Rally Cycling’s Sara Bergen finished this weekend’s Joe Martin Stage Race in spectacular fashion, delivering a third place finish in the final stage, winning the points competition, and finishing second in the general classification. Bergen, who won stage two, finished second in the stage three time trial while teammate Heidi Franz came in fifth. With podium finishes on three of the four stages, it was a great start to the team’s UCI racing schedule.

“The ladies were incredible this week,” said Bergen. “They went all-in to help me move up the general classification. Going into the final stage, I was within 20 seconds of the lead. I gained seven seconds on the road but couldn’t shake the pink jersey. Thanks to all of the work the squad did, I was able to finish on the podium. After the finish, I felt nothing but pride in the team and the effort they put in.”

Battling near-freezing temperatures, the riders began the hilly final stage around downtown Fayetteville. Under significant pressure from Bergen and her teammates, the peloton dwindled in size on each of the 16 criterium laps.

“The team really rallied around Sara this week,” said Team Director Zach Bell. “Sara won both intermediate sprints on the final stage, and that helped solidify her lead in the point classification. We threw everything we had to try and overtake the pink jersey but in the end, we came up just a little short. The team is firing on all cylinders right now and I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish next week.”

 

Stage 1 Results

1 Diana Carolina Peñuela Martinez (Col) 2:54:30

2 Jennifer Luebke (USA) 0:00:02

3 Edwige Pitel (Fra) 0:00:04

4 Katharine Hall (USA) 0:00:11

5 Sara Bergen (Can) 0:00:14

 

Stage 2 Results

1 Sara Bergen (Can) 2:35:49

2 Chloe Dygert (USA)

3 Leah Thomas (USA)

 

Stage 3 Results

1 Katharine Hall (USA) 0:10:48

2 Sara Bergen (Can) 0:00:28

3 Kathryn Buss (USA) 0:00:29

4 Leah Thomas (USA) 0:00:33

5 Heidi Franz (USA) 0:00:33

 

Stage 4 Results

1 Chloe Dygert (USA) 0:51:02

2 Katharine Hall (USA)

3 Sara Bergen (Can)

 

Final General Classification

1 Katharine Hall (USA) 6:32:11

2 Sara Bergen (Can) 0:00:18

3 Leah Thomas (USA) 0:00:49