaitlin Antonneau (Cylance)
5. Jennifer Luebke (Visit Dallas DNA)
6. Jasmin Duehring (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
7. Jennifer Valente (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
8. Carrie Cartmill (JLVelo Cycling p/b The Freewheel)
9. Margot Clyne (JLVelo Cycling p/b The Freewheel)
10. Mikayla Harvey (Team Illuminate)
Cascade Classic Final General Classification | Women
1. Allie Dragoo (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
2. Sara Poidevin (Rally Cycling)
3. Jasmin Duehring (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
4. Jennifer Luebke (Visit Dallas DNA)
5. Jennifer Valente (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
6. Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling)
7. Whitney Allison (Colavita/Bianchi)
8. Emma Grant (Colavita/Bianchi)
9. Kaitlin Antonneau (Cylance)
10. Stephanie Roorda (Sho-Air Twenty20)
Cascade Classic Points Competition | Women
1. Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling)
2. Claire Rose (Visit Dallas DNA)
3. Heidi Franz (Rally Cycling)
Cascade Classic Mountains Competition | Women
1. Sara Poidevin (Rally Cycling)
2. Margot Clyne (JLVelo Cycling p/b The Freewheel)
3. Emma Grant (Colavita/Bianchi)
Cascade Classic Best Young Rider | Women
1. Sara Poidevin (Rally Cycling)
2. Jennifer Valente (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
3. Margot Clyne (JLVelo Cycling p/b The Freewheel)
Cascade Classic Final General Classification | Men
1. Robin Carpenter (Holowesko / Citadel)
2. Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare)
3. Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling)
4. Daniel Eaton (UnitedHealthcare)
5. Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis)
6. Peter Stetina (USA National Team)
7. Nigel Ellsay (Silber)
8. Cameron Piper (USA National Team)
9. Travis Samuel (H&R Block)
10. Luis Ricardo Villalobos Hernandez (Aevolo)
